Memorials of the Faithful Part 9

He spent some time here, in the friends' company, composing verses that sang the praises of Baha'u'llah. Later he was given leave to return home, and went back to live for a while in Ka_sh_an. But again, he was plagued by yearning love, and could bear the separation no more. He returned, therefore, to Ba_gh_dad, bringing with him his respected sister, the third consort(55) .

Here he remained, under the bountiful protection of Baha'u'llah, until the convoy left 'Iraq for Constantinople, at which time Mirza Mihdi was directed to remain behind and guard the Holy House. Restless, consumed with longing, he stayed on. When the friends were banished from Ba_gh_dad to Mosul, he was among the prisoners, a victim along with the others. With the greatest hardship, he got to Mosul, and here fresh calamities awaited him; he was ill almost all the time, he was an outcast, and dest.i.tute.

Still he endured it for a considerable period, was patient, retained his dignity, and continually offered thanks. Finally he could bear the absence of Baha'u'llah no longer. He sought permission, was granted leave to come, and set out for the Most Great Prison.

Because the way was long and hard, and he suffered cruelly on the journey, when he finally reached the Akka prison he was almost helpless, and worn to the bone. It was during the time when the Blessed Beauty was imprisoned within the citadel, at the center of the barracks. Despite the terrible hardships, Mirza Mihdi spent some days here, in great joy. To him, the calamities were favors, the tribulations were Divine Providence, the chastis.e.m.e.nt abounding grace; for he was enduring all this on the pathway of G.o.d, and seeking to win His good pleasure. His illness worsened; from day to day he failed; then at the last, under sheltering grace, he took his flight to the inexhaustible mercy of the Lord.

This n.o.ble personage had been honored among men, but for G.o.d's love he lost both name and fame. He bore manifold misfortunes with never a complaint. He was content with G.o.d's decrees, and walked the ways of resignation. The glance of Baha'u'llah's favor was upon him; he was close to the Divine Threshold. Thus, from the beginning of his life till the end, he remained in one and the same inner state: immersed in an ocean of submission and consent. "O my Lord, take me, take me!" he would cry, until at last he soared away to the world that no man sees.

May G.o.d cause him to inhale the sweet scent of holiness in the highest Paradise, and refresh him with the crystalline wine cup, tempered at the camphor fountain.(56) Unto him be salutations and praise. His fragrant tomb is in Akka.

MISHKiN-QALAM

Among the exiles, neighbors, and prisoners there was also a second Mir Imad,(57) the eminent calligrapher, Mi_sh_kin-Qalam.(58) He wielded a musk-black pen, and his brows shone with faith. He was among the most noted of mystics, and had a witty and subtle mind. The fame of this spiritual wayfarer reached out to every land. He was the leading calligrapher of Persia and well known to all the great; he enjoyed a special position among the court ministers of ?ihran, and with them he was solidly established.(59) He was famed throughout Asia Minor; his pen was the wonder of all calligraphers, for he was adept at every calligraphic style. He was besides, for human virtues, a bright star.

This highly accomplished man first heard of the Cause of G.o.d in I?fahan, and the result was that he set out to find Baha'u'llah. He crossed the great distances, measured out the miles, climbing mountains, pa.s.sing over deserts and over the sea, until at last he came to Adrianople. Here he reached the heights of faith and a.s.surance; here he drank the wine of cert.i.tude. He responded to the summons of G.o.d, he attained the presence of Baha'u'llah, he ascended to that apogee where he was received and accepted. By now he was reeling to and fro like a drunkard in his love for G.o.d, and because of his violent desire and yearning, his mind seemed to wander. He would be raised up, and then cast down again; he was as one distracted. He spent some time under the sheltering grace of Baha'u'llah, and every day new blessings were showered upon him. Meanwhile he produced his splendid calligraphs; he would write out the Most Great Name, Ya Baha'u'l-Abha, O Thou Glory of the All-Glorious, with marvelous skill, in many different forms, and would send them everywhere.(60)

He was then directed to go on a journey to Constantinople, and set out with Jinab-i-Sayyah. When he reached that Great City, the leading Persians and Turks received him with every honor at first, and they were captivated by his jet black, calligraphic art. He, however, began boldly and eloquently to teach the Faith. The Persian amba.s.sador lurked in ambush; betaking himself to the Sul?an's vazirs he slandered Mi_sh_kin-Qalam.

"This man is an agitator," the amba.s.sador told them, "sent here by Baha'u'llah to stir up trouble and make mischief in this Great City. He has already won over a large company, and he intends to subdue still more.

These Baha'is turned Persia upside down; now they have started in on the capital of Turkey. The Persian Government put 20,000 of them to the sword, hoping by this tactic to quench the fires of sedition. You should awaken to the danger; soon this perverse thing will blaze up here as well. It will consume the harvest of your life; it will burn up the whole world.

Then you can do nothing, for it will be too late."

Actually that mild and submissive man, in that throne city of Asia Minor, was occupied solely with his calligraphy and his worship of G.o.d. He was striving to bring about not sedition but fellowship and peace. He was seeking to reconcile the followers of different faiths, not to drive them still further apart. He was of service to strangers and was helping to educate the native people. He was a refuge to the hapless and a horn of plenty to the poor. He invited all comers to the oneness of humankind; he shunned hostility and malice.

The Persian amba.s.sador, however, wielded enormous power, and he had maintained close ties with the ministers for a very long time. He prevailed on a number of persons to insinuate themselves into various gatherings and there to make every kind of false charge against the believers. Urged on by the oppressors, spies began to surround Mi_sh_kin-Qalam. Then, as instructed by the amba.s.sador, they carried reports to the Prime Minister, stating that the individual in question was stirring up mischief day and night, that he was a trouble maker, a rebel and a criminal. The result was, they jailed him and they sent him away to Gallipoli, where he joined our own company of victims. They despatched him to Cyprus and ourselves to the Akka prison. On the island of Cyprus, Jinab-i-Mi_sh_kin was held prisoner in the citadel at Famagusta, and in this city he remained, a captive, from the year 85 till 94.

When Cyprus pa.s.sed out of Turkish hands, Mi_sh_kin-Qalam was freed and betook himself to his Well-Beloved in the city of Akka, and here he lived encompa.s.sed by the grace of Baha'u'llah, producing his marvelous calligraphs and sending them about. He was at all times joyous of spirit, ashine with the love of G.o.d, like a candle burning its life away, and he was a consolation to all the believers.

After the ascension of Baha'u'llah, Mi_sh_kin-Qalam remained loyal, solidly established in the Covenant. He stood before the violators like a brandished sword. He would never go half way with them; he feared no one but G.o.d; not for a moment did he falter, nor ever fail in service.

Following the ascension he made a journey to India, where he a.s.sociated with the lovers of truth. He spent some time there, making fresh efforts every day. When I learned that he was getting helpless, I sent for him at once and he came back to this Most Great Prison, to the joy of the believers, who felt blessed to have him here again. He was at all times my close companion. He had amazing verve, intense love. He was a compendium of perfections: believing, confident, serene, detached from the world, a peerless companion, a wit-and his character like a garden in full bloom.

For the love of G.o.d, he left all good things behind; he closed his eyes to success, he wanted neither comfort nor rest, he sought no wealth, he wished only to be free from the defilement of the world. He had no ties to this life, but spent his days and nights supplicating and communing with G.o.d. He was always smiling, effervescing; he was spirit personified, love embodied. For sincerity and loyalty he had no match, nor for patience and inner calm. He was selflessness itself, living on the breaths of the spirit.

If he had not been in love with the Blessed Beauty, if he had not set his heart on the Realm of Glory, every worldly pleasure could have been his.

Wherever he went, his many calligraphic styles were a substantial capital, and his great accomplishment brought him attention and respect from rich and poor alike. But he was hopelessly enamored of man's one true Love, and thus he was free of all those other bonds, and could float and soar in the spirit's endless sky.

Finally, when I was absent, he left this darksome, narrow world and hastened away to the land of lights. There, in the haven of G.o.d's boundless mercy, he found infinite rewards. Unto him be praise and salutations, and the Supreme Companion's tender grace.

USTaD 'ALi-AKBAR-I-NAJJaR

Ustad 'Ali-Akbar, the Cabinet-Maker,(61) was numbered among the just, a prince of the righteous. He was one of Persia's earliest believers and a leading member of that company. From the beginning of the Cause a trusted confidant, he loosed his tongue to proclaim the Faith. He informed himself as to its proofs, and went deep into its Scriptures. He was also a gifted poet, writing odes in eulogy of Baha'u'llah.

Exceptionally skilled in his craft, Ustad produced highly ingenious work, fashioning carpentry that, for intricacy and precision, resembled mosaic inlay. He was expert in mathematics as well, solving and explaining difficult problems.

From Yazd, this revered man traveled to 'Iraq, where he achieved the honor of entering the presence of Baha'u'llah, and received abundant grace. The Blessed Beauty showered favors upon Ustad 'Ali, who entered His presence almost every day. He was one of those who were exiled from Ba_gh_dad to Mosul, and he endured severe hardships there. He remained a long time in Mosul, in extremely straitened circ.u.mstances but resigned to the will of G.o.d, always in prayer and supplication, and with a thankful tongue.

Finally he came from Mosul to the Holy Shrine and here by the tomb of Baha'u'llah he would meditate and pray. In the dark of the night, restless and uneasy, he would lament and cry out; when he was supplicating G.o.d his heart burned within him; his eyes would shed their tears, and he would lift up his voice and chant. He was completely cut off from this dust heap, this mortal world. He shunned it, he asked but one thing-to soar away; and he hoped for the promised recompense to come. He could not bear for the Light of the World to have disappeared, and what he sought was the paradise of reunion with Him, and what his eyes hungered to behold was the glory of the Abha Realm. At last his prayer was answered and he rose upward into the world of G.o.d, to the gathering-place of the splendors of the Lord of Lords.

Upon him be G.o.d's benediction and praise, and may G.o.d bring him into the abode of peace, as He has written in His book: "For them is an abode of peace with their Lord."(62) "And to those who serve Him, is G.o.d full of kindness."(63)

SHAYKH 'ALi-AKBAR-I-MAZGaNi

This chief of free souls, of wanderers for the love of G.o.d, was only an infant when, in Mazgan, he was suckled at the breast of grace. He was a child of the eminent scholar, _Sh_ay_kh_-i-Mazgani; his n.o.ble father was one of the leading citizens of Qamsar, near Ka_sh_an, and for piety, holiness, and the fear of G.o.d he had no peer. This father embodied all the qualities that are worthy of praise; moreover his ways were pleasing, his disposition good, he was an excellent companion, and for all these things he was well known. When he threw off restraint and openly declared himself a believer, the faithless, whether friend or stranger, turned their backs on him and began to plot his death. But he continued to further the Cause, to alert the people's hearts, and to welcome the newcomers as generously as ever. Thus in Ka_sh_an the fame of his strong faith reached as high as the Milky Way. Then the pitiless aggressors rose up, plundered his possessions and killed him.

'Ali-Akbar, the son of him who had laid down his life in the pathway of G.o.d, could live in that place no longer. Had he remained, he too, like his father, would have been put to the sword. He pa.s.sed some time in 'Iraq, and received the honor of being in the presence of Baha'u'llah. Then he went back to Persia, but again he longed to look upon Baha'u'llah, and with his wife he set out over the deserts and mountains, sometimes riding, sometimes on foot, measuring off the miles, pa.s.sing from one sh.o.r.e to the other, reaching the Holy Place at last and in the shade of the Divine Lote-Tree finding safety and peace.

When the beauty of the Desired One had vanished from this world, 'Ali-Akbar remained loyal to the Covenant and prospered under the grace of G.o.d. By disposition and because of the intense love in his heart, he yearned to write poetry, to fashion odes and _gh_azals, but he lacked both meter and rhyme:

I planned a poem, but my Beloved told me, "Plan only this, that thine eyes should behold Me."

With rapturous longing, his heart desired the realms of his compa.s.sionate Lord; consumed by burning love, he left this world at last, and pitched his tent in the world above. May G.o.d send down upon his grave, from the Kingdom of His forgiveness, a heavy rain(64) of blessings, bestow a great victory upon him, and grant him mercies, pressed down and running over, in the retreats of Heaven.

MiRZa MU?AMMAD, THE SERVANT AT THE TRAVELERS' HOSPICE

This youth of G.o.d was from I?fahan, and from an early age was known to its leading divines for his excellent mind. He was of gentle birth, his family was known and respected, and he was an accomplished scholar. He had profited from philosophy and history alike, from sciences and arts, but he thirsted after the secret of reality, and longed for knowledge of G.o.d. His feverish thirst was not allayed by the arts and sciences, however limpid those waters. He kept on seeking, seeking, carrying on debates in gatherings of learned men until at last he discovered the meaning of his longing dream, and the enigma, the inviolable secret, lay open before him.

Suddenly he caught the scent of fresh flowers from the gardens of the splendor of G.o.d, and his heart was ashine with a ray from the Sun of Truth. Whereas before, he was like a fish taken from the water, now he had come to the wellspring of eternal life; before, he was a questing moth; now he had found the candle flame. A true seeker after truth, he was instantly revived by the supreme Glad Tidings; his heart's eye was brightened by the new dawn of guidance. So blinding was the fire of Divine love that he turned his face away from his life, its peace, its blessings, and set out for the Most Great Prison.

In I?fahan he had enjoyed every comfort, and the world was good to him.

Now his yearning for Baha'u'llah freed him from all other bonds. He pa.s.sed over the long miles, suffered intense hardships, exchanged a palace for a prison, and in the Akka fortress a.s.sisted the believers and attended upon and served Baha'u'llah. He who had been waited upon, now waited on others; he who had been the master was now the servant, he who had once been a leader was now a captive. He had no rest, no leisure, day or night. To the travelers he was a trusted refuge; to the settlers, a companion without peer. He served beyond his strength, for he was filled with love of the friends. The travelers were devoted to him, and the settlers grateful. And because he was continuously busy, he kept silent at all times.

Then the Supreme Affliction came upon us and the absence of Baha'u'llah was not to be endured. Mirza Mu?ammad could not stay quiet, day or night.

He wasted away, like a candle burning down; from the fiery anguish, his liver and heart were inflamed, and his body could bear no more. He wept and supplicated day and night, yearning to soar away to that undiscovered country. "Lord, free me, free me from this absence," he would cry, "let me drink of reunion's cup, find me a lodging in the shelter of Thy mercy, Lord of Lords!"

At last he quit this dust heap, the earth, and took his flight to the world that has no end. May it do him good, that cup br.i.m.m.i.n.g with the grace of G.o.d, may he eat with healthy relish of that food which gives life to heart and soul. May G.o.d lead him to that happy journey's end and grant him an abundant share in the gifts which shall then be bestowed.(65)

MiRZa MU?AMMAD-I-VAKiL