“Mullá Sálih had among his children a daughter, Zarrín-Táj
(Crown of Gold), who had attracted attention from early childhood. Instead of
taking part in games and amusements like her companions, she passed hours at a
time listening to her parents discuss religious matters. Her keen intelligence
quickly perceived the fallacies of Islámic science without succumbing to it and
soon she was able to discuss points which were most obscure and confusing. The
Hadíths (traditions) held no secrets for her. Her reputation soon became widely
known in the city and her fellow-citizens considered her a prodigy, and justly
so. A prodigy in science, also a prodigy of beauty, for the child, as she grew
to girlhood, possessed a face which shone with such radiant beauty that they
named her ‘Qurratu’l-’Ayn’, which M. de Gobineau translates as ‘The Consolation
of the Eyes.’ Her brother ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb-i-Qazvíní who inherited the learning
and reputation of his father, himself relates, in spite of the fact that he
remained, at least in appearance, a Muhammadan: ‘None of us, her brothers or
her cousins dared to speak in her presence, her learning so intimidated us, and
if we ventured to express some hypothesis upon a disputed point of doctrine,
she demonstrated in such a clear, precise and conclusive manner that we were
going astray, that we instantly withdrew confused.’
“She was present at her father’s and uncle’s classes, in the
same room with two or three hundred students, but always concealed behind a
curtain, and more than once she refuted the explanation that these two elderly
men offered upon such and such a question. Her reputation became universal
throughout all Persia, and the most haughty ‘Ulamás consented to adopt some of
her hypotheses and opinions. This fact is all the more extraordinary because
the Shí’ite Muḥammadan religion relegates the woman almost to the level of the
animal. They consider that she has no soul and exists merely for reproduction.
“She was, as we shall see later, of an ardent temperament,
of a precise and clear intelligence, of a marvellous presence of mind and
indomitable courage. All of these qualities combined were to bring her to take
interest in the Báb whom she heard speak immediately after his return to
Qazvín. That which she learned interested her so vitally that she began
corresponding with the Reformer and soon, convinced by him, she made known her
conversion urbi et orbi. The scandal was very great and the clergy were
shocked. In vain, her husband, her father and her brothers pleaded with her to
renounce this dangerous madness, but she remained inflexible and proclaimed
resolutely her faith.” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb,”
pp. 273–274.)
(Footnotes to Chapter 3 provided by Shoghi Effendi)
