circa 1930s: Views of the Village of Kulayn

 

(The Dawn-Breakers)

The Báb remained in the village of Kulayn for twenty days

According to “A Traveller’s Narrative” (p. 14), the Báb remained in the village of Kulayn for a period of twenty days. 

(Footnotes to chapter 12 provided by Shoghi Effendi)

The incident when the guards thought the Báb had escaped

I have heard Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím recount the following incident:

“My companions and I were fast asleep in the vicinity of the tent of the Báb when the trampling of horsemen suddenly awakened us. We were soon informed that the tent of the Báb was vacant and that those who had gone out in search of Him had failed to find Him. We heard Muhammad Big [the leader of the mounted escort] remonstrate with the guards. ‘Why feel disturbed?’ he pleaded. ‘Are not His magnanimity and nobleness of soul sufficiently established in your eyes to convince you that He will never, for the sake of His own safety, consent to involve others in embarrassment? He, no doubt, must have retired, in the silence of this moonlit night, to a place where He can seek undisturbed communion with God. He will unquestionably return to His tent. He will never desert us.’

In his eagerness to reassure his colleagues, Muhammad Big set out on foot along the road leading to Tihrán. I, too, with my companions, followed him. Shortly after, the rest of the guards were seen, each on horseback, marching behind us. We had covered about a maydán [approximately less than 2 miles] when, by the dim light of the early dawn, we discerned in the distance the lonely figure of the Báb. He was coming towards us from the direction of Tihrán. ‘Did you believe Me to have escaped?’ were His words to Muhammad Big as He approached him. ‘Far be it from me,’ was the instant reply as he flung himself at the feet of the Báb, ‘to entertain such thoughts.’ Muhammad Big was too much awed by the serene majesty which that radiant face revealed that morning to venture any further remark. A look of confidence had settled upon His countenance, His words were invested with such transcendent power, that a feeling of profound reverence wrapped our very souls. No one dared to question Him as to the cause of so remarkable a change in His speech and demeanour. Nor did He Himself choose to allay our curiosity and wonder.” 

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

The effects of Bahá’u’lláh’s message: “It dispelled the gloom that had settled upon His heart, and imbued His soul with the certainty of victory”

That message, received at an hour of uncertainty and suspense, imparted solace and strength to the Báb. It dispelled the gloom that had settled upon His heart, and imbued His soul with the certainty of victory. The sadness which had long lingered upon His face, and which the perils of His captivity had served to aggravate, visibly diminished. He no longer shed those tears of anguish which had streamed so profusely from His eyes ever since the days of His arrest and departure from Shíráz. The cry “Beloved, My Well-Beloved,” which in His bitter grief and loneliness He was wont to utter, gave way to expressions of thanksgiving and praise, of hope and triumph. The exultation which glowed upon His face never forsook Him until the day when the news of the great disaster which befell the heroes of Shaykh Tabarsí again beclouded the radiance of His countenance and dimmed the joy of His heart. 

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

April 1, 1847: The Báb received “a sealed letter together with certain gifts” from Bahá’u’lláh

On the fourteenth day of the month of Rabí’u’th-Thání, [April 1, 1847] the twelfth day after Naw-Rúz, Mullá Mihdíy-i-Khú’í and Mullá Muḥammad-Mihdíy-i-Kandí arrived from Tihrán. The latter, who had been closely associated with Bahá’u’lláh in Tihrán, had been commissioned by Him to present to the Báb a sealed letter together with certain gifts which, as soon as they were delivered into His hands, provoked in His soul sentiments of unusual delight. His face glowed with joy as He overwhelmed the bearer with marks of His gratitude and favour. 

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

March 31, 1847: The Báb was joined by four of His followers

He was joined two days after by Siyyid Husayn-i-Yazdí, Siyyid Hasan, his brother; Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím, and Shaykh Hasan-i-Zunúzí, all of whom were invited to lodge in the immediate surroundings of His tent. 

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

March 29, 1847: A special tent was pitched for the Báb at the village of Kulayn

Muhammad Big was commanded, in view of the unsuitability of the houses in that village, to pitch a special tent for the Báb and keep the escort in its neighbourhood pending the receipt of further instructions. On the morning of the ninth day after Naw-Rúz, the eleventh day of the month of Rabí’u’th-Thání, in the year 1263 A.H., [March 29, 1847] in the immediate vicinity of that village, which belonged to Hájí Mírzá Aqásí, a tent which had served for his own use whenever he visited that place was erected for the Báb, on the slopes of a hill pleasantly situated amid wide stretches of orchards and smiling meadows. The peacefulness of that spot, the luxuriance of its vegetation, and the unceasing murmur of its streams greatly pleased the Báb. 

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

The Báb and His mounted escort reached the fortress of Kinár-Gird, about 28 miles south of the capital

circa 1935 Ruins of the Fortress of Kinar-Gird

After a march of two days from that village, they arrived, on the afternoon of the eighth day after Naw-Rúz, at the fortress of Kinár-Gird, [1] which lies six farsangs to the south of Tihrán. They were planning to reach the capital on the ensuing day, and had decided to spend the night in the neighbourhood of that fortress, when a messenger unexpectedly arrived from Tihrán, bearing a written order from Hájí Mírzá Aqásí to Muhammad Big. That message instructed him to proceed immediately with the Báb to the village of Kulayn, where Shaykh-i-Kulayní, Muḥammad-ibn-i-Ya’qub, the author of the Usul-i-Káfí, who was born in that place, had been laid to rest with his father, and whose shrines are greatly honoured by the people of that neighbourhood. 

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

[1] A station on the old Isfáhán road, distant about 28 miles from Tihrán.

The Báb received a warm and spontaneous reception at the village of Qumrud

circa 1935 Village of Qumrud

Proceeding by a route that skirted the northern end of the city of Qum, they halted at the village of Qumrud, which was owned by a relative of Muḥammad Big, and the inhabitants of which all belonged to the sect of the ‘Alíyu’lláhí. At the invitation of the headman of the village, the Báb tarried one night in that place and was touched by the warmth and spontaneity of the reception which those simple folk had accorded Him. Ere He resumed His journey, He invoked the blessings of the Almighty in their behalf and cheered their hearts with assurances of His appreciation and love. 

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

An example of how the Báb’s “alluring charm, combined with a compelling dignity and unfailing benevolence… completely disarmed and transformed His guards” as they approached the city of Qum on their way to Tihran

His [the Báb’s] alluring charm, combined with a compelling dignity and unfailing benevolence, had, by this time, [when they left Kashan for Tihran]completely disarmed and transformed His guards. They seemed to have abdicated all their rights and duties and to have resigned themselves to His will and pleasure. In their eagerness to serve and please Him, they, one day, remarked: “We are strictly forbidden by the government to allow You to enter the city of Qum [1], and have been ordered to proceed by an unfrequented route directly to Tihrán. We have been particularly directed to keep away from the Haram-i-Ma’súmih, [2] that inviolable sanctuary under whose shelter the most notorious criminals are immune from arrest. We are ready, however, to ignore utterly for Your sake whatever instructions we have received. If it be Your wish, we shall unhesitatingly conduct You through the streets of Qum and enable You to visit its holy shrine.” “‘The heart of the true believer is the throne of God,’” observed the Báb. “He who is the ark of salvation and the Almighty’s impregnable stronghold is now journeying with you through this wilderness. I prefer the way of the country rather than to enter this unholy city. The immaculate one whose remains are interred within this shrine, her brother, and her illustrious ancestors no doubt bewail the plight of this wicked people. With their lips they pay homage to her; by their acts they heap dishonour upon her name. Outwardly they serve and reverence her shrine; inwardly they disgrace her dignity.”

Such lofty sentiments had instilled such confidence in the hearts of those who accompanied the Báb that had He at any time chosen to turn away suddenly and leave them, no one among His guards would have felt in the least perturbed or would have attempted to pursue Him. 

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

[1] The site of the second most sacred shrine in Persia, and the burial-place of many of her kings, among them Fatḥ-‘Alí and Muhammad Sháh

[2] At Qum are deposited the remains of his [Imám Riḍá’s] sister, Fátimiy-i-Ma’súmih, i.e. the Immaculate, who, according to one account, lived and died here, having fled from Baghdád to escape the persecution of the Khalífs.

circa 1935: Views of Qum showing the Haram-i-Ma'sumih

 

Attended by His escort, the Báb proceeded in the direction of Qum.[1]

[1] The site of the second most sacred shrine in Persia, and the burial-place of many of her kings, among them Fath-‘Alí and Muhammad Sháh.

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

Hájí Mírzá Jání’s lavish hospitality – even to the members of the Báb’s escort

Among those who were privileged to meet the Báb in the home of Hájí Mírzá Jání was a man named Mihdí, who was destined at a later time, in the year 1268 A.H., [1851-2] to suffer martyrdom in Tihrán. He and a few others were, during those three days, affectionately entertained by Hájí Mírzá Jání, whose lavish hospitality earned him the praise and commendation of his Master. To even the members of the Báb’s escort he extended the same loving-kindness, and, by his liberality and charm of manner, won their lasting gratitude. On the morning of the second day after Naw-Rúz, he, mindful of his pledge, delivered the Prisoner into their hands, and, with a heart overflowing with grief, bade Him a last and touching farewell. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers, chapter 11)

The effects of a prayer by the Báb revealed for Hájí Mírzá Jání while He stayed at his house in Káshán

In the concluding passages of the Tablet which He [the Báb] was addressing to Hájí Mírzá Jání, He prayed in his behalf, supplicated the Almighty to illumine his heart with the light of Divine knowledge, and to unloose his tongue for the service and proclamation of His Cause. Unschooled and unlettered though he was, Hájí Mírzá Jání was able, by virtue of this prayer, to impress with his speech even the most accomplished divine of Káshán. He became endowed with such power that he was able to silence every idle pretender who dared to challenge the precepts of his Faith. Even the haughty and imperious Mullá Ja’far-i-Naráqí was unable, despite his consummate eloquence, to resist the force of his argument, and was compelled to acknowledge outwardly the merits of the Cause of his adversary, though at heart he refused to believe in its truth. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers, chapter 11)

The sad story of an individual noted for his learning attained the presence of the Báb “heard His voice, watched His movements, looked upon the expression of His face, and noted the words which streamed unceasingly from His lips, and yet failed to be moved by their majesty and power”

On that same night, [the night when the Báb arrived in Káshán] Siyyid Husayn-i-Yazdí, who had previously, in accordance with the directions of the Báb, come to Káshán, was invited to the house of Hájí Mírzá Jání and introduced into the presence of his Master. The Báb was dictating to him a Tablet in honour of His host, when a friend of the latter, a certain Siyyid ‘Abdu’l-Báqí, who was noted in Káshán for his learning, arrived. The Báb invited him to enter, permitted him to hear the verses which He was revealing, but refused to disclose His identity….

Siyyid ‘Abdu’l-Báqí sat and listened to the Báb. He heard His voice, watched His movements, looked upon the expression of His face, and noted the words which streamed unceasingly from His lips, and yet failed to be moved by their majesty and power. Wrapt in the veils of his own idle fancy and learning, he was powerless to appreciate the meaning of the utterances of the Báb. He did not even trouble to enquire the name or the character of the Guest into whose presence he had been introduced. Unmoved by the things he had heard and seen, he retired from that presence, unaware of the unique opportunity which, through his apathy, he had irretrievably lost. A few days later, when informed of the name of the Youth whom he had treated with such careless indifference, he was filled with chagrin and remorse. It was too late, however, for him to seek His presence and atone for his conduct, for the Báb had already departed from Káshán. In his grief, he renounced the society of his fellowmen, and led, to the end of his days, a life of unrelieved seclusion. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers, chapter 11)

Views of the House of Hájí Mírzá Jání in Káshán showing the room where the Báb stayed

 

(The Dawn-Breakers)

Gate of Attár in Káshán, circa 1930

A believer’s dream about hosting the Báb when He was expected to arrive, at Káshán in the company of a mounted escort

View of Kashan c. 1930

On the eve of the Báb’s arrival at Káshán, Hájí Mírzá Jání, surnamed Parpa, a noted resident of that city, dreamed that he was standing at a late hour in the afternoon at the gate of Attár, one of the gates of the city, when his eyes suddenly beheld the Báb on horseback wearing, instead of His customary turban, the kuláh  usually worn by the merchants of Persia. Before Him, as well as behind Him, marched a number of horsemen into whose custody He seemed to have been delivered. As they approached the gate, the Báb saluted him and said: “Hájí Mírzá Jání, We are to be your Guest for three nights. Prepare yourself to receive Us.”

When he awoke, the vividness of his dream convinced him of the reality of his vision. This unexpected apparition constituted in his eyes a providential warning which he felt it his duty to heed and observe. He accordingly set out to prepare his house for the reception of the Visitor, and to provide whatever seemed necessary for His comfort. As soon as he had completed the preliminary arrangements for the banquet which he had decided to offer the Báb that night, Hájí Mírzá Jání proceeded to the gate of Attár, and there waited for the signs of the Báb’s expected arrival. At the appointed hour, as he was scanning the horizon, he descried in the distance what seemed to him a company of horsemen approaching the gate of the city. As he hastened to meet them, his eyes recognised the Báb surrounded by His escort dressed in the same clothes and wearing the same expression as he had seen the night before in his dream. Hájí Mírzá Jání joyously approached Him and bent to kiss His stirrups. The Báb prevented him, saying: “We are to be your Guest for three nights. To-morrow is the day of Naw-Rúz; we shall celebrate it together in your home.” Muhammad Big, who had been riding close to the Báb, thought Him to be an intimate acquaintance of Hájí Mírzá Jání. Turning to him, he said: “I am ready to abide by whatever is the desire of the Siyyid-i-Báb. I would ask you, however, to obtain the approval of my colleague who shares with me the charge of conducting the Siyyid-i-Báb to Tihrán.” Hájí Mírzá Jání submitted his request and was met with a flat refusal. “I decline your suggestion,” he was told. “I have been most emphatically instructed not to allow this youth to enter any city until his arrival at the capital. I have been particularly commanded to spend the night outside the gate of the city, to break my march at the hour of sunset, and to resume it the next day at the hour of dawn. I cannot depart from the orders that have been given to me.” This gave rise to a heated altercation which was eventually settled in favour of Muhammad Big, who succeeded in inducing his opponent to deliver the Báb into the custody of Hájí Mírzá Jání with the express understanding that on the third morning he should safely deliver back his Guest into their hands. Hájí Mírzá Jání, who had intended to invite to his home the entire escort of the Báb, was advised by Him to abandon this intention. “No one but you,” He urged, “should accompany Me to your home.” Hájí Mírzá Jání requested to be allowed to defray the expense of the horsemen’s three days’ stay in Káshán. “It is unnecessary,” observed the Báb; “but for My will, nothing whatever could have induced them to deliver Me into your hands. All things lie prisoned within the grasp of His might. Nothing is impossible to Him. He removes every difficulty and surmounts every obstacle.” The horsemen were lodged in a caravanserai in the immediate neighbourhood of the gate of the city. Muhammad Big, following the instructions of the Báb, accompanied Him until they drew near the house of Hájí Mírzá Jání. Having ascertained the actual situation of the house, he returned and joined his companions.

The night the Báb arrived at Káshán coincided with the eve preceding the third Naw-Rúz, after the declaration of His Mission, which fell on the second day of the month of Rabí’u’th-Thání, in the year 1263 A.H. [1847] 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers, chapter 11)

The Báb was escorted to the capital

Gurgín Khán went immediately to the Báb and delivered into His hands the written mandate of the sovereign. He then summoned Muhammad Big, conveyed to him the behests of Muhammad Sháh, and ordered him to undertake immediate preparations for the journey. “Beware,” he warned him, “lest anyone discover his identity or suspect the nature of your mission. No one but you, not even the members of his escort, should be allowed to recognise him. Should anyone question you concerning him, say that he is a merchant whom we have been instructed to conduct to the capital and of whose identity we are completely ignorant.” Soon after midnight, the Báb, in accordance with those instructions, set out from the city and proceeded in the direction of Tihrán. 

- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, chapter 10)

The Shah “issued an imperial mandate summoning the Báb to the capital”

The Sháh, who was firmly convinced of the loyalty of the Mu’tamíd, realised, when he received this message, that the late governor’s sincere intention had been to await a favourable occasion when he could arrange a meeting between him and the Báb, and that his sudden death had interfered with the execution of that plan. He issued an imperial mandate summoning the Báb to the capital. In his written message to Gurgín Khán, the Sháh commanded him to send the Báb in disguise, in the company of a mounted escort headed by Muhammad Big-i-Chaparchí, of the sect of the ‘Alíyu’lláhí, to Tihrán; to exercise the utmost consideration towards Him in the course of His journey, and strictly to maintain the secrecy of His departure. 

- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, chapter 10)

“The Sháh, whimsical and fickle, forgetting that he had, a short time before, ordered the murder of the Reformer, felt the desire of seeing, at last, the man who aroused such universal interest; he therefore gave the order to Gurgín Khán to send the Báb to him in Tihrán.” 

- A. L. M. Nicolas (“Siyyid ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” p. 242.; Footnotes to chapter 10 provided by Shoghi Effendi)

Manuchihr Khán’s successor, Gurgín Khán, informed the Shah about the Báb being at the private residence of Manuchihr Khán

A few days after the death of the Mu’tamíd, a certain person who was aware of the design which he had conceived and carried out for the protection of the Báb, informed his successor, Gurgín Khán, of the actual residence of the Báb in the Imárat-i-Khurshíd, and described to him the honours which his predecessor had lavished upon his Guest in the privacy of his own home. On the receipt of this unexpected intelligence, Gurgín Khán despatched his messenger to Ṭihrán and instructed him to deliver in person the following message to Muhammad Sháh: “Four months ago it was generally believed in Isfáhán that, in pursuance of your Majesty’s imperial summons, the Mu’tamídu’d-Dawlih, my predecessor, had sent the Siyyid-i-Báb to the seat of your Majesty’s government. It has now been disclosed that this same siyyid is actually occupying the Imárat-i-Khurshíd, the private residence of the Mu’tamídu’d-Dawlih. It has been ascertained that my predecessor himself extended the hospitality of his home to the Siyyid-i-Báb and sedulously guarded that secret from both the people and the officials of this city. Whatever it pleases your Majesty to decree, I unhesitatingly pledge myself to perform.” 

- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, chapter 10)

The Báb instructed believers to leave Isfahán

As the life of the Mu’tamíd was approaching its end, the Báb summoned to His presence Siyyid Husayn-i-Yazdí and Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím, acquainted them with the nature of His prediction to His host, and bade them tell the believers who had gathered in the city, to scatter throughout Káshán, Qum, and Tihrán, and await whatever Providence, in His wisdom, might choose to decree. 

- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, chapter 10)

February - March 1847: Manuchihr Khán passed away; his “fortune appraised at forty million francs”

On the fourth of March, 1847, Monsieur de Bonniere wrote to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of France: ‘Mu’tamídu’d-Dawlih, governor of Isfáhán, has just died leaving a fortune appraised at forty million francs.’ 

- A. L. M. Nicolas  (“Siyyid ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” p. 242, note 192. He died, according to E. G. Browne (‘A Traveller’s Narrative,’ Note L, p. 227), in the month of Rabí’u’l-Avval of the year 1263 A.H. (Feb.-March, 1847 A.D.; Footnotes to chapter 10 provided by Shoghi Effendi)

The Governor of Isfahán, Manuchihr Khán’s, last days of life and his intimate conversation with the Báb

As the days of his earthly life were drawing to a close, the Mu’tamíd increasingly sought the presence of the Báb, and, in his hours of intimate fellowship with Him, obtained a deeper realisation of the spirit which animated His Faith. “As the hour of my departure approaches,” he one day told the Báb, “I feel an undefinable joy pervading my soul. But I am apprehensive for You, I tremble at the thought of being compelled to leave You to the mercy of so ruthless a successor as Gurgín Khán. He will, no doubt, discover Your presence in this home, and will, I fear, grievously ill-treat You.” “Fear not,” remonstrated the Báb; “I have committed Myself into the hands of God. My trust is in Him. Such is the power which He has bestowed upon Me that if it be My wish, I can convert these very stones into gems of inestimable value, and can instil into the heart of the most wicked criminal the loftiest conceptions of uprightness and duty. Of My own will have I chosen to be afflicted by My enemies, ‘that God might accomplish the thing destined to be done.’” As those precious hours flew by, a sense of overpowering devotion, of increased consciousness of nearness to God, filled the heart of the Mu’tamíd. In his eyes the world’s pomp and pageantry melted away into insignificance when brought face to face with the eternal realities enshrined in the Revelation of the Báb. His vision of its glories, its infinite potentialities, its incalculable blessings grew in vividness as he increasingly realised the vanity of earthly ambition and the limitations of human endeavour. He continued to ponder these thoughts in his heart, until the time when a slight attack of fever, which lasted but one night, suddenly terminated his life. Serene and confident, he winged his flight to the Great Beyond. 

- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, chapter 10)

The governor’s successor, his nephew, “the rapacious Gurgín Khán”,”contemptuously ignored his wishes”

The Mu’tamíd greatly rejoiced at these words. Resigned to the will of God, he prepared himself for the departure which the words of the Báb had so clearly foreshadowed. He wrote his testament, settled his private affairs, and bequeathed whatever he possessed to the Báb. Immediately after his death, however, his nephew, the rapacious Gurgín Khán, discovered and destroyed his will, seized his property, and contemptuously ignored his wishes. 

- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, chapter 10)