God Passes By Part 8

Desperate designs to poison Baha'u'llah and His companions, and thereby reanimate his own defunct leadership, began, approximately a year after their arrival in Adrianople, to agitate his mind. Well aware of the erudition of his half-brother, aqay-i-Kalim, in matters pertaining to medicine, he, under various pretexts, sought enlightenment from him regarding the effects of certain herbs and poisons, and then began, contrary to his wont, to invite Baha'u'llah to his home, where, one day, having smeared His tea-cup with a substance he had concocted, he succeeded in poisoning Him sufficiently to produce a serious illness which lasted no less than a month, and which was accompanied by severe pains and high fever, the aftermath of which left Baha'u'llah with a shaking hand till the end of His life. So grave was His condition that a foreign doctor, named _Sh_i_sh_man, was called in to attend Him. The doctor was so appalled by His livid hue that he deemed His case hopeless, and, after having fallen at His feet, retired from His presence without prescribing a remedy. A few days later that doctor fell ill and died. Prior to his death Baha'u'llah had intimated that doctor _Sh_i_sh_man had sacrificed his life for Him. To Mirza aqa Jan, sent by Baha'u'llah to visit him, the doctor had stated that G.o.d had answered his prayers, and that after his death a certain Dr. _Ch_upan, whom he knew to be reliable, should, whenever necessary, be called in his stead.

On another occasion this same Mirza Ya?ya had, according to the testimony of one of his wives, who had temporarily deserted him and revealed the details of the above-mentioned act, poisoned the well which provided water for the family and companions of Baha'u'llah, in consequence of which the exiles manifested strange symptoms of illness. He even had, gradually and with great circ.u.mspection, disclosed to one of the companions, Ustad Mu?ammad-'Aliy-i-Salmani, the barber, on whom he had lavished great marks of favor, his wish that he, on some propitious occasion, when attending Baha'u'llah in His bath, should a.s.sa.s.sinate Him. "So enraged was Ustad Mu?ammad-'Ali," aqay-i-Kalim, recounting this episode to Nabil in Adrianople, has stated, "when apprized of this proposition, that he felt a strong desire to kill Mirza Ya?ya on the spot, and would have done so but for his fear of Baha'u'llah's displeasure. I happened to be the first person he encountered as he came out of the bath weeping.... I eventually succeeded, after much persuasion, in inducing him to return to the bath and complete his unfinished task." Though ordered subsequently by Baha'u'llah not to divulge this occurrence to any one, the barber was unable to hold his peace and betrayed the secret, plunging thereby the community into great consternation. "When the secret nursed in his (Mirza Ya?ya) bosom was revealed by G.o.d," Baha'u'llah Himself affirms, "he disclaimed such an intention, and imputed it to that same servant (Ustad Mu?ammad-'Ali)."

The moment had now arrived for Him Who had so recently, both verbally and in numerous Tablets, revealed the implications of the claims He had advanced, to acquaint formally the one who was the nominee of the Bab with the character of His Mission. Mirza aqa Jan was accordingly commissioned to bear to Mirza Ya?ya the newly revealed Suriy-i-'Amr, which unmistakably affirmed those claims, to read aloud to him its contents, and demand an unequivocal and conclusive reply. Mirza Ya?ya's request for a one day respite, during which he could meditate his answer, was granted. The only reply, however, that was forthcoming was a counter-declaration, specifying the hour and the minute in which he had been made the recipient of an independent Revelation, necessitating the unqualified submission to him of the peoples of the earth in both the East and the West.

So presumptuous an a.s.sertion, made by so perfidious an adversary to the envoy of the Bearer of so momentous a Revelation was the signal for the open and final rupture between Baha'u'llah and Mirza Ya?ya-a rupture that marks one of the darkest dates in Baha'i history. Wishing to allay the fierce animosity that blazed in the bosom of His enemies, and to a.s.sure to each one of the exiles a complete freedom to choose between Him and them, Baha'u'llah withdrew with His family to the house of Ri?a Big (_Sh_avval 22, 1282 A.H.), which was rented by His order, and refused, for two months, to a.s.sociate with either friend or stranger, including His own companions. He instructed aqay-i-Kalim to divide all the furniture, bedding, clothing and utensils that were to be found in His home, and send half to the house of Mirza Ya?ya; to deliver to him certain relics he had long coveted, such as the seals, rings, and ma.n.u.scripts in the handwriting of the Bab; and to insure that he received his full share of the allowance fixed by the government for the maintenance of the exiles and their families. He, moreover, directed aqay-i-Kalim to order to attend to Mirza Ya?ya's shopping, for several hours a day, any one of the companions whom he himself might select, and to a.s.sure him that whatever would henceforth be received in his name from Persia would be delivered into his own hands.

"That day," aqay-i-Kalim is reported to have informed Nabil, "witnessed a most great commotion. All the companions lamented in their separation from the Blessed Beauty." "Those days," is the written testimony of one of those companions, "were marked by tumult and confusion. We were sore-perplexed, and greatly feared lest we be permanently deprived of the bounty of His presence."

This grief and perplexity were, however, destined to be of short duration.

The calumnies with which both Mirza Ya?ya and Siyyid Mu?ammad now loaded their letters, which they disseminated in Persia and 'Iraq, as well as the pet.i.tions, couched in obsequious language, which the former had addressed to _Kh_ur_sh_id Pa_sh_a, the governor of Adrianople, and to his a.s.sistant Aziz Pa_sh_a, impelled Baha'u'llah to emerge from His retirement. He was soon after informed that this same brother had despatched one of his wives to the government house to complain that her husband had been cheated of his rights, and that her children were on the verge of starvation-an accusation that spread far and wide and, reaching Constantinople, became, to Baha'u'llah's profound distress, the subject of excited discussion and injurious comment in circles that had previously been greatly impressed by the high standard which His n.o.ble and dignified behavior had set in that city. Siyyid Mu?ammad journeyed to the capital, begged the Persian Amba.s.sador, the Mu_sh_iru'd-Dawlih, to allot Mirza Ya?ya and himself a stipend, accused Baha'u'llah of sending an agent to a.s.sa.s.sinate Na?iri'd-Din _Sh_ah, and spared no effort to heap abuse and calumny on One Who had, for so long and so patiently, forborne with him, and endured in silence the enormities of which he had been guilty.

After a stay of about one year in the house of Ri?a Big Baha'u'llah returned to the house He had occupied before His withdrawal from His companions, and thence, after three months, He transferred His residence to the house of Izzat aqa, in which He continued to live until His departure from Adrianople. It was in this house, in the month of Jamadiyu'l-Avval 1284 A.H. (Sept. 1867) that an event of the utmost significance occurred, which completely discomfited Mirza Ya?ya and his supporters, and proclaimed to friend and foe alike Baha'u'llah's triumph over them. A certain Mir Mu?ammad, a Babi of _Sh_iraz, greatly resenting alike the claims and the cowardly seclusion of Mirza Ya?ya, succeeded in forcing Siyyid Mu?ammad to induce him to meet Baha'u'llah face to face, so that a discrimination might be publicly effected between the true and the false. Foolishly a.s.suming that his ill.u.s.trious Brother would never countenance such a proposition, Mirza Ya?ya appointed the mosque of Sul?an Salim as the place for their encounter. No sooner had Baha'u'llah been informed of this arrangement than He set forth, on foot, in the heat of midday, and accompanied by this same Mir Mu?ammad, for the afore-mentioned mosque, which was situated in a distant part of the city, reciting, as He walked, through the streets and markets, verses, in a voice and in a manner that greatly astonished those who saw and heard Him.

"O Mu?ammad!", are some of the words He uttered on that memorable occasion, as testified by Himself in a Tablet, "He Who is the Spirit hath, verily, issued from His habitation, and with Him have come forth the souls of G.o.d's chosen ones and the realities of His Messengers. Behold, then, the dwellers of the realms on high above Mine head, and all the testimonies of the Prophets in My grasp. Say: Were all the divines, all the wise men, all the kings and rulers on earth to gather together, I, in very truth, would confront them, and would proclaim the verses of G.o.d, the Sovereign, the Almighty, the All-Wise. I am He Who feareth no one, though all who are in heaven and all who are on earth rise up against me.... This is Mine hand which G.o.d hath turned white for all the worlds to behold.

This is My staff; were We to cast it down, it would, of a truth, swallow up all created things." Mir Mu?ammad, who had been sent ahead to announce Baha'u'llah's arrival, soon returned, and informed Him that he who had challenged His authority wished, owing to unforeseen circ.u.mstances, to postpone for a day or two the interview. Upon His return to His house Baha'u'llah revealed a Tablet, wherein He recounted what had happened, fixed the time for the postponed interview, sealed the Tablet with His seal, entrusted it to Nabil, and instructed him to deliver it to one of the new believers, Mulla Mu?ammad-i-Tabrizi, for the information of Siyyid Mu?ammad, who was in the habit of frequenting that believer's shop. It was arranged to demand from Siyyid Mu?ammad, ere the delivery of that Tablet, a sealed note pledging Mirza Ya?ya, in the event of failing to appear at the trysting-place, to affirm in writing that his claims were false.

Siyyid Mu?ammad promised that he would produce the next day the doc.u.ment required, and though Nabil, for three successive days, waited in that shop for the reply, neither did the Siyyid appear, nor was such a note sent by him. That undelivered Tablet, Nabil, recording twenty-three years later this historic episode in his chronicle, affirms was still in his possession, "as fresh as the day on which the Most Great Branch had penned it, and the seal of the Ancient Beauty had sealed and adorned it," a tangible and irrefutable testimony to Baha'u'llah's established ascendancy over a routed opponent.

Baha'u'llah's reaction to this most distressful episode in His ministry was, as already observed, characterized by acute anguish. "He who for months and years," He laments, "I reared with the hand of loving-kindness hath risen to take My life." "The cruelties inflicted by My oppressors,"

He wrote, in allusion to these perfidious enemies, "have bowed Me down, and turned My hair white. Shouldst thou present thyself before My throne, thou wouldst fail to recognize the Ancient Beauty, for the freshness of His countenance is altered, and its brightness hath faded, by reason of the oppression of the infidels." "By G.o.d!" He cries out, "No spot is left on My body that hath not been touched by the spears of thy machinations."

And again: "Thou hast perpetrated against thy Brother what no man hath perpetrated against another." "What hath proceeded from thy pen," He, furthermore, has affirmed, "hath caused the Countenances of Glory to be prostrated upon the dust, hath rent in twain the Veil of Grandeur in the Sublime Paradise, and lacerated the hearts of the favored ones established upon the loftiest seats." And yet, in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, a forgiving Lord a.s.sures this same brother, this "source of perversion," "from whose own soul the winds of pa.s.sion had risen and blown upon him," to "fear not because of thy deeds," bids him "return unto G.o.d, humble, submissive and lowly," and affirms that "He will put away from thee thy sins," and that "thy Lord is the Forgiving, the Mighty, the All-Merciful."

The "Most Great Idol" had at the bidding and through the power of Him Who is the Fountain-head of the Most Great Justice been cast out of the community of the Most Great Name, confounded, abhorred and broken.

Cleansed from this pollution, delivered from this horrible possession, G.o.d's infant Faith could now forge ahead, and, despite the turmoil that had convulsed it, demonstrate its capacity to fight further battles, capture loftier heights, and win mightier victories.

A temporary breach had admittedly been made in the ranks of its supporters. Its glory had been eclipsed, and its annals stained forever.

Its name, however, could not be obliterated, its spirit was far from broken, nor could this so-called schism tear its fabric asunder. The Covenant of the Bab, to which reference has already been made, with its immutable truths, incontrovertible prophecies, and repeated warnings, stood guard over that Faith, insuring its integrity, demonstrating its incorruptibility, and perpetuating its influence.

Though He Himself was bent with sorrow, and still suffered from the effects of the attempt on His life, and though He was well aware a further banishment was probably impending, yet, undaunted by the blow which His Cause had sustained, and the perils with which it was encompa.s.sed, Baha'u'llah arose with matchless power, even before the ordeal was overpast, to proclaim the Mission with which He had been entrusted to those who, in East and West, had the reins of supreme temporal authority in their grasp. The day-star of His Revelation was, through this very Proclamation, destined to shine in its meridian glory, and His Faith manifest the plenitude of its divine power.

A period of prodigious activity ensued which, in its repercussions, outshone the vernal years of Baha'u'llah's ministry. "Day and night," an eye-witness has written, "the Divine verses were raining down in such number that it was impossible to record them. Mirza aqa Jan wrote them as they were dictated, while the Most Great Branch was continually occupied in transcribing them. There was not a moment to spare." "A number of secretaries," Nabil has testified, "were busy day and night and yet they were unable to cope with the task. Among them was Mirza Baqir-i-_Sh_irazi.... He alone transcribed no less than two thousand verses every day. He labored during six or seven months. Every month the equivalent of several volumes would be transcribed by him and sent to Persia. About twenty volumes, in his fine penmanship, he left behind as a remembrance for Mirza aqa Jan." Baha'u'llah, Himself, referring to the verses revealed by Him, has written: "Such are the outpourings ... from the clouds of Divine Bounty that within the s.p.a.ce of an hour the equivalent of a thousand verses hath been revealed." "So great is the grace vouchsafed in this day that in a single day and night, were an amanuensis capable of accomplishing it to be found, the equivalent of the Persian Bayan would be sent down from the heaven of Divine holiness." "I swear by G.o.d!" He, in another connection has affirmed, "In those days the equivalent of all that hath been sent down aforetime unto the Prophets hath been revealed." "That which hath already been revealed in this land (Adrianople)," He, furthermore, referring to the copiousness of His writings, has declared, "secretaries are incapable of transcribing. It has, therefore, remained for the most part untranscribed."

Already in the very midst of that grievous crisis, and even before it came to a head, Tablets unnumbered were streaming from the pen of Baha'u'llah, in which the implications of His newly-a.s.serted claims were fully expounded. The Suriy-i-'Amr, the Law?-i-Nuqtih, the Law?-i-Ahmad, the Suriy-i-A_sh_ab, the Law?-i-Sayyah, the Suriy-i-Damm, the Suriy-i-Hajj, the Lawhu'r-Ruh, the Lawhu'r-Ridvan, the Lawhu't-Tuqa were among the Tablets which His pen had already set down when He transferred His residence to the house of Izzat aqa. Almost immediately after the "Most Great Separation" had been effected, the weightiest Tablets a.s.sociated with His sojourn in Adrianople were revealed. The Suriy-i-Muluk, the most momentous Tablet revealed by Baha'u'llah (Surih of Kings) in which He, for the first time, directs His words collectively to the entire company of the monarchs of East and West, and in which the Sul?an of Turkey, and his ministers, the kings of Christendom, the French and Persian Amba.s.sadors accredited to the Sublime Porte, the Muslim ecclesiastical leaders in Constantinople, its wise men and inhabitants, the people of Persia and the philosophers of the world are separately addressed; the Kitab-i-Badi', His apologia, written to refute the accusations levelled against Him by Mirza Mihdiy-i-Ra_sh_ti, corresponding to the Kitab-i-iqan, revealed in defense of the Babi Revelation; the Munajathay-i-Siyam (Prayers for Fasting), written in antic.i.p.ation of the Book of His Laws; the first Tablet to Napoleon III, in which the Emperor of the French is addressed and the sincerity of his professions put to the test; the Law?-i-Sul?an, His detailed epistle to Na?iri'd-Din _Sh_ah, in which the aims, purposes and principles of His Faith are expounded and the validity of His Mission demonstrated; the Suriy-i-Ra'is, begun in the village of Ka_sh_anih on His way to Gallipoli, and completed shortly after at Gyawur-Kyuy-these may be regarded not only as the most outstanding among the innumerable Tablets revealed in Adrianople, but as occupying a foremost position among all the writings of the Author of the Baha'i Revelation.

In His message to the kings of the earth, Baha'u'llah, in the Suriy-i-Muluk, discloses the character of His Mission; exhorts them to embrace His Message; affirms the validity of the Bab's Revelation; reproves them for their indifference to His Cause; enjoins them to be just and vigilant, to compose their differences and reduce their armaments; expatiates on His afflictions; commends the poor to their care; warns them that "Divine chastis.e.m.e.nt" will "a.s.sail" them "from every direction," if they refuse to heed His counsels, and prophesies His "triumph upon earth"

though no king be found who would turn his face towards Him.

The kings of Christendom, more specifically, Baha'u'llah, in that same Tablet, censures for having failed to "welcome" and "draw nigh" unto Him Who is the "Spirit of Truth," and for having persisted in "disporting"

themselves with their "pastimes and fancies," and declares to them that they "shall be called to account" for their doings, "in the presence of Him Who shall gather together the entire creation."

He bids Sul?an 'Abdu'l-'Aziz "hearken to the speech ... of Him Who unerringly treadeth the Straight Path"; exhorts him to direct in person the affairs of his people, and not to repose confidence in unworthy ministers; admonishes him not to rely on his treasures, nor to "overstep the bounds of moderation" but to deal with his subjects with "undeviating justice"; and acquaints him with the overwhelming burden of His own tribulations. In that same Tablet He a.s.serts His innocence and His loyalty to the Sul?an and his ministers; describes the circ.u.mstances of His banishment from the capital; and a.s.sures him of His prayers to G.o.d on his behalf.

To this same Sul?an He, moreover, as attested by the Suriy-i-Ra'is, transmitted, while in Gallipoli, a verbal message through a Turkish officer named Umar, requesting the sovereign to grant Him a ten minute interview, "so that he may demand whatsoever he would deem to be a sufficient testimony and would regard as proof of the veracity of Him Who is the Truth," adding that "should G.o.d enable Him to produce it, let him, then, release these wronged ones and leave them to themselves."

To Napoleon III Baha'u'llah addressed a specific Tablet, which was forwarded through one of the French ministers to the Emperor, in which He dwelt on the sufferings endured by Himself and His followers; avowed their innocence; reminded him of his two p.r.o.nouncements on behalf of the oppressed and the helpless; and, desiring to test the sincerity of his motives, called upon him to "inquire into the condition of such as have been wronged," and "extend his care to the weak," and look upon Him and His fellow-exiles "with the eye of loving-kindness."

To Na?iri'd-Din _Sh_ah He revealed a Tablet, the lengthiest epistle to any single sovereign, in which He testified to the unparalleled severity of the troubles that had touched Him; recalled the sovereign's recognition of His innocence on the eve of His departure for 'Iraq; adjured him to rule with justice; described G.o.d's summons to Himself to arise and proclaim His Message; affirmed the disinterestedness of His counsels; proclaimed His belief in the unity of G.o.d and in His Prophets; uttered several prayers on the _Sh_ah's behalf; justified His own conduct in 'Iraq; stressed the beneficent influence of His teachings; and laid special emphasis on His condemnation of all forms of violence and mischief. He, moreover, in that same Tablet, demonstrated the validity of His Mission; expressed the wish to be "brought face to face with the divines of the age, and produce proofs and testimonies in the presence of His Majesty," which would establish the truth of His Cause; exposed the perversity of the ecclesiastical leaders in His own days, as well as in the days of Jesus Christ and of Mu?ammad; prophesied that His sufferings will be followed by the "outpourings of a supreme mercy" and by an "overflowing prosperity"; drew a parallel between the afflictions that had befallen His kindred and those endured by the relatives of the Prophet Mu?ammad; expatiated on the instability of human affairs; depicted the city to which He was about to be banished; foreshadowed the future abas.e.m.e.nt of the 'ulamas; and concluded with yet another expression of hope that the sovereign might be a.s.sisted by G.o.d to "aid His Faith and turn towards His justice."

To 'Ali Pa_sh_a, the Grand Vizir, Baha'u'llah addressed the Suriy-i-Ra'is.

In this He bids him "hearken to the voice of G.o.d"; declares that neither his "grunting," nor the "barking" of those around him, nor "the hosts of the world" can withhold the Almighty from achieving His purpose; accuses him of having perpetrated that which has caused "the Apostle of G.o.d to lament in the most sublime Paradise," and of having conspired with the Persian Amba.s.sador to harm Him; forecasts "the manifest loss" in which he would soon find himself; glorifies the Day of His own Revelation; prophesies that this Revelation will "erelong encompa.s.s the earth and all that dwell therein," and that the "Land of Mystery (Adrianople) and what is beside it ... shall pa.s.s out of the hands of the King, and commotions shall appear, and the voice of lamentation shall be raised, and the evidences of mischief shall be revealed on all sides"; identifies that same Revelation with the Revelations of Moses and of Jesus; recalls the "arrogance" of the Persian Emperor in the days of Mu?ammad, the "transgression" of Pharaoh in the days of Moses, and of the "impiety" of Nimrod in the days of Abraham; and proclaims His purpose to "quicken the world and unite all its peoples."

The ministers of the Sul?an, He, in the Suriy-i-Muluk, reprimands for their conduct, in pa.s.sages in which He challenges the soundness of their principles, predicts that they will be punished for their acts, denounces their pride and injustice, a.s.serts His integrity and detachment from the vanities of the world, and proclaims His innocence.

The French Amba.s.sador accredited to the Sublime Porte, He, in that same Surih, rebukes for having combined with the Persian Amba.s.sador against Him; reminds him of the counsels of Jesus Christ, as recorded in the Gospel of St. John; warns him that he will be held answerable for the things his hands have wrought; and counsels him, together with those like him, not to deal with any one as he has dealt with Him.

To the Persian Amba.s.sador in Constantinople, He, in that same Tablet, addresses lengthy pa.s.sages in which He exposes his delusions and calumnies, denounces his injustice and the injustice of his countrymen, a.s.sures him that He harbors no ill-will against him, declares that, should he realize the enormity of his deed, he would mourn all the days of his life, affirms that he will persist till his death in his heedlessness, justifies His own conduct in ?ihran and in 'Iraq, and bears witness to the corruption of the Persian minister in Ba_gh_dad and to his collusion with this minister.

To the entire company of the ecclesiastical leaders of Sunni Islam in Constantinople He addresses a specific message in the same Suriy-i-Muluk in which He denounces them as heedless and spiritually dead; reproaches them for their pride and for failing to seek His presence; unveils to them the full glory and significance of His Mission; affirms that their leaders, had they been alive, would have "circled around Him"; condemns them as "worshippers of names" and lovers of leadership; and avows that G.o.d will find naught acceptable from them unless they "be made new" in His estimation.

To the wise men of the City of Constantinople and the philosophers of the world He devotes the concluding pa.s.sages of the Suriy-i-Muluk, in which He cautions them not to wax proud before G.o.d; reveals to them the essence of true wisdom; stresses the importance of faith and upright conduct; rebukes them for having failed to seek enlightenment from Him; and counsels them not to "overstep the bounds of G.o.d," nor turn their gaze towards the "ways of men and their habits."

To the inhabitants of Constantinople He, in that same Tablet, declares that He "feareth no one except G.o.d," that He speaks "naught except at His (G.o.d) bidding," that He follows naught save G.o.d's truth, that He found the governors and elders of the city as "children gathered about and disporting themselves with clay," and that He perceived no one sufficiently mature to acquire the truths which G.o.d had taught Him. He bids them take firm hold on the precepts of G.o.d; warns them not to wax proud before G.o.d and His loved ones; recalls the tribulations, and extols the virtues, of the Imam ?usayn; prays that He Himself may suffer similar afflictions; prophesies that erelong G.o.d will raise up a people who will recount His troubles and demand the rest.i.tution of His rights from His oppressors; and calls upon them to give ear to His words, and return unto G.o.d and repent.

And finally, addressing the people of Persia, He, in that same Tablet, affirms that were they to put Him to death G.o.d will a.s.suredly raise up One in His stead, and a.s.serts that the Almighty will "perfect His light"

though they, in their secret hearts, abhor it.

So weighty a proclamation, at so critical a period, by the Bearer of so sublime a Message, to the kings of the earth, Muslim and Christian alike, to ministers and amba.s.sadors, to the ecclesiastical heads of Sunni Islam, to the wise men and inhabitants of Constantinople-the seat of both the Sultanate and the Caliphate-to the philosophers of the world and the people of Persia, is not to be regarded as the only outstanding event a.s.sociated with Baha'u'llah's sojourn in Adrianople. Other developments and happenings of great, though lesser, significance must be noted in these pages, if we would justly esteem the importance of this agitated and most momentous phase of Baha'u'llah's ministry.

It was at this period, and as a direct consequence of the rebellion and appalling downfall of Mirza Ya?ya, that certain disciples of Baha'u'llah (who may well rank among the "treasures" promised Him by G.o.d when bowed down with chains in the Siyah-_Ch_al of ?ihran), including among them one of the Letters of the Living, some survivors of the struggle of Tabarsi, and the erudite Mirza A?mad-i-Az_gh_andi, arose to defend the newborn Faith, to refute, in numerous and detailed apologies, as their Master had done in the Kitab-i-Badi', the arguments of His opponents, and to expose their odious deeds. It was at this period that the limits of the Faith were enlarged, when its banner was permanently planted in the Caucasus by the hand of Mulla Abu-Talib and others whom Nabil had converted, when its first Egyptian center was established at the time when Siyyid ?usayn-i-Ka_sh_ani and ?aji Baqir-i-Ka_sh_ani took up their residence in that country, and when to the lands already warmed and illuminated by the early rays of G.o.d's Revelation-'Iraq, Turkey and Persia-Syria was added.

It was in this period that the greeting of "Allah-u-Abha" superseded the old salutation of "Allah-u-Akbar," and was simultaneously adopted in Persia and Adrianople, the first to use it in the former country, at the suggestion of Nabil, being Mulla Mu?ammad-i-Furu_gh_i, one of the defenders of the Fort of _Sh_ay_kh_ Tabarsi. It was in this period that the phrase "the people of the Bayan," now denoting the followers of Mirza Ya?ya, was discarded, and was supplanted by the term "the people of Baha."

It was during those days that Nabil, recently honored with the t.i.tle of Nabil-i-'A?am, in a Tablet specifically addressed to him, in which he was bidden to "deliver the Message" of his Lord "to East and West," arose, despite intermittent persecutions, to tear asunder the "most grievous veil," to implant the love of an adored Master in the hearts of His countrymen, and to champion the Cause which his Beloved had, under such tragic conditions, proclaimed. It was during those same days that Baha'u'llah instructed this same Nabil to recite on His behalf the two newly revealed Tablets of the Pilgrimage, and to perform, in His stead, the rites prescribed in them, when visiting the Bab's House in _Sh_iraz and the Most Great House in Ba_gh_dad-an act that marks the inception of one of the holiest observances, which, in a later period, the Kitab-i-Aqdas was to formally establish. It was during this period that the "Prayers of Fasting" were revealed by Baha'u'llah, in antic.i.p.ation of the Law which that same Book was soon to promulgate. It was, too, during the days of Baha'u'llah's banishment to Adrianople that a Tablet was addressed by Him to Mulla 'Ali-Akbar-i-_Sh_ahmirzadi and Jamal-i-Burujirdi, two of His well-known followers in ?ihran, instructing them to transfer, with the utmost secrecy, the remains of the Bab from the Imam-Zadih Ma'?um, where they were concealed, to some other place of safety-an act which was subsequently proved to have been providential, and which may be regarded as marking another stage in the long and laborious transfer of those remains to the heart of Mt. Carmel, and to the spot which He, in His instructions to 'Abdu'l-Baha, was later to designate. It was during that period that the Suriy-i-_Gh_usn (Surih of the Branch) was revealed, in which 'Abdu'l-Baha's future station is foreshadowed, and in which He is eulogized as the "Branch of Holiness," the "Limb of the Law of G.o.d," the "Trust of G.o.d," "sent down in the form of a human temple"-a Tablet which may well be regarded as the harbinger of the rank which was to be bestowed upon Him, in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, and which was to be later elucidated and confirmed in the Book of His Covenant. And finally, it was during that period that the first pilgrimages were made to the residence of One Who was now the visible Center of a newly-established Faith-pilgrimages which by reason of their number and nature, an alarmed government in Persia was first impelled to restrict, and later to prohibit, but which were the precursors of the converging streams of Pilgrims who, from East and West, at first under perilous and arduous circ.u.mstances, were to direct their steps towards the prison-fortress of Akka-pilgrimages which were to culminate in the historic arrival of a royal convert at the foot of Mt. Carmel, who, at the very threshold of a longed-for and much advertised pilgrimage, was so cruelly thwarted from achieving her purpose.

These notable developments, some synchronizing with, and others flowing from, the proclamation of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, and from the internal convulsion which the Cause had undergone, could not escape the attention of the external enemies of the Movement, who were bent on exploiting to the utmost every crisis which the folly of its friends or the perfidy of renegades might at any time precipitate. The thick clouds had hardly been dissipated by the sudden outburst of the rays of a Sun, now shining from its meridian, when the darkness of another catastrophe-the last the Author of that Faith was destined to suffer-fell upon it, blackening its firmament and subjecting it to one of the severest trials it had as yet experienced.

Emboldened by the recent ordeals with which Baha'u'llah had been so cruelly afflicted, these enemies, who had been momentarily quiescent, began to demonstrate afresh, and in a number of ways, the latent animosity they nursed in their hearts. A persecution, varying in the degree of its severity, began once more to break out in various countries. In a_dh_irbayjan and Zanjan, in Ni_sh_apur and ?ihran, the adherents of the Faith were either imprisoned, vilified, penalized, tortured or put to death. Among the sufferers may be singled out the intrepid Najaf-'Aliy-i-Zanjani, a survivor of the struggle of Zanjan, and immortalized in the "Epistle to the Son of the Wolf," who, bequeathing the gold in his possession to his executioner, was heard to shout aloud "Ya Rabbiya'l-Abha" before he was beheaded. In Egypt, a greedy and vicious consul-general extorted no less than a hundred thousand tumans from a wealthy Persian convert, named ?aji Abu'l-Qasim-i-_Sh_irazi; arrested ?aji Mirza ?aydar-'Ali and six of his fellow-believers, and instigated their condemnation to a nine year exile in _Kh_artum, confiscating all the writings in their possession, and then threw into prison Nabil, whom Baha'u'llah had sent to appeal to the Khedive on their behalf. In Ba_gh_dad and Kazimayn indefatigable enemies, watching their opportunity, subjected Baha'u'llah's faithful supporters to harsh and ignominious treatment; savagely disemboweled 'Abdu'r-Rasul-i-Qumi, as he was carrying water in a skin, at the hour of dawn, from the river to the Most Great House, and banished, amidst scenes of public derision, about seventy companions to Mosul, including women and children.

No less active were Mirza ?usayn-_Kh_an, the Mu_sh_iru'd-Dawlih, and his a.s.sociates, who, determined to take full advantage of the troubles that had recently visited Baha'u'llah, arose to encompa.s.s His destruction. The authorities in the capital were incensed by the esteem shown Him by the governor Mu?ammad Pa_sh_ay-i-Qibrisi, a former Grand Vizir, and his successors Sulayman Pa_sh_a, of the Qadiriyyih Order, and particularly _Kh_ur_sh_id Pa_sh_a, who, openly and on many occasions, frequented the house of Baha'u'llah, entertained Him in the days of Ramadan, and evinced a fervent admiration for 'Abdu'l-Baha. They were well aware of the challenging tone Baha'u'llah had a.s.sumed in some of His newly revealed Tablets, and conscious of the instability prevailing in their own country.

They were disturbed by the constant comings and goings of pilgrims in Adrianople, and by the exaggerated reports of Fu'ad Pa_sh_a, who had recently pa.s.sed through on a tour of inspection. The pet.i.tions of Mirza Ya?ya which reached them through Siyyid Mu?ammad, his agent, had provoked them. Anonymous letters (written by this same Siyyid and by an accomplice, aqa Jan, serving in the Turkish artillery) which perverted the writings of Baha'u'llah, and which accused Him of having conspired with Bulgarian leaders and certain ministers of European powers to achieve, with the help of some thousands of His followers, the conquest of Constantinople, had filled their b.r.e.a.s.t.s with alarm. And now, encouraged by the internal dissensions which had shaken the Faith, and irritated by the evident esteem in which Baha'u'llah was held by the consuls of foreign powers stationed in Adrianople, they determined to take drastic and immediate action which would extirpate that Faith, isolate its Author and reduce Him to powerlessness. The indiscretions committed by some of its over-zealous followers, who had arrived in Constantinople, no doubt, aggravated an already acute situation.

The fateful decision was eventually arrived at to banish Baha'u'llah to the penal colony of Akka, and Mirza Ya?ya to Famagusta in Cyprus. This decision was embodied in a strongly worded Farman, issued by Sul?an 'Abdu'l-'Aziz. The companions of Baha'u'llah, who had arrived in the capital, together with a few who later joined them, as well as aqa Jan, the notorious mischief-maker, were arrested, interrogated, deprived of their papers and flung into prison. The members of the community in Adrianople were, several times, summoned to the governorate to ascertain their number, while rumors were set afloat that they were to be dispersed and banished to different places or secretly put to death.

Suddenly, one morning, the house of Baha'u'llah was surrounded by soldiers, sentinels were posted at its gates, His followers were again summoned by the authorities, interrogated, and ordered to make ready for their departure. "The loved ones of G.o.d and His kindred," is Baha'u'llah's testimony in the Suriy-i-Ra'is, "were left on the first night without food... The people surrounded the house, and Muslims and Christians wept over Us... We perceived that the weeping of the people of the Son (Christians) exceeded the weeping of others- a sign for such as ponder."

"A great tumult seized the people," writes aqa Ri?a, one of the stoutest supporters of Baha'u'llah, exiled with him all the way from Ba_gh_dad to Akka, "All were perplexed and full of regret... Some expressed their sympathy, others consoled us, and wept over us... Most of our possessions were auctioned at half their value." Some of the consuls of foreign powers called on Baha'u'llah, and expressed their readiness to intervene with their respective governments on His behalf-suggestions for which He expressed appreciation, but which He firmly declined. "The consuls of that city (Adrianople) gathered in the presence of this Youth at the hour of His departure," He Himself has written, "and expressed their desire to aid Him. They, verily, evinced towards Us manifest affection."

The Persian Amba.s.sador promptly informed the Persian consuls in 'Iraq and Egypt that the Turkish government had withdrawn its protection from the Babis, and that they were free to treat them as they pleased. Several pilgrims, among whom was ?aji Mu?ammad Isma'il-i-Ka_sh_ani, surnamed Anis in the Law?-i-Ra'is, had, in the meantime, arrived in Adrianople, and had to depart to Gallipoli, without even beholding the face of their Master.

Two of the companions were forced to divorce their wives, as their relatives refused to allow them to go into exile. _Kh_ur_sh_id Pa_sh_a, who had already several times categorically denied the written accusations sent him by the authorities in Constantinople, and had interceded vigorously on behalf of Baha'u'llah, was so embarra.s.sed by the action of his government that he decided to absent himself when informed of His immediate departure from the city, and instructed the Registrar to convey to Him the purport of the Sul?an's edict. ?aji Ja'far-i-Tabrizi, one of the believers, finding that his name had been omitted from the list of the exiles who might accompany Baha'u'llah, cut his throat with a razor, but was prevented in time from ending his life-an act which Baha'u'llah, in the Suriy-i-Ra'is, characterizes as "unheard of in bygone centuries," and which "G.o.d hath set apart for this Revelation, as an evidence of the power of His might."

On the twenty-second of the month of Rabi'u'_th_-_Th_ani 1285 A.H. (August 12, 1868) Baha'u'llah and His family, escorted by a Turkish captain, ?asan Effendi by name, and other soldiers appointed by the local government, set out on their four-day journey to Gallipoli, riding in carriages and stopping on their way at uzun-Kupru and Ka_sh_anih, at which latter place the Suriy-i-Ra'is was revealed. "The inhabitants of the quarter in which Baha'u'llah had been living, and the neighbors who had gathered to bid Him farewell, came one after the other," writes an eye-witness, "with the utmost sadness and regret to kiss His hands and the hem of His robe, expressing meanwhile their sorrow at His departure. That day, too, was a strange day. Methinks the city, its walls and its gates bemoaned their imminent separation from Him." "On that day," writes another eye-witness, "there was a wonderful concourse of Muslims and Christians at the door of our Master's house. The hour of departure was a memorable one. Most of those present were weeping and wailing, especially the Christians." "Say,"

Baha'u'llah Himself declares in the Suriy-i-Ra'is, "this Youth hath departed out of this country and deposited beneath every tree and every stone a trust, which G.o.d will erelong bring forth through the power of truth."

Several of the companions who had been brought from Constantinople were awaiting them in Gallipoli. On his arrival Baha'u'llah made the following p.r.o.nouncement to ?asan Effendi, who, his duty discharged, was taking his leave: "Tell the king that this territory will pa.s.s out of his hands, and his affairs will be thrown into confusion." "To this," aqa Ri?a, the recorder of that scene has written, "Baha'u'llah furthermore added: 'Not I speak these words, but G.o.d speaketh them.' In those moments He was uttering verses which we, who were downstairs, could overhear. They were spoken with such vehemence and power that, methinks, the foundations of the house itself trembled."

Even in Gallipoli, where three nights were spent, no one knew what Baha'u'llah's destination would be. Some believed that He and His brothers would be banished to one place, and the remainder dispersed, and sent into exile. Others thought that His companions would be sent back to Persia, while still others expected their immediate extermination. The government's original order was to banish Baha'u'llah, aqay-i-Kalim and Mirza Mu?ammad-Quli, with a servant to Akka, while the rest were to proceed to Constantinople. This order, which provoked scenes of indescribable distress, was, however, at the insistence of Baha'u'llah, and by the instrumentality of Umar Effendi, a major appointed to accompany the exiles, revoked. It was eventually decided that all the exiles, numbering about seventy, should be banished to Akka. Instructions were, moreover, issued that a certain number of the adherents of Mirza Ya?ya, among whom were Siyyid Mu?ammad and aqa Jan, should accompany these exiles, whilst four of the companions of Baha'u'llah were ordered to depart with the Azalis for Cyprus.

So grievous were the dangers and trials confronting Baha'u'llah at the hour of His departure from Gallipoli that He warned His companions that "this journey will be unlike any of the previous journeys," and that whoever did not feel himself "man enough to face the future" had best "depart to whatever place he pleaseth, and be preserved from tests, for hereafter he will find himself unable to leave"-a warning which His companions unanimously chose to disregard.

On the morning of the 2nd of Jamadiyu'l-Avval 1285 A.H. (August 21, 1868) they all embarked in an Austrian-Lloyd steamer for Alexandria, touching at Madelli, and stopping for two days at Smyrna, where Jinab-i-Munir, surnamed Ismu'llahu'l-Munib, became gravely ill, and had, to his great distress, to be left behind in a hospital where he soon after died. In Alexandria they transhipped into a steamer of the same company, bound for Haifa, where, after brief stops at Port Said and Jaffa, they landed, setting out, a few hours later, in a sailing vessel, for Akka, where they disembarked, in the course of the afternoon of the 12th of Jamadiyu'l-Avval 1285 A.H. (August 31, 1868). It was at the moment when Baha'u'llah had stepped into the boat which was to carry Him to the landing-stage in Haifa that 'Abdu'l-_Gh_affar, one of the four companions condemned to share the exile of Mirza Ya?ya, and whose "detachment, love and trust in G.o.d" Baha'u'llah had greatly praised, cast himself, in his despair, into the sea, shouting "Ya Baha'u'l-Abha," and was subsequently rescued and resuscitated with the greatest difficulty, only to be forced by adamant officials to continue his voyage, with Mirza Ya?ya's party, to the destination originally appointed for him.