Bahá’u’lláh had already, prior to the declaration of the
Báb, visited the district of Núr, at a time when the celebrated mujtahid Mírzá
Muhammad Taqíy-i-Núrí was at the height of his authority and influence. Such
was the eminence of his position, that they who sat at his feet regarded
themselves each as the authorised exponent of the Faith and Law of Islám. The
mujtahid was addressing a company of over two hundred of such disciples, and
was expatiating upon a dark passage of the reported utterances of the imáms,
when Bahá’u’lláh, followed by a number of His companions, passed by that place,
and paused for a while to listen to his discourse. The mujtahid asked his
disciples to elucidate an abstruse theory relating to the metaphysical aspects
of the Islamic teachings. As they all confessed their inability to explain it,
Bahá’u’lláh was moved to give, in brief but convincing language, a lucid
exposition of that theory. The mujtahid was greatly annoyed at the incompetence
of his disciples. “For years I have been instructing you,” he angrily
exclaimed, “and have patiently striven to instil into your minds the
profoundest truths and the noblest principles of the Faith. And yet you allow,
after all these years of persistent study, this youth, a wearer of the kuláh, [1]
who has had no share in scholarly training, and who is entirely unfamiliar with
your academic learning, to demonstrate his superiority over you!
(Chapter 5,
‘The Dawn-Breakers’)
[1] The kuláh, a lambskin hat, differentiated the clergy
from the laity, and was worn invariably by State officials.
