September 27, 2016

Mirza Músá – Bahá’u’lláh’s faithful brother

Surnamed Aqay-i-Kalim, he was a younger brother of Bahá’u’lláh who remained devoted and faithful to Baha'u'llah and served Him to the end of his life. After the Martyrdom of the Báb, Mirza Músá, at Bahá’u’lláh's instructions, hid the casket containing the remains of the Báb in the Shrine of Imam-Zadih Hasan in Tihran. Mirza Músá accompanied Bahá’u’lláh into exile and often served as His deputy in meeting with government officials and religious leaders, until 'Abdu'l-Baha took on this function. Shoghi Effendi designated him one of the Nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. Mirza Músá died in 'Akka in 1887. 
- Wendy Momen  ('A Basic Baha'i Dicionary') 

September 24, 2016

Bahá’u’lláh’s amazing success in the district of Nur alarmed His uncle

To inquiries from Nuri notables about affairs of the court, Bahá’u’lláh turned disinterested answers, instead converting the questions into opportunities to present the Bábi Message in terms befitting each inquirer, while persuasively pointing to the immeasurable benefits which the new Faith would bestow upon them and upon Iran. That a young nobleman should be deeply concerned with religious matters was startling enough, but how surprising that no mulla was able successfully to challenge His theses, so ably did He expound the ideas of the new Cause. The Nuris were also compelled to reluctant admiration at his zeal but also at his self-effacement despite the depth of the thoughts presented with such verve.

Among the first converts of His salutary expositions of the Cause of the Báb were Mirza Muhammad Hasan, His half-brother, and also Muhammad-Taqi Khan, a close relative. But His uncle Mirza 'Azizu’llah fiercely opposed these heretical new views; traveling to the village of Sa'adat-Abad, he personally appealed for immediate intervention against his Nephew by Mulla Muhammad, the chief divine of the Nur district, saying:

'O vicegerent of the Prophet of God! Behold what has befallen the Faith. A youth, a layman, attired in the garb of nobility, has come to Nur, has invaded the strongholds of orthodoxy, and disrupted the holy Faith of Islam ... Whoever attains his presence falls immediately under his spell, and is enthralled by the power of his utterance. I know not whether he is a sorcerer, or whether he mixes with his tea some mysterious substance that makes every man who drinks the tea fall a victim to its charm.' (The Dawn-Breakers)

September 20, 2016

Some of the places associated with the early years of Bahá’u’lláh's life

Map of northern Iran, showing Mazindaran, Tihran, and some of the places associated with the early years of Bahá’u’lláh's life. 
(Balyuzi, 'Bahá’u’lláh, The King of Glory')

September 18, 2016

Bahá’u’lláh’s first journey for the Báb

The first journey Bahá’u’lláh undertook for the purpose of promoting the Revelation announced by the Báb was to His ancestral home in Núr, in the province of Mázindarán. He set out for the village of Tákúr, the personal estate of His father, where He owned a vast mansion, royally furnished and superbly situated… 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…

When, in the year ’60, Bahá’u’lláh arrived in Núr, He discovered that the celebrated mujtahid who on His previous visit had wielded such immense power had passed away. The vast number of his devotees had shrunk into a mere handful of dejected disciples who, under the leadership of his successor, Mullá Muammad, were striving to uphold the traditions of their departed leader. The enthusiasm which greeted Bahá’u’lláh’s arrival sharply contrasted with the gloom that had settled upon the remnants of that once flourishing community. A large number of the officials and notables in that neighbourhood called upon Him and, with every mark of affection and respect, accorded Him a befitting welcome. They were eager, in view of the social position He occupied, to learn from Him all the news regarding the life of the Sháh, the activities of his ministers, and the affairs of his government. To their enquiries Bahá’u’lláh replied with extreme indifference, and seemed to reveal very little interest or concern. With persuasive eloquence He pleaded the cause of the new Revelation, and directed their attention to the immeasurable benefits which it was destined to confer upon their country.  Those who heard Him marvelled at the keen interest which a man of His position and age evinced for truths which primarily concerned the divines and theologians of Islám. They felt powerless to challenge the soundness of His arguments or to belittle the Cause which He so ably expounded. They admired the loftiness of His enthusiasm and the profundity of His thoughts, and were deeply impressed by His detachment and self-effacement. 
- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

September 15, 2016

Bahá’u’lláh acknowledges that the Báb is “the Primal Point, through Whom the point of creation hath been made to revolve in both the visible and invisible worlds…”

Do Thou bless, O Lord my God, the Primal Point, through Whom the point of creation hath been made to revolve in both the visible and invisible worlds, Whom Thou hast designated as the One whereunto should return whatsoever must return unto Thee, and as the Revealer of whatsoever may be manifested by Thee. Do Thou also bless such of His Letters as have not turned away from Thee, who have been firmly established in Thy love, and clung steadfastly to Thy good-pleasure. Bless Thou, likewise, as long as Thine own Self endureth and Thine own Essence doth last, them that have suffered martyrdom in Thy path. Thou art, verily, the Ever-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Moreover, I beseech Thee, O my God, by Him Whom Thou hast announced unto us in all Thy Tablets and Thy Books and Thy Scrolls and Thy Scriptures, through Whom the kingdom of names hath been convulsed, and all that lay hid in the breasts of them that have followed their evil and corrupt desires hath been revealed, -- I beseech Thee to strengthen us in our love for Him, to make us steadfast in His Cause, to help us befriend His loved ones and challenge His enemies. Shield us, then, O my God, from the mischief wrought by them that have denied Thy presence, and turned away from Thy face, and resolved to put an end to the life of Him Who is the Manifestation of Thine own Self.
- Bahá’u’lláh  (‘Prayers and Meditations by Bahá’u’lláh’)

September 10, 2016

Northern Persia: A Summer Interlude Place for Bahá'u'lláh's Family

Murgh-Mahallih, the 'abode of the birds' in Shimran district, place of a summer interlude of the young family of Bahá'u'lláh.

September 5, 2016

Bahá'u'lláh arose to promote the Cause of the Báb

He [Baha’u’llah] was in the heyday of His life when the call from Shiraz reached Him. At the age of twenty-seven, He arose to consecrate His life to its service, fearlessly identified Himself with its teachings, and distinguished Himself by the exemplary part He played in its diffusion. No effort was too great for the energy with which He was endowed, and no sacrifice too woeful for the devotion with which His faith had inspired Him. He flung aside every consideration of fame, of wealth, and position, for the prosecution of the task He had set His heart to achieve. Neither the taunts of His friends nor the threats of His enemies could induce Him to cease championing a Cause which they alike regarded as that of an obscure and proscribed sect. 
(‘The Dawn-Breakers’)