A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
|
CHAPTER XVIII: EXAMINATION OF THE BÁB AT TABRIZ |
|
THE Báb, in anticipation of the approaching hour
of His affliction, had dispersed His disciples who
had gathered in Chihríq and awaited with calm
resignation the order which was to summon Him
to Tabríz. Those into whose custody He was delivered
thought it inadvisable to pass through the town of Khúy,
which lay on their route to the capital of Ádhirbayján.
They decided to go by way of Urúmíyyih and thus avoid
the demonstrations which the excited populace in Khúy were
likely to make as a protest against the tyranny of the government.
When the Báb arrived at Urúmíyyih, Malik Qásim
Mírzá ceremoniously received Him and accorded Him the
warmest hospitality. In His presence, the prince acted with
extraordinary deference and refused to allow the least disrespect
on the part of those who were allowed to meet Him.
|
|
On a certain Friday when the Báb was going to the
public bath, the prince, who was curious to test the courage
and power of his Guest, ordered his groom to offer Him
one of his wildest horses to ride. Apprehensive lest the
Báb might suffer any harm, the attendant secretly approached
Him and tried to induce Him to refuse to mount a horse that
had already overthrown the bravest and most skilful of
horsemen. “Fear not,” was His reply. “Do as you have
been bidden, and commit Us to the care of the Almighty.”
The inhabitants of Urúmíyyih, who had been informed of
the intention of the prince, had filled the public square,
eager to witness what might befall the Báb. As soon as
the horse was brought to Him, He quietly approached it
and, taking hold of the bridle which the groom had offered
Him, gently caressed it and placed His foot in the stirrup.
The horse stood still and motionless beside Him as if conscious
of the power which was dominating it. The multitude
that watched this most unusual spectacle marvelled at the
310
[Illustration: THE HOUSE OCCUPIED BY THE BÁB IN URÚMÍYYIH. THE BÁLÁ-KHÁNIH (UPPER ROOM) MARKED X IS THE ROOM IN WHICH HE STAYED] 311 behaviour of the animal. To their simple minds this extraordinary incident appeared little short of a miracle. They hastened in their enthusiasm to kiss the stirrups of the Báb, but were prevented by the attendants of the prince, who feared lest so great an onrush of people might harm Him. The prince himself, who had accompanied his Guest on foot as far as the vicinity of the bath, was bidden by Him, ere they reached its entrance, to return to his residence. All the way, the prince’s footmen were endeavouring to restrain the people who, from every side, were pressing forward to catch a glimpse of the Báb. Upon His arrival, He dismissed all those who had accompanied Him except the prince’s private attendant and Siyyid Hasan, who waited in the antechamber and aided Him in undressing. On His return from the bath, He again mounted the same horse and was acclaimed by the same multitude. The prince came on foot to meet Him, and escorted Him back to his residence. |
|
No sooner had the Báb left the bath than the people of
Urúmíyyih rushed to take away, to the last drop, the water
which had served for His ablutions. Great excitement prevailed
on that day. The Báb, as He observed these evidences
of unrestrained enthusiasm, was reminded of the well-known
tradition, commonly ascribed to the Imám ‘Alí, the Commander
of the Faithful, which specifically referred to Ádhirbayján.
The lake of Urúmíyyih, that same tradition asserts
in its concluding passages, will boil up, will overrun its banks,
and inundate the town. When He was subsequently informed
how the overwhelming majority of the people had spontaneously
arisen to proclaim their undivided allegiance to His
Cause, He calmly observed: “Think men that when they
say, ‘We believe,’ they shall be let alone and not be put to
the proof?”
1
This comment was fully justified by the attitude
which that same people assumed towards Him when
the news of the dreadful treatment meted out to Him in
Tabríz reached them. Hardly a handful among those who
had so ostentatiously professed their faith in Him persevered,
in the hour of trial, in their allegiance to His Cause. Foremost
among these was Mullá Imám-Vardí, the tenacity of
whose faith no one except Mullá Jalíl-i-Urúmí, a native of
312
Urúmíyyih and one of the Letters of the Living, could surpass.
Adversity served but to intensify the ardour of his
devotion and to reinforce his belief in the righteousness of
the Cause he had embraced. He subsequently attained the
presence of Bahá’u’lláh, the truth of whose Mission he readily
recognised, and for the advancement of which he strove with
the same fevered earnestness that had characterised his earlier
strivings for the promotion of the Cause of the Báb. In
recognition of his long-standing services, he, and also his
family, were honoured with numerous Tablets from the pen
of Bahá’u’lláh in which He extolled his achievements and
invoked the blessings of the Almighty upon his efforts. With
unflinching determination, he continued to labour for the
furtherance of the Faith until past eighty years of age, when
he departed this life.
|
|
The tales of the signs and wonders which the Báb’s
unnumbered admirers had witnessed were soon transmitted
from mouth to mouth, and gave rise to a wave of unprecedented
enthusiasm which spread with bewildering rapidity
over the entire country. It swept over Tihrán and roused
the ecclesiastical dignitaries of the realm to fresh exertions
against Him. They trembled at the progress of a Movement
which, if allowed to run its course, they felt certain would
soon engulf the institutions upon which their authority, nay
their very existence, depended. They saw on every side
increasing evidences of a faith and devotion such as they
themselves had been powerless to evoke, of a loyalty which
struck at the very root of the fabric which their own hands
had reared and which all the resources at their command
had as yet failed to undermine.
|
|
Tabríz, in particular, was in the throes of the wildcat
excitement. The news of the impending arrival of the Báb
had inflamed the imagination of its inhabitants and had
kindled the fiercest animosity in the hearts of the ecclesiastical
leaders of Ádhirbayján. These alone, of all the people
of Tabríz, abstained from sharing in the demonstrations with
which a grateful population hailed the return of the Báb to
their city. Such was the fervour of popular enthusiasm which
that news had evoked that the authorities decided to house
the Báb in a place outside the gates of the city. Only those
313
whom He desired to meet were allowed the privilege of approaching
Him. All others were strictly refused admittance.
|
|
On the second night after His arrival, the Báb summoned
‘Azím to His presence and, in the course of His conversation
with him, asserted emphatically His claim to be none other
than the promised Qá’im. He found him, however, reluctant
to acknowledge this claim unreservedly. Perceiving his inner
agitation, He said: “To-morrow I shall, in the presence of
the Valí-‘Ahd,
2
and in the midst of the assembled ‘ulamás
and notables of the city, proclaim My Mission. Whoso may
feel inclined to require from Me any other testimony besides
the verses which I have revealed, let him seek satisfaction
from the Qá’im of his idle fancy.”
|
|
I have heard ‘Azím testify to the following: “That night
I was in a state of great perturbation. I remained awake
and restless until the hour of sunrise. As soon as I had
offered my morning prayer, however, I realised that a great
change had come over me. A new door seemed to have been
unlocked and set open before my face. The conviction soon
dawned upon me that if I were loyal to my faith in
Muhammad, the Apostle of God, I must needs also unreservedly
acknowledge the claims advanced by the Báb, and
must submit without fear or hesitation to whatever He
might choose to decree. This conclusion allayed the agitation
of my heart. I hastened to the Báb and begged His
forgiveness. ‘It is a further evidence of the greatness of
this Cause,’ He remarked, ‘that even ‘Azím
3
should have felt
so exceedingly troubled and shaken by its power and the
immensity of its claim.’ ‘Rest assured,’ He added, ‘the grace
of the Almighty shall enable you to fortify the faint in heart
and to make firm the step of the waverer. So great shall be
your faith that should the enemy mutilate and tear your
body to pieces, in the hope of lessening by one jot or tittle
the ardour of your love, he would fail to attain his object.
You will, no doubt, in the days to come, meet face to face
Him who is the Lord of all the worlds, and will partake of
the joy of His presence.’ These words dispelled the gloom
of my apprehensions. From that day onward, no trace of
either fear or agitation ever again cast its shadow upon me.”
314
|
|
The detention of the Báb outside the gate of Tabríz
failed to allay the excitement which reigned in the city.
Every measure of precaution, every restriction, which the
authorities had imposed, served only to aggravate a situation
which had already become ominous and menacing.
Hájí Mírzá Aqásí issued his orders for the immediate convocation
of the ecclesiastical dignitaries of Tabríz in the
official residence of the governor of Ádhirbayján for the
express purpose of arraigning the Báb and of seeking the
most effective means for the extinction of His influence.
Hájí Mullá Mahmúd, entitled the Nizámu’l-‘Ulama’, who
was the tutor of Násiri’d-Dín Mírzá the Valí-‘Ahd,
4
Mullá
Muhammad-i-Mamaqání, Mírzá ‘Alí-Asghar the Shaykhu’l-Islám,
and a number of the most distinguished shaykhís and
doctors of divinity were among those who had convened for
that purpose.
5
Násiri’d-Dín Mírzá himself attended that
315
gathering. The presidency belonged to the Nizámu’l-‘Ulama’,
who, as soon as the proceedings had begun, in the name of
the assembly commissioned an officer of the army to introduce
the Báb into their presence. A multitude of people
had meanwhile besieged the entrance of the hall and were
impatiently awaiting the time when they could catch a
glimpse of His face. They were pressing forward in such
large numbers that a passage had to be forced for Him
through the crowd that had collected before the gate.
|
|
Upon His arrival, the Báb observed that every seat in
that hall was occupied except one which had been reserved
for the Valí-‘Ahd. He greeted the assembly and, without
the slightest hesitation, proceeded to occupy that vacant
seat. The majesty of His
gait, the expression of overpowering
confidence which
sat upon His brow—above
all, the spirit of power which
shone from His whole being,
appeared to have for a moment
crushed the soul out
of the body of those whom
He had greeted. A deep, a
mysterious silence, suddenly
fell upon them. Not one
soul in that distinguished
assembly dared breathe a
single word. At last the
stillness which brooded over
them was broken by the
Nizámu’l-‘Ulama’. “Whom
do you claim to be,” he
asked the Báb, “and what
is the message which you
have brought?” “I am,”
thrice exclaimed the Báb,
“I am, I am, the promised
One! I am the One whose
name you have for a thousand
years invoked, at whose
316
mention you have risen,
whose advent you have
longed to witness, and the
hour of whose Revelation
you have prayed God to
hasten. Verily I say, it is
incumbent upon the peoples
of both the East and the
West to obey My word and
to pledge allegiance to My
person.” No one ventured
to reply except Mullá
Muhammad-i-Mamaqání, a
leader of the Shaykhí community
who had been himself
a disciple of Siyyid Kázim.
It was he on whose unfaithfulness
and insincerity the
siyyid had tearfully remarked,
and the perversity
of whose nature he had deplored.
Shaykh Hasan-i-Zunúzí, who had heard Siyyid
Kázim make these criticisms, recounted to me the following:
“I was greatly surprised at the tone of his reference to
Mullá Muhammad, and was curious to know what his
future behaviour would be so as to merit such expressions
of pity and condemnation from his master. Not until I
discovered his attitude that day towards the Báb did I
realise the extent of his arrogance and blindness. I was
standing together with other people outside the hall, and
was able to follow the conversation of those who were within.
Mullá Muhammad was seated on the left hand of the Valí-‘Ahd.
The Báb was occupying a seat between them. Immediately
after He had declared Himself to be the promised
One, a feeling of awe seized those who were present. They
had dropped their heads in silent confusion. The pallor
of their faces betrayed the agitation of their hearts. Mullá
Muhammad, that one-eyed and white-bearded renegade, insolently
reprimanded Him, saying: ‘You wretched and
immature lad of Shíráz! You have already convulsed and
317
subverted ‘Iráq; do you now wish to arouse a like turmoil in
Ádhirbayján?’ ‘Your Honour,’ replied the Báb, ‘I have not
come hither of My own accord. I have been summoned to
this place.’ ‘Hold your peace,’ furiously retorted Mullá
Muhammad, ‘you perverse and contemptible follower of
Satan!’ ‘Your Honour,’ the Báb again answered, ‘I maintain
what I have already declared.’
|
|
“The Nizámu’l-‘Ulama’ uthought it best to challenge His
Mission openly. ‘The claim which you have advanced,’ he
told the Báb, ‘is a stupendous one; it must needs be supported
by the most incontrovertible evidence.’ ‘The mightiest,
the most convincing evidence of the truth of the Mission
of the Prophet of God,’ the Báb replied, ‘is admittedly His
own Word. He Himself testifies to this truth: “Is it not
enough for them that We have sent down to Thee the Book?”
6
The power to produce such evidence has been given to Me
by God. Within the space of two days and two nights, I
declare Myself able to reveal verses of such number as will
equal the whole of the Qur’án.’ ‘Describe orally, if you
speak the truth,’ the Nizámu’l-‘Ulama’ requested, ‘the proceedings
of this gathering in language that will resemble the
phraseology of the verses of the Qur’án so that the Valí-‘Ahd
and the assembled divines may bear witness to the truth of
your claim.’ The Báb readily acceded to his wish. No
sooner had He uttered the words, ‘In the name of God, the
Merciful, the Compassionate, praise be to Him who has
318
created the heaven and the earth,’ than Mullá Muhammad-i-Mamaqání
interrupted and called His attention to all infraction
of the rules of grammar. ‘This self-appointed Qá’im of
ours,’ he cried in haughty scorn, ‘has at the very start of his
address betrayed his ignorance of the most rudimentary rules
of grammar!’ ‘The Qur’án itself,’ pleaded the Báb, ‘does in
no wise accord with the rules and conventions current amongst
men. The Word of God can never be subject to the limitations
319
of His creatures. Nay, the rules and canons which
men have adopted have been deduced from the text of the
Word of God and are based upon it. These men have, in
the very texts of that holy Book, discovered no less than
three hundred instances of grammatical error, such as the
one you now criticise. Inasmuch as it was the Word of
God, they had no other alternative except to resign themselves
to His will.’
7
|
|
“He then repeated the same-words He had uttered, to
which Mullá Muhammad raised again the same objection.
Shortly after, another person ventured to put this question
to the Báb: ‘To which tense does the word Ishtartanna
belong?’ In answer to him, the Báb quoted this verse of
the Qur’án: ‘Far be the glory of thy Lord, the Lord of all
greatness, from what they impute to Him, and peace be
upon His Apostles! And praise be to God, the Lord of the
worlds.’ Immediately after, He arose and left the gathering.”
8
|
|
The Nizámu’l-‘Ulama’ was sorely displeased at the manner
in which the meeting had been conducted. “How shameful,”
he was heard to exclaim later, “is the discourtesy of
the people of Tabríz! What could possibly be the connection
between these idle remarks and the consideration of such
weighty, such momentous issues?” A few others were likewise
320
inclined to denounce the disgraceful treatment meted
out to the Báb on that occasion. Mullá Muhammad-i-Mamaqání,
however, persisted in his vehement denunciations.
“I warn you,” he loudly protested, “if you allow this youth
to pursue unhampered the course of his activities, the day
will come when the entire population of Tabríz will have
flocked to his standard. Should he, when that day arrives,
signify his wish that all the ‘ulamás of Tabríz, that the
Valí-‘Ahd himself, should be expelled from the city and that
he should alone assume the reins of civil and ecclesiastical
authority, no one of you, who now view with apathy his
cause, will feel able to oppose him effectually. The entire
city, nay the whole province of Ádhirbayján, will on that
day unanimously support him.”
|
|
The persistent denunciations of that evil plotter excited
the apprehensions of the authorities of Tabríz. Those who
held the reins of power in their grasp took counsel together
as to the most effective measures to be taken to resist the
progress of His Faith. Some urged that in view of the marked
disrespect which the Báb had shown to the Valí-‘Ahd in
occupying his seat without his leave, and because of His
failure to obtain the consent of the chairman of that gathering
when He arose to depart, He should be summoned again
to a like gathering and should receive from the hands of
its members a humiliating punishment. Násiri’d-Dín Mírzá,
however, refused to entertain this proposal. Finally it was
decided that the Báb should be brought to the home of
Mírzá ‘Alí-Asghar, who was both the Shaykhu’l-Islám of
Tabríz and a siyyid, and should receive at the hands of the
governor’s bodyguard the chastisement which He deserved.
The guard refused to accede to this request, preferring not
to interfere in a matter which they regarded as the sole
concern of the ‘ulamás of the city. The Shaykhu’l-Islám
himself decided to inflict the punishment. He summoned
the Báb to his home, and with his hand eleven times applied
the rods to His feet.
9
321
|
|
That same year this insolent tyrant was struck with
paralysis, and, after enduring the most excruciating pain,
died a miserable death. His treacherous, avaricious, and
self-seeking character was universally recognised by the
people of Tabríz. Notoriously cruel and sordid, he was
feared and despised by the people who groaned under his
yoke and prayed for deliverance. The abject circumstances
of his death reminded both his friends and his opponents
of the punishment which must necessarily await those whom
neither the fear of God nor the voice of conscience can deter
from behaving with such perfidious cruelty towards their
fellow men. After his death the functions of the Shaykhu’l-Islám
were abolished in Tabríz. Such was his infamy that
the very name of the institution with which he had been
associated came to be abhorred by the people.
|
|
And yet his behaviour, base and treacherous as it was,
was only one instance of the villainous conduct which characterised
the attitude of the ecclesiastical leaders among his
countrymen towards the Báb. How far and how grievously
have these erred from the path of fairness and justice! How
contemptuously have they cast away the counsels of the
Prophet of God and the admonitions of the imáms of the
Faith! Have not these explicitly declared that “should a
322
Youth from Baní-Háshim
10
be made manifest and summon
the people to a new Book and to new laws, all should hasten
to Him and embrace His Cause”? Although these same
imáms have clearly stated that “most of His enemies shall
be the ‘ulamás,” yet these blind and ignoble people have
chosen to follow the example of their leaders and to regard
their conduct as the pattern of righteousness and justice.
They walk in their footsteps, implicitly obey their orders,
and deem themselves the “people of salvation,” the “chosen
of God,” and the “custodians of His Truth.”
|
|
From Tabríz the Báb was taken back to Chihríq, where
He was again entrusted to the keeping of Yahyá Khán.
His persecutors had fondly imagined that by summoning
Him to their presence they would, through threats and intimidation,
induce Him to abandon His Mission. That gathering
enabled the Báb to set forth emphatically, in the presence
of the most illustrious dignitaries assembled in the capital
of Ádhirbayján, the distinguishing features of His claim,
and to confute, in brief and convincing language, the arguments
of His adversaries. The news of that momentous
declaration, fraught with such far-reaching consequences,
spread rapidly throughout Persia and stirred again more
deeply the feelings of the disciples of the Báb. It reanimated
their zeal, reinforced their position, and was a signal for
the tremendous happenings that were soon to convulse that
land.
323
|
|
No sooner had the Báb returned to Chihríq than He wrote
in bold and moving language a denunciation of the character
and action of Hájí Mírzá Aqásí. In the opening passages
of that epistle, which was given the name of the Khutbiy-i-Qahríyyih,
11
the Author addresses the Grand Vazír of Muhammad
Sháh in these terms: “O thou who hast disbelieved
in God and hast turned thy face away from His signs!”
That lengthy epistle was forwarded to Hujjat, who, in those
days, was confined in Tihrán. He was instructed to deliver
it in person to Hájí Mírzá Aqásí.
|
|
I was privileged to hear the following account from the
lips of Bahá’u’lláh while in the prison-city of ‘Akká: “Mullá
Muhammad-‘Alíy-i-Zanjání, soon after he had delivered that
Tablet to Hájí Mírzá Aqásí, came and visited me. I was
in the company of Mírzá Masíh-i-Núrí and a number of
other believers when he arrived. He recounted the circumstances
attending the delivery of the Tablet, and recited
before us the entire text, which was about three pages in
length, and which he had committed to memory.” The tone
of Bahá’u’lláh’s reference to Hujjat indicated how greatly
pleased He was with the purity and nobleness of his life,
and how much He admired his undaunted courage, his indomitable
will, his unworldliness, and his unwavering constancy.
324
|
| 1. |
Qur’án, 29:2.
[ Back To Reference] |
| 2. |
The heir to the throne.
[ Back To Reference] |
| 3. |
Literally meaning “great.”
[ Back To Reference] |
| 4. |
Born July 17, 1831; began to reign September, 1848, died 1896. “This Prince left Tihrán to return to his government the twenty-third of January, 1848. His father having died the fourth of September, he returned to assume the title of Sháh on the eighteenth of September of the same year.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,” p. 243, note 195.)
[ Back To Reference] |
| 5. |
“A Traveller’s Narrative” (p. 19) mentions in addition the name Mírzá Ahmad, the Imám-Jum’ih.
[ Back To Reference] |
| 6. |
Qur’án 29:51.
[ Back To Reference] |
| 7. |
“If anyone should raise an objection to the grammar or syntax of these verses, this objection is vain, because the rules of grammar should be taken from the verses and not the verses written in compliance with the rules of grammar. There is no doubt that the Master of these verses denied these rules, denied that he, himself, was ever aware of them.” (“Le Bayán Persan,” vol. 1, pp. 45–46.)
[ Back To Reference] |
| 8. |
“And as for the Muslim accounts, those which we have before us do not bear the stamp of truth: they seem to be forgeries. Knowing what we do of the Báb it is probable that he had the best of the argument and that the doctors and functionaries who attended the meeting were unwilling to put upon record their own fiasco.” (Dr. T. K. Cheyne’s “The Reconciliation of Race and Religions,” p. 62.) “It is difficult to decide to what measure of credence the above narrative [the Muhammadan version of the examination of the Báb at Tabríz] is entitled Very probably such questions as are there recorded—and assuredly some of them are sufficiently frivolous and even indecent—were asked; but, even though the Báb may have been unable to answer them, it is far more likely that, as stated in the ‘Taríkh-i-Jadíd’ he preserved a dignified silence than that he gave utterance to the absurdities attributed to him by the Muhammadan writers. These, indeed, spoil their own case; for desiring to prove that the Báb was not endowed with superhuman wisdom, they represent him as displaying an ignorance which we can scarcely credit. That the whole examination was a farce throughout, that the sentence was a foregone conclusion, that no serious attempt to apprehend the nature and evidence of the Báb’s claim and doctrine was made that from first to last a systematic course of browbeating, irony, and mockery was pursued appear to me to be facts proved no less by the Muhammadan than by the Bábí accounts of these inquisitorial proceedings” (“A Traveller’s Narrative,” Note M, p. 290.)
[ Back To Reference] |
| 9. |
The following is Dr. Cormick’s account of his personal impressions of Mírzá ‘Alí-Muhammad the Báb, extracted from letters written by him to the Rev. Benjamin Labaree, D.D. (Dr. Cormick was an English physician long resident in Tabríz, where he was highly respected. The document was communicated to Professor E. G. Browne of Cambridge University, by Mr. W. A. Shedd, who wrote concerning it, in a letter dated March 1, 1911: “Dear Professor Browne, In going over papers of my father (the late Rev. J. H. Shedd, D.D., of the American Mission at Urúmíyyih, Persia, of the same mission as Dr. Benjamin Labaree), I found something which I think may be of value from a historical point of view. I have no books here, nor are any accessible here, to be certain whether this bit of testimony has been used or not. I think probably not, and I am sure that I can do nothing better than send them to you, with the wish that you may use them as you think best. Of the authenticity of the papers there can be no doubt.”) “You ask me for some particulars of my interview with the founder of the sect known as Bábís. Nothing of any importance transpired in this interview, as the Báb was aware of my having been sent with two other Persian doctors to see whether he was of sane mind or merely a madman, to decide the question whether to put him to death or not. With this knowledge he was loth to answer any questions put to him. To all enquiries he merely regarded us with a mild look, chanting in a low melodious voice some hymns, I suppose. Two other Siyyids, his intimate friends, were also present, who subsequently were put to death with him, besides a couple of government officials. He only once deigned to answer me, on my saying that I was not a Musulman and was willing to know something about his religion, as I might perhaps be inclined to adopt it. He regarded me very intently on my saying this, and replied that he had no doubt of all Europeans coming over to his religion. Our report to the Sháh at that time was of a nature to spare his life. He was put to death some time after by the order of the Amír-Nizám Mírzá Taqí Khán. On our report he merely got the bastinado, in which operation a farrásh, whether intentionally or not, struck him across the face with the stick destined for his feet, which produced a great wound and swelling of the face. On being asked whether a Persian surgeon should be brought to treat him, he expressed a desire that I should be sent for, and I accordingly treated him for a few days, but in the interviews consequent on this I could never get him to have a confidential chat with me, as some government people were always present, he being a prisoner. He was very thankful for my attentions to him. He was a very mild and delicate-looking man, rather small in stature and very fair for a Persian, with a melodious soft voice, which struck me much. Being a Siyyid, he was dressed in the habit of that sect, as were also his two companions. In fact his whole look and deportment went far to dispose on in his favour. Of his doctrine I heard nothing from his own lips, although the idea was that there existed in his religion a certain approach to Christianity. He was seen by some Armenian carpenters, who were sent to make some repairs to his prison, reading the Bible, and he took no pains to conceal it, but on the contrary told them of it. Most assuredly the Mussulman fanaticism does not exist in his religion, as applied to Christians, nor is there that restraint of females that now exists.” In connection with this document, Professor Browne writes as follows: “The first of these two documents is very valuable as giving the personal impression produced by the Báb, during the period of his imprisonment and suffering, on a cultivated and impartial Western mind. Very few Western Christians can have had the opportunity of seeing, still less of conversing with, the Báb, and I do not know of any other who has recorded his impressions.” (E. G. Browne’s Materials for the Study of the Bábí Religion,” pp. 260–62, 264.)
[ |
| 10. |
Háshim was the great-grandfather of Muhammad.
[ Back To Reference] |
| 11. |
Literally “Sermon of Wrath.”
[ Back To Reference] |
Print Selection