His chronicle was begun in 1888, when he had the personal
assistance of Mírzá Músá, the brother of Bahá’u’lláh. It was finished in about
a year and a half, and parts of the manuscript were reviewed and approved, some
by Bahá’u’lláh, and others by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The complete work carries the history of the Movement up to
the death of Bahá’u’lláh in 1892.
The first half of this narrative, closing with the expulsion
of Bahá’u’lláh from Persia, is contained in the present volume. Its importance
is evident. It will be read less for the few stirring passages of action which
it contains, or even for its many pictures of heroism and unwavering faith,
than for the abiding significance of those events of which it gives so unique a
record.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘Introduction to ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)
