Memorials of the Faithful Part 15

"Why"-so they mock-"do you remember yet That royal wrist, that palace you were in?"

He is a kingly bird: this crime he did commit.

Except for beauty, what was Joseph's sin?

Briefly, that great man spent his time in the Akka prison, praying, supplicating, turning his face toward G.o.d. Infinite bounty enfolded him; he was favored by Baha'u'llah, much of the time admitted to His presence and showered with endless grace. This was his joy and his delight, his great good fortune, his dearest wish.

Then the fixed hour was upon him, the daybreak of his hopes, and it came his turn to soar away, into the invisible realm. Sheltered under the protection of Baha'u'llah, he went swiftly forth to that mysterious land.

To him be salutations and praise and mercy from the Lord of this world and the world to come. May G.o.d light up his resting-place with rays from the Companion on high. aqa Mu?ammad-Baqir and aqa Mu?ammad-Isma'il, the Tailor

These were two brothers who, in the path of G.o.d, captives along with the rest, were shut in the Akka fortress. They were brothers of the late Pahlavan Ri?a. They left Persia and emigrated to Adrianople, hastening to the loving-kindness of Baha'u'llah; and under His protection, they came to Akka.

Pahlavan Ri?a-G.o.d's mercy and blessings and splendors be upon him; praise and salutations be unto him-was a man to outward seeming untutored, devoid of learning. He was a tradesman, and like the others who came in at the start, he cast everything away out of love for G.o.d, attaining in one leap the highest reaches of knowledge. He is of those from the earlier time. So eloquent did he suddenly become that the people of Ka_sh_an were astounded. For example this man, to all appearances unschooled, betook himself to ?aji Mu?ammad-Karim _Kh_an in Ka_sh_an and propounded this question:

"Sir, are you the Fourth Pillar? I am a man who thirsts after spiritual truth and I yearn to know of the Fourth Pillar."(96)

Since a number of political and military leaders were present, the ?aji replied: "Perish the thought! I shun all those who consider me the Fourth Pillar. Never have I made such a claim. Whoever says I have, speaks falsehood; may G.o.d's curse be on him!"

A few days later Pahlavan Ri?a again sought out the ?aji and told him: "Sir, I have just finished your book, Ir_sh_adu'l-'Avam (Guidance unto the Ignorant); I have read it from cover to cover; in it you say that one is obligated to know the Fourth Pillar or Fourth Support; indeed, you account him a fellow knight of the Lord of the Age.(97) Therefore I long to recognize and know him. I am certain that you are informed of him. Show him to me, I beg of you."

The ?aji was wrathful. He said: "The Fourth Pillar is no figment. He is a being plainly visible to all. Like me, he has a turban on his head, he wears an 'aba, and carries a cane in his hand." Pahlavan Ri?a smiled at him. "Meaning no discourtesy," he said, "there is, then, a contradiction in Your Honor's teaching. First you say one thing, then you say another."

Furious, the ?aji replied: "I am busy now. Let us discuss this matter some other time. Today I must ask to be excused."

The point is that Ri?a, a man considered to be unlettered, was able, in an argument, to best such an erudite "Fourth Pillar." In the phrase of Allamiy-i-Hilli, he downed him with the Fourth Support.(98)

Whenever that lionhearted champion of knowledge began to speak, his listeners marveled; and he remained, till his last breath, the protector and helper of all seekers after truth. Ultimately he became known far and wide as a Baha'i, was turned into a vagrant, and ascended to the Abha Kingdom.

As for his two brothers: through the grace of the Blessed Beauty, after they were taken captive by the tyrants, they were shut in the Most Great Prison, where they shared the lot of these homeless wanderers. Here, during the early days at Akka, with complete detachment, with ardent love, they hastened away to the all-glorious Realm. For our ruthless oppressors, as soon as we arrived, imprisoned all of us inside the fortress in the soldiers' barracks, and they closed up every issue, so that none could come and go. At that time the air of Akka was poisonous, and every stranger, immediately following his arrival, would be taken ill.

Mu?ammad-Baqir and Mu?ammad-Isma'il came down with a violent ailment and there was neither doctor nor medicine to be had; and those two embodied lights died on the same night, wrapped in each other's arms. They rose up to the undying Kingdom, leaving the friends to mourn them forever. There was none there but wept that night.

When morning came we wished to carry their sanctified bodies away. The oppressors told us: "You are forbidden to go out of the fortress. You must hand over these two corpses to us. We will wash them, shroud them and bury them. But first you must pay for it." It happened that we had no money.

There was a prayer carpet which had been placed under the feet of Baha'u'llah. He took up this carpet and said, "Sell it. Give the money to the guards." The prayer carpet was sold for 170 piasters(99) and that sum was handed over. But the two were never washed for their burial nor wrapped in their winding sheets; the guards only dug a hole in the ground and thrust them in, as they were, in the clothes they had on; so that even now, their two graves are one, and just as their souls are joined in the Abha Realm, their bodies are together here, under the earth, each holding the other in his close embrace.

The Blessed Beauty showered His blessings on these two brothers. In life, they were encompa.s.sed by His grace and favor; in death, they were memorialized in His Tablets. Their grave is in Akka. Greetings be unto them, and praise. The glory of the All-Glorious be upon them, and G.o.d's mercy, and His benediction.

ABU'L-QaSIM OF SUL?aN-aBaD

Another among the prisoners was Abu'l-Qasim of Sul?an-abad, the traveling companion of aqa Faraj. These two were una.s.suming, loyal and staunch. Once their souls had come alive through the breathings of the Faithful Spirit they hastened out of Persia to Adrianople, for such was the unabating cruelty of the malevolent that they could no longer remain in their own home. On foot, free of every tie, they took to the plains and hills, seeking their way across trackless waters and desert sands. How many a night they could not sleep, staying in the open with no place to lay their heads; with nothing to eat or drink, no bed but the bare earth, no food but the desert gra.s.ses. Somehow they dragged themselves along and managed to reach Adrianople. It happened that they came during the last days in that city, and were taken prisoner with the rest, and in the company of Baha'u'llah they traveled to the Most Great Prison.

Abu'l-Qasim fell violently ill with typhus. He died about the same time as those two brothers, Mu?ammad-Baqir and Mu?ammad-Isma'il, and his pure remains were buried outside Akka. The Blessed Beauty expressed approval of him and the friends, all of them, wept over his afflictions and mourned him. Upon him be the glory of the All-Glorious.

aQa FARAJ

In all these straits, aqa Faraj was the companion of Abu'l-Qasim. When, in Persian 'Iraq, he first heard the uproar caused by the Advent of the Most Great Light, he shook and trembled, clapped his hands, cried out in exultation and hastened off to 'Iraq. Overcome with delight, he entered the presence of his holy Lord. He was gathered into the loving fellowship, and blissfully received the honor of attending upon Baha'u'llah. Then he returned, bearing glad tidings to Sul?an-abad.

Here the malevolent were lying in wait, and disturbances broke out, with the result that the sainted Mulla-Ba_sh_i and some other believers who had none to defend them were struck down and put to death. aqa Faraj and Abu'l-Qasim, who had gone into hiding, then hurried away to Adrianople, to fall, ultimately, with the others and with their Well-Beloved, into the Akka prison.

aqa Faraj then won the honor of waiting upon the Ancient Beauty. He served the Holy Threshold at all times and was a comfort to the friends. During the days of Baha'u'llah he was His loyal servitor, and a close companion to the believers, and so it was after Baha'u'llah's departure: he remained true to the Covenant, and in the domain of servitude he stood like a towering palm; a n.o.ble, superior man, patient in dire adversity, content under all conditions.

Strong in faith, in devotion, he left this life and set his face toward the Kingdom of G.o.d, to become the object of endless grace. Upon him be G.o.d's mercy and good pleasure, in His Paradise. Greetings be unto him, and praise, in the meadows of Heaven. The Consort of the King of Martyrs

Among the women who came out of their homeland was the sorrowing Fatimih(100) Begum, widow of the King of Martyrs. She was a holy leaf of the Tree of G.o.d. From her earliest youth she was beset with uncounted ordeals. First was the disaster which overtook her n.o.ble father in the environs of Bada_sh_t, when, after terrible suffering, he died in a desert caravanserai, died hard-helpless and far from home.

The child was left an orphan, and in distress, until, by G.o.d's grace, she became the wife of the King of Martyrs. But since he was known everywhere as a Baha'i, was an impa.s.sioned lover of Baha'u'llah, a man distracted, carried away, and since Na?iri'd-Din _Sh_ah thirsted for blood-the hostile lurked in their ambush, and every day they informed against him and slandered him afresh, started a new outcry and set new mischief afoot. For this reason his family was never sure of his safety for a single day, but lived from moment to moment in anguish, foreseeing and dreading the hour of his martyrdom. Here was the family, everywhere known as Baha'is; their enemies, stony-hearted tyrants; their government inflexibly, permanently against them; their reigning Sovereign rabid for blood.

It is obvious how life would be for such a household. Every day there was a new incident, more turmoil, another uproar, and they could not draw a breath in peace. Then, he was martyred. The Government proved brutal and savage to such a degree that the human race cried out and trembled. All his possessions were stripped away and plundered, and his family lacked even their daily bread.

Fatimih spent her nights in weeping; till dawn broke, her only companions were tears. Whenever she gazed on her children, she would sigh, wearing away like a candle in devouring grief. But then she would thank G.o.d, and she would say: "Praised be the Lord, these agonies, these broken fortunes are on Baha'u'llah's account, for His dear sake." She would call to mind the defenseless family of the martyred ?usayn, and what calamities they were privileged to bear in the pathway of G.o.d. And as she pondered those events, her heart would leap up, and she would cry, "Praise be to G.o.d! We too have become companions of the Prophet's Household."(101)

Because the family was in such straits, Baha'u'llah directed them to come to the Most Great Prison so that, sheltered in these precincts of abounding grace, they might be compensated for all that had pa.s.sed. Here for a time she lived, joyful, thankful, and praising G.o.d. And although the son of the King of Martyrs, Mirza 'Abdu'l-?usayn, died in the prison, still his mother, Fatimih, accepted this, resigned herself to the will of G.o.d, did not so much as sigh or cry out, and did not go into mourning. Not a word did she utter to bespeak her grief.

This handmaid of G.o.d was infinitely patient, dignified and reserved, and at all times thankful. But then Baha'u'llah left the world, and this was the supreme affliction, the ultimate anguish, and she could endure no more. The shock and alarm were such that like a fish taken from the water she writhed on the ground, trembled and shook as if her whole being quaked, until at last she took leave of her children and she died. She rose up into the shadowing mercy of G.o.d and was plunged in an ocean of light. Unto her be salutations and praise, compa.s.sion and glory. May G.o.d make sweet her resting-place with the outpourings of His heavenly mercy; in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree(102) may He honor her dwelling.

He is G.o.d!(103)

Thou seest, O my Lord, the a.s.semblage of Thy loved ones, the company of Thy friends, gathered by the precincts of Thine all-sufficing Shrine, and in the neighborhood of Thine exalted garden, on a day among the days of Thy Ridvan Feast-that blessed time when Thou didst dawn upon the world, shedding thereon the lights of Thy holiness, spreading abroad the bright rays of Thy oneness, and didst issue forth from Ba_gh_dad, with a majesty and might that encompa.s.sed all mankind; with a glory that made all to fall prostrate before Thee, all heads to bow, every neck to bend low, and the gaze of every man to be cast down. They are calling Thee to mind and making mention of Thee, their b.r.e.a.s.t.s gladdened with the lights of Thy bestowals, their souls restored by the evidences of Thy gifts, speaking Thy praise, turning their faces toward Thy Kingdom, humbly supplicating Thy lofty Realms.

They are gathered here to commemorate Thy bright and holy handmaid, a leaf of Thy green Tree of Heaven, a luminous reality, a spiritual essence, who ever implores Thy tender compa.s.sion. She was born into the arms of Divine wisdom, and she suckled at the breast of cert.i.tude; she flourished in the cradle of faith and rejoiced in the bosom of Thy love, O merciful, O compa.s.sionate Lord! And she grew to womanhood in a house from which the sweet savors of oneness were spread abroad. But while she was yet a girl, distress came upon her in Thy path, and misfortune a.s.sailed her, O Thou the Bestower, and in her defenseless youth she drank from the cups of sorrow and pain, out of love for Thy beauty, O Thou the Forgiver!

Thou knowest, O my G.o.d, the calamities she joyfully bore in Thy pathway, the trials she confronted in Thy love, with a face that radiated delight.

How many a night, as others lay on their beds in soft repose, was she wakeful, humbly entreating Thy heavenly Realm. How many a day did Thy people spend, safe in the citadel of Thy sheltering care, while her heart was harried from what had come upon Thy holy ones.

O my Lord, her days and her years pa.s.sed by, and whenever she saw the morning light she wept over the sorrows of Thy servants, and when the evening shadows fell she cried and called out and burned in a fiery anguish for what had befallen Thy bondsmen. And she arose with all her strength to serve Thee, to beseech the Heaven of Thy mercy, and in lowliness to entreat Thee and to rest her heart upon Thee. And she came forth veiled in holiness, her garments unspotted by the nature of Thy people, and she entered into wedlock with Thy servant on whom Thou didst confer Thy richest gifts, and in whom Thou didst reveal the ensigns of Thine endless mercy, and whose face, in Thine all-glorious Realm, Thou didst make to shine with everlasting light. She married him whom Thou didst lodge in the a.s.semblage of reunion, one with the Company on high; him whom Thou didst cause to eat of all heavenly foods, him on whom Thou didst shower Thy blessings, on whom Thou didst bestow the t.i.tle: Martyrs'

King.

And she dwelt for some years under the protection of that manifest Light; and with all her soul she served at Thy Threshold, holy and luminous; preparing foods and a place of rest and couches for all Thy loved ones that came, and she had no other joy but this. Lowly and humble she was before each of Thy handmaids, deferring to each, serving each one with her heart and soul and her whole being, out of love for Thy beauty, and seeking to win Thy good pleasure. Until her house became known by Thy name, and the fame of her husband was noised abroad, as one belonging to Thee, and the Land of Sad (I?fahan) shook and exulted for joy, because of continual blessings from this mighty champion of Thine; and the scented herbage of Thy knowledge and the roses of Thy bounty began to burgeon out, and a great mult.i.tude was led to the waters of Thy mercy.

Then the ign.o.ble and the ignorant amongst Thy creatures rose against him, and with tyranny and malice they p.r.o.nounced his death; and void of justice, with harsh oppression, they shed his immaculate blood. Under the glittering sword that n.o.ble personage cried out to Thee: "Praised be Thou, O my G.o.d, that on the Promised Day, Thou hast helped me to attain this manifest grace; that Thou hast reddened the dust with my blood, spilled out upon Thy path, so that it puts forth crimson flowers. Favor and grace are Thine, to grant me this gift which in all the world I longed for most.

Thanks be unto Thee that Thou didst succor me and confirm me and didst give me to drink of this cup that was tempered at the camphor fountain(104)-on the Day of Manifestation, at the hands of the cupbearer of martyrdom, in the a.s.semblage of delights. Thou art verily the One full of grace, the Generous, the Bestower."

And after they had killed him they invaded his princely house. They attacked like preying wolves, like lions at the hunt, and they sacked and plundered and pillaged, seizing the rich furnishings, the ornaments and the jewels. She was in dire peril then, left with the fragments of her broken heart. This violent a.s.sault took place when the news of his martyrdom was spread abroad, and the children cried out as panic struck at their hearts; they wailed and shed tears, and sounds of mourning rose from out of that splendid home, but there was none to weep over them, there was none to pity them. Rather was the night of tyranny made to deepen about them, and the fiery h.e.l.l of injustice blazed out hotter than before; nor was there any torment but the evil doers brought it to bear, nor any agony but they inflicted it. And this holy leaf remained, she and her brood, in the grip of their oppressors, facing the malice of the unmindful, with none to be their shield.

And the days pa.s.sed by when tears were her only companions, and her comrades were cries; when she was mated to anguish, and had nothing but grief for a friend. And yet in these sufferings, O my Lord, she did not cease to love Thee; she did not fail Thee, O my Beloved, in these fiery ordeals. Though disasters followed one upon another, though tribulations compa.s.sed her about, she bore them all, she patiently endured them all, to her they were Thy gifts and favors, and in all her ma.s.sive agony-O Thou, Lord of most beauteous names-Thy praise was on her lips.

Then she gave up her homeland, rest, refuge and shelter, and taking her young, like the birds she winged her way to this bright and holy Land-that here she might nest and sing Thy praise as the birds do, and busy herself in Thy love with all her powers, and serve Thee with all her being, all her soul and heart. She was lowly before every handmaid of Thine, humble before every leaf of the garden of Thy Cause, occupied with Thy remembrance, severed from all except Thyself.

And her cries were lifted up at dawntide, and the sweet accents of her chanting would be heard in the night season and at the bright noonday, until she returned unto Thee, and winged her way to Thy Kingdom; went seeking the shelter of Thy Threshold and soared upward to Thine everlasting sky. O my Lord, reward her with the contemplation of Thy beauty, feed her at the table of Thine eternity, give her a home in Thy neighborhood, sustain her in the gardens of Thy holiness as Thou willest and pleasest; bless Thou her lodging, keep her safe in the shade of Thy heavenly Tree; lead her, O Lord, into the pavilions of Thy G.o.dhood, make her to be one of Thy signs, one of Thy lights.

Verily Thou art the Generous, the Bestower, the Forgiver, the All-Merciful.