Hájí Mírzá Aqásí, the Grand Vazír of Muhammad Sháh, though
completely alienated from Bahá’u’lláh’s father, showed his son every mark of
consideration and favour. So great was the esteem which the Ḥájí professed for
Him, that Mírzá Áqá Khán-i-Núrí, the I’timádu’d-Dawlih, who afterwards
succeeded Hájí Mírzá Aqásí, felt envious. He resented the superiority which
Bahá’u’lláh, as a mere youth, was accorded over him. The seeds of jealousy
were, from that time, implanted in his breast. Though still a youth, and while
his father is yet alive, he thought, he is given precedence in the presence of
the Grand Vazír. What will, I wonder, happen to me when this young man shall
have succeeded his father?
After the death of the Vazír, Hájí Mírzá Aqásí continued to
show the utmost consideration to Bahá’u’lláh. He would visit Him in His home, and
would address Him as though He were his own son. The sincerity of his devotion,
however, was very soon put to the test.
(Chapter 5, ‘The Dawn-Breakers’)
