By “his incessant intrigues” Hájí Mírzá Aqásí withheld “from his king and country the incomparable benefits of a Divine Revelation which alone had the power to deliver the land from the appalling state of degradation into which it had fallen”

How stupendous was his mistake, how grievous his blunder! Little did he realise, at that moment, that by his incessant intrigues he was withholding from his king and country the incomparable benefits of a Divine Revelation which alone had the power to deliver the land from the appalling state of degradation into which it had fallen. By his act that short-sighted minister did not only withhold from Muhammad Sháh the supreme instrument with which he could have rehabilitated a fast-declining empire, but also deprived him of that spiritual Agency which could have enabled him to establish his undisputed ascendancy over the peoples and nations of the earth. By his folly, his extravagance and perfidious counsels, he undermined the foundations of the State, lowered its prestige, sapped the loyalty of his subjects, and plunged them into an abyss of misery. Incapable of being admonished by the example of his predecessors, he contemptuously ignored the demands and interests of the people, pursued, with unremitting zeal, his designs for personal aggrandisement, and by his profligacy and extravagance involved his country in ruinous wars with its neighbours. Sa’d-i-Ma’adh, who was neither of royal blood nor invested with authority, attained, through the uprightness of his conduct and his unsparing devotion to the Cause of Muhammad, so exalted a station that to the present day the chiefs and rulers of Islám have continued to reverence his memory and to praise his virtues; whereas Buzurg-Mihr, the ablest, the wisest and most experienced administrator among the vazírs of Nushiravan-i-’Adil, in spite of his commanding position, eventually was publicly disgraced, was thrown into a pit, and became the object of the contempt and the ridicule of the people. He bewailed his plight and wept so bitterly that he finally lost his sight. Neither the example of the former nor the fate of the latter seemed to have awakened that self-confident minister to the perils of his own position. He persisted in his thoughts until he too forfeited his rank, lost his riches,  and sank into abasement and shame. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers, chapter 12)

Additional reasons that caused Hájí Mírzá Aqásí not to allow the Báb to come to Tihran

According to Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl, Hájí Mírzá Aqásí sought, by his reference to the rebellion of Muhammad Ḥasan Khán, the Salar, in Khurásán, and the revolt of Áqá Khán-i-Isma’ílí, in Kirmán, to induce the sovereign to abandon the project of summoning the Báb to the capital, and to send Him instead to the remote province of Ádhirbayján. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Footnotes to chapter 12 of 'The Dawn-Breakers')

The reason Hájí Mírzá Aqásí chose Mah-Ku as a destination for the Báb

“Nevertheless, on this occasion, his expectations did not materialize. Fearing that the presence of the Báb in Tihrán would occasion new disturbances (there were plenty of them due to his whims and his poor administration), he altered his plans and the escort, charged to take the Báb from Isfáhán to Tihrán, received, when about thirty kilometers from the city, the order to take the prisoner directly to Máh-Kú. This town, in the mind of the prime minister, would offer nothing to the impostor because its inhabitants, out of gratitude for the favors and protection they had received from him, would take steps to suppress any disturbances which might break out.” 

(Journal Asiatique, 1866, tome 7, p. 356; Footnotes to chapter 12 of The Dawn-Breakers provided by Shoghi Effendi)

Hájí Mírzá Aqásí was afraid that “the promise which the Báb had given to the sovereign that He would cure him of his illness” would happen “were he to allow Him to be received in Tihrán”

According to Hájí Mu’inu’s-Saltanih’s narrative (p. 129), the chief motive which actuated Hájí Mírzá Aqásí to urge Muhammad Sháh to order the banishment of the Báb to Ádhirbayján was the fear lest the promise which the Báb had given to the sovereign that He would cure him of his illness, were he to allow Him to be received in Tihrán, should be fulfilled. He felt sure that should the Báb be able to effect such a cure, the Sháh would fall under the influence of his Prisoner and would cease to confer upon his prime minister the honours and benefits which he exclusively enjoyed. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Footnotes to chapter 12 of 'The Dawn-Breakers')

An account that shows the real motive of Hájí Mírzá Aqásí for not allowing the Báb to meet the Sháh

“An anecdote shows the real motive of the prime minister in the suggestions he made to the Sháh concerning the Báb. The Prince Farhád Mírzá, still young, was the pupil of Hájí Mírzá Aqásí. The latter related the following story: 

“When His Majesty, after consulting the prime minister, had written to the Báb to betake himself to Máh-Kú, we went with Hájí Mírzá Aqásí to spend a few days at Yáft-Ábád, in the neighborhood of Tihrán, in the park which he had created there. I was very desirous of questioning my master regarding the recent happenings but I feared to do so publicly. One day, while I was walking with him in the garden and he was in a good humor, I made bold to ask him: "Hájí, why have you sent the Báb to Máh-Kú?” He replied,—“You are still too young to understand certain things, but know that had he come to Ṭihrán. you and I would not be, at this moment, walking free from care in this cool shade.”’” 

- A. L. M. Nicolas  (“Siyyid ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” pp. 243–244; Footnotes to chapter 12 of The Dawn-Breakers provided by Shoghi Effendi)

Some historical information about Hájí Mírzá Aqásí

According to Hidáyat in the “Majma’u’l-Fusaha’,” the name of Hájí Mírzá Aqásí was Abbás-‘Alí. He was the son of Mírzá Muslim, one of the well-known divines of Íraván. His son, Abbás-‘Alí, was a pupil, while in Karbilá, of Fahkru’d-Dín ‘Abdu’s-Samad-i-Hamadání. From Karbilá he proceeded to Hamadán, visited Ádhirbayján, and from there undertook a pilgrimage to Mecca. Returning, in circumstances of extreme poverty, to Ádhirbayján, he succeeded in gradually improving his position, and was made the tutor of the children of Mírzá Músá Khán, the brother of the late Mírzá Abu’l-Qásim, the Qá’im-Maqám. Muhammad Mírzá, to whom he had announced his eventual accession to the throne of Persia, was greatly devoted to him. He eventually was appointed his prime minister, and retired after the death of the monarch to Karbilá, where he died in Ramadán, 1265 A.H. (Notes of Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl.) 

According to Hájí Mu’inu’s-Saltanih’s narrative (p. 220), Hájí Mírzá Aqásí was born in Máh-Kú, where his parents had been residing after their departure from Íraván, in the Caucasus. “Hájí Mírzá Aqásí, native of Íraván, attained unlimited influence over his weak-minded master, formerly his tutor, and professed Súfí doctrine. A quizzical old gentleman, with a long nose, whose countenance betokened the oddity and self-sufficiency of his character.” (C. R. Markham’s “A General Sketch of the History of Persia” p. 473.) 

“As for the Hájí, he was a very special kind of god. It was not absolutely certain that he did himself believe that of which the Sháh was convinced. In any case, he preferred the same general principles as the King and he had taught them to him in good faith. He could nevertheless be a fool; jesting was the policy, the rule of his conduct and of his life. He pretended to take nothing seriously, not even himself. 

“‘I am not a prime minister,’ he often said, especially to those whom he mistreated; ‘I am an old Mullá of humble birth and without merit and, if I find myself in this high office, it is because it is the wish of the King.’ 

“He never referred to his sons without calling them ‘sons of hussies and sons of dogs.’ It is in these terms that he enquired of them or sent them orders by his officers, when they were away. His greatest delight was to pass in review units of cavalry in which he would assemble, in their most gorgeous trappings, all the nomad Khans of Persia. When these warlike tribes were gathered in the valley, the Hájí would appear, dressed like a beggar, with a threadbare and shapeless cap, a sword dangling awkwardly at his side and riding a small donkey. Then he would draw up the horsemen about him, call them fools, make fun of their attire, show their worthlessness, and then send them home with presents; for his sarcasm was always tempered with generosity.” (Comte de Gobineau’s “Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale,” pp. 132–133.) 

(Footnotes to chapter 12 of The Dawn-Breakers provided by Shoghi Effendi)