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Mírzá Muḥammad-i-Vakíl 108 |
One of the captives who
were sent on from Baghdád
to Mosul was Mírzá Muḥammad-i-Vakíl. This righteous
soul was among those who became believers in Baghdád.
It was there he drank from the cup of resignation to
the will of God and sought his rest in the shade of the
celestial Tree. He was a man high-minded and worthy of
trust. He was also an extremely capable and energetic administrator
of important affairs, famous in ‘Iráq for his
wise counsel. After he became a believer, he was distinguished
by the title of Vakíl—deputy. It happened in this
way:
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There was a notable in Baghdád by the name of Ḥájí
Mírzá Hádí, the jeweler. He had a distinguished son, Áqá
Mírzá Músá, who had received from Bahá’u’lláh the title
“Letter of Eternity.” This son had become a staunch believer.
As for his father, the Ḥájí, he was a princely individual
known for his lavish open-handedness not only in
Persia and ‘Iráq but as far away as India. To begin with
he had been a Persian vazír; but when he saw how the
late Fatḥ-‘Alí Sháh eyed worldly riches, particularly the
worldly riches of Persian vazírs, and how he snatched
whatever they had accumulated, and how, not content
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with confiscating their costly vanities and lumber, he punished
and tortured them right and left, calling it a legal
penalty—the Ḥájí dreaded that he too might be catapulted
into the abyss. He abandoned his position as vazír, and his
mansion, and fled to Baghdád. Fatḥ-‘Alí Sháh demanded
that the Governor of Baghdád, Dávúd Páshá, send him
back, but the Páshá was a man of courage and the Ḥájí
was widely known for his able mind. Accordingly, the
Páshá respected and helped him and the Ḥájí set up in
business as a jeweler. He lived with pomp and splendor,
like a great prince. He was one of the most remarkable
men of his time, for within his palace he carried on a life
of gratification and opulence, but he left his pomp, style
and retinue behind, occupied himself with his business
affairs and realized great profits.
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The door of his house was always open. Turks and Persians,
neighbors, strangers from far places, all were his
honored guests. Most of Persia’s great, when they came
on pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines, would stop at his
house, where they would find a banquet laid out, and
every luxury ready to hand. The Ḥájí was, indeed, more
distinguished than Persia’s Grand Vazír; he outshone all
the vazírs for magnificence, and as the days passed by he
dispensed ever more largesse to all who came and went.
He was the pride of the Persians throughout ‘Iráq, the
glory of his fellow nationals. Even on the Turkish vazírs
and ministers and the grandees of Baghdád he bestowed
gifts and favors; and for intelligence and perceptivity he
had no equal.
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Because of the Ḥájí’s advancing years, toward the end
of his days his business affairs declined. Still, he made no
change in his way of life. Exactly as before, he continued
to live with elegance. The prominent would borrow heavily
from him, and never pay him back. One of them, the
mother of Áqá Khán Maḥallátí, borrowed 100,000 túmáns
1
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from him and did not repay one penny, for she
died soon after. The Íl-Khán, ‘Alí-Qulí Khán, was another
debtor; another was Sayfu’d-Dawlih, a son of Fatḥ-‘Alí
Sháh; another, Valíyyih, a daughter of Fatḥ-‘Alí Sháh;
these are only a few examples out of many, from among
the Turkish amírs and the great of Persia and ‘Iráq. All
these debts remained unpaid and irrecoverable. Nevertheless,
that eminent and princely man continued to live
exactly as before.
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Toward the close of his life he conceived a remarkable
love for Bahá’u’lláh, and most humbly, would enter His
presence. I remember him saying one day, to the Blessed
Beauty, that in the year 1250 and something over, Mírzá
Mawkab the famed astrologer visited the Shrines. “One
day he said to me,” the Ḥájí continued, “‘Mírzá, I see a
strange, a unique conjunction in the stars. It has never
occurred before. It proves that a momentous event is about
to take place, and I am certain that this event can be nothing
less than the Advent of the promised Qá’im.’”
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Such was the situation of that illustrious prince when
he passed away, leaving as heirs a son and two daughters.
Thinking him to be as wealthy as ever, the people believed
that his heirs would inherit millions, for everyone knew
his way of life. The Persian diplomatic representative, the
latter-day mujtahids, and the faithless judge all sharpened
their teeth. They started a quarrel among the heirs, so that
in the resulting turmoil they themselves would make substantial
gains. With this in view they did whatever they
could to ruin the heirs, the idea being to strip the inheritors
bare, while the Persian diplomat, the mujtahids,
and the judge would accumulate the spoils.
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Mírzá Músá was a staunch believer; his sisters, however,
111
were from a different mother, and they knew nothing
of the Cause. One day the two sisters, accompanied
by the son-in-law of the late Mírzá Siyyid Riḍá, came to
the house of Bahá’u’lláh. The two sisters entered the family
apartments while the son-in-law settled down in the
public reception rooms. The two girls then said to Bahá’u’lláh:
“The Persian envoy, the judge, and the faithless
mujtahids have destroyed us. Toward the close of his life,
the late Ḥájí trusted no one but Yourself. We ourselves
have been remiss and we should have sought Your protection
before; in any case we come now to implore Your
pardon and help. Our hope is that You will not send us
away despairing, and that through Your favor and support
we shall be saved. Deign, then, to look into this affair,
and to overlook our past mistakes.”
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Replying, the Blessed Beauty declared with finality that
intervention in affairs of this kind was abhorrent to Him.
They kept on pleading with Him, however. They remained
a whole week in the family apartments, clamoring
every morning and evening for favor and grace. “We will
not lift our heads from off this Threshold,” they said. “We
will seek sanctuary here in this house; we will remain
here, by the door of Him Who guards the angels, until
He shall deign to look into our concerns and to save us
from our oppressors.”
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Each day, Bahá’u’lláh would counsel them, saying,
“Matters of this kind are in the hands of the mujtahids
and the government authorities. We do not interfere in
such affairs.” But they kept on with their importunities,
insisting, imploring, begging for help. It happened that the
house of Bahá’u’lláh was bare of worldly goods, and these
ladies, accustomed to the best of everything, could hardly
be satisfied with bread and water. Food had to be procured
for them on credit. Briefly, from every direction,
there were problems.
112
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The next morning, accompanied by Áqáy-i-Kalím, I
went to the house of the late Ḥájí. We called in appraisers
and they collected all the jewels in an upper apartment;
the ledgers and account books having to do with the properties
were placed in a second room; the costly furnishings
and art objects of the house in a third. A number of jewelers
then went to work and set a value on the gems. Other
experts appraised the house, the shops, the gardens, the
baths. As soon as they began their work I came out and
posted someone in each room so that the appraisers could
duly complete their tasks. By this time it was nearly noon.
We then had luncheon, after which the appraisers were
directed to divide everything into two equal parts, so that
lots could be cast; one part would be that of the daughters,
and one that of the son, Mírzá Músá.
2
I then went to bed,
for I was ill. In the afternoon I rose, had tea, and repaired
to the family apartments of the mansion. Here I observed
that the goods had been divided into three parts. I said to
them: “My instructions were that everything should be
divided into two parts. How is it that there are three?” The
heirs and other relatives answered as one: “A third must
certainly be set aside. That is why we have divided everything
into three. One share is for Mírzá Músá, one for the
two daughters, and the third we place at Your disposal;
this third is the portion of the deceased and You are to
expend it in any way You see fit.”
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Greatly disturbed, we told them, “Such a thing is out
of the question. This you must not require, for it cannot
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be complied with. We gave our word to Bahá’u’lláh that
not so much as a copper coin would be accepted.” But
they, too, swore upon oath that it must be as they wished,
that they would agree to nothing else. This servant answered:
“Let us leave this matter for the present. Is there
any further disagreement among you?” “Yes,” said Mírzá
Músá, “what has become of the money that was left?”
Asked the amount, he answered: “Three hundred thousand
túmáns.” The daughters said: “There are two possibilities:
either this money is here in the house, in some
coffer, or buried hereabouts—or else it is in other hands.
We will give over the house and all its contents to Mírzá
Músá. We two will leave the house, with nothing but our
veils. If anything turns up we, as of now, freely accord it
to him. If the money is elsewhere, it has no doubt been
deposited in someone’s care; and that person, well aware
of the breach of trust, will hardly come forward, deal
honorably by us, and return it—rather, he will make off
with it all. Mírzá Músá must establish a satisfactory proof
of what he says; his claim alone is not evidence.” Mírzá
Músá replied: “All the property was in their hands; I
knew nothing of what was going on—I had no hint of it.
They did whatever they pleased.”
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In short, Mírzá Músá had no clear proof of his claim.
He could only ask, “Is such a thing possible, that the late
Ḥájí had no ready funds?” Since the claim was unsupported,
I felt that pursuing it further would lead to a scandal
and produce nothing of value. Accordingly I bade
them: “Cast the lots.” As for the third share, I had them
put it in a separate apartment, close it off, and affix a seal
to the door. The key I brought to Bahá’u’lláh. “The task
is done,” I said. “It was accomplished only through Your
confirmations. Otherwise it could not have been completed
in a year. However, a difficulty has arisen.” I described in
detail the claim of Mírzá Músá and the absence of any
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proof. Then I said, “Mírzá Músá is heavily in debt. Even
should he expend all he has, still he could not pay off his
creditors. It is best, therefore, if You Yourself will accept
the heirs’ request, since they persist in their offer, and bestow
that share on Mírzá Músá. Then he could at least
free himself from his debts and still have something left
over.”
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On the following day the heirs appeared and implored
the Blessed Beauty to have me accept the third share.
“This is out of the question,” He told them. Then they
begged and entreated Him to accept that share Himself
and expend it for charitable purposes of His own choice.
He answered: “There is only one purpose for which I
might expend that sum.” They said, “That is no concern
of ours, even if You have it thrown into the sea. We will
not loose our hold from the hem of Your garment and we
will not cease our importunities until You accede to our
request.” Then He told them, “I have now accepted this
third share; and I have given it to Mírzá Músá, your
brother, but on the condition that, from this day forward,
he will speak no more of any claim against yourselves.”
The heirs were profuse in their thanks. And so this
weighty and difficult case was settled in a single day. It
left no residue of complaints, no uproar, no further quarrels.
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Mírzá Músá did his best to urge some of the jewels on
me, but I refused. Finally he requested that I accept a
single ring. It was a precious ring, set with a costly pomegranate
ruby, a flawless sphere, and unique. All around
the central stone, it was gemmed with diamonds. This too
I refused, although I had no ‘abá to my back and nothing
to wear but a cotton tunic that bespoke the antiquity of
the world, nor did I own a copper coin. As Háfiz would
say: “An empty purse, but in our sleeve a hoard.”
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Grateful for the bounty he had received, Mírzá Músá
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offered Bahá’u’lláh everything he possessed: orchards,
lands, estates—but it was refused. Then he appointed the
‘ulamás of ‘Iráq to intercede for him. They hastened to
Bahá’u’lláh in a body and begged Him to accept the proffered
gifts. He categorically refused. They respectfully told
Him: “Unless You accept, in a very short time Mírzá
Músá will scatter it all to the winds. For his own good, he
should not have access to this wealth.”
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Then in his own hand, Mírzá Músá penned deeds of
gift, made out according to each of the five creeds, in Arabic
and Persian; two copies he made, and chose the ‘ulamás
as his witnesses. Through certain ‘ulamás of Baghdád,
among them the famed scholar ‘Abdu’s-Salám Effendi, and
the erudite and widely known Siyyid Dávúd Effendi, he
presented the deed of gift to Bahá’u’lláh. The Blessed
Beauty told them: “We are appointing Mírzá Músá himself
as Our deputy.”
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After Bahá’u’lláh’s departure for Rumelia, Mírzá Músá,
with a promissory note, purchased from the Government
the tithes of Hindíyyih, a district near Karbilá, and suffered
a terrible loss, close to 100,000 túmáns. The Government
confiscated his properties and sold them for next to
nothing. When told of the matter, Bahá’u’lláh said, “Do
not speak of this, ever again. Do not so much as utter a
word about those estates.” Meanwhile the exile from Adrianople
to ‘Akká took place. Mírzá Muḥammad went to
the Government authorities and said to them: “I am the
deputy (vakíl) of Bahá’u’lláh. These properties do not belong
to Mírzá Músá. How is it that you have taken them
over?” But he had no documents to support him, for the
title deeds were in ‘Akká, and on this account the Government
rejected his claim. However, in the process, he became
known to all as Mírzá Muḥammad the Deputy.
This is how he received the title.
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When we were in Adrianople, Mírzá Músá sent on the
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ruby ring, through Siyyid ‘Alí-Akbar, and the Blessed
Beauty directed us to accept it. After we reached ‘Akká
the believers fell ill, and lay suffering in their beds. I sent
the ring to India, to one of the friends, asking him to sell
it with all possible speed and forward the proceeds to us
in ‘Akká to be expended on the sick. That blessed individual
never sent us a penny. Two years later he wrote to
say that he had sold the ring for twenty-five pounds and
had spent that sum on the pilgrims. This, when the ring
was of such great value. I made no complaint. Rather, I
praised God, thanking Him that out of all that wealth not
a fleck of dust had settled on my robe.
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Mírzá Muḥammad was taken prisoner and sent away
from Baghdád to Mosul, where he fell a prey to fearful
ills. He had been rich; in God’s path he was now poor. He
had enjoyed his ease and comfort; now, for the love of
God, he suffered pain and toil. He lived on for a time in
Mosul, suppliant, resigned, and lowly. And then, severed
from all save God, irresistibly drawn by the gentle gales
of the Lord, he rose out of this dark world to the land of
light. Unto him be salutations and praise. May God shed
down upon him the waters of forgiveness, and open before
his grave the gates of Heaven.
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1. | The Baghdád period in Bahá’í history was from April 8, 1853 to May 3, 1863. According to various estimates the túmán of the day ranged from $1.08 to $1.60. [ Back To Reference] |
2. | This was in accord with the law of Islám. Cf. Qur’án 4:12. [ Back To Reference] |