He [Siyyid Kázim] addressed an epistle to Shaykh Ahmad,
wherein he set forth at length the calumnies that had been uttered against him,
and acquainted him with the character and extent of their opposition. In it he
ventured to enquire as to how long he was destined to submit to the unrelenting
fanaticism of a stubborn and ignorant people, and prayed to be enlightened
regarding the time when the promised One was to be made manifest. To this
Shaykh Ahmad replied: “Be assured of the grace of your God. Be not grieved at
their doings. The mystery of this Cause must needs be made manifest, and the
secret of this Message must needs be divulged.
I can say no more, I can appoint no time. His Cause will be made known
after Hin. [1] ‘Ask me not of things which, if revealed unto you, might only
pain you.’” How great, how very great, is His Cause, that even to so exalted a personage as Siyyid Kázim words such as these should have been addressed! This answer of Shaykh Aḥmad imparted solace and strength to the heart of Siyyid Kázim, who, with redoubled determination, continued to withstand the onslaught of an envious and insidious enemy.
[1] According to the Abjad notation, the numerical value of
the word “Hin” is 68. It was in the year 1268 A.H. that Bahá’u’lláh, while confined
in the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán received the first intimations of His Divine
Mission. Of this He hinted in the odes which He revealed in that year.
(Footnotes to Chapter 1 of ‘The Dawn-Breakers’; provided by Shoghi Effendi)
