Following the conference of Badasht, Bahá’u’lláh, Táhirih,
and Quddús decided to go to Mázindarán. Quddús and Táhirih seated themselves in
the same howdah which had been prepared
for their journey by Bahá’u’lláh. On their way, Táhirih each day composed an
ode which she instructed those who accompanied her to chant as they followed
her howdah. Mountain and valley re-echoed the shouts with which that
enthusiastic band, as they journeyed to Mázindarán, hailed the extinction of
the old, and the birth of the new Day.
In the course of their journey to Mázindarán, a few of the
followers of the Báb sought to abuse the liberty which the repudiation of the
laws and sanctions of an outgrown Faith had conferred upon them. They viewed
the unprecedented action of Táhirih in discarding the veil as a signal to
transgress the bounds of moderation and to gratify their selfish desires. The
excesses in which a few indulged provoked the wrath of the Almighty and caused
their immediate dispersion. In the village of Níyálá, they were grievously
tested and suffered severe injuries at the hands of their enemies. This
scattering extinguished the mischief which a few of the irresponsible among the
adherents of the Faith had sought to kindle, and preserved untarnished its
honour and dignity.
(Adapted from ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, by Nabil; translated and
edited by Shoghi Effendi)
On their way they passed through the village of Níyálá,
where they encountered more than five hundred hostile villagers whose
opposition had been aroused by the excesses committed by a few of the Bábís who
had attended the conference of Badasht. Misinterpreting Táhirih’s act of
discarding her veil as a license for self-indulgence, these Bábís had abused
the liberty that the Báb’s abrogation of Islamic law had conferred upon them.
Although, as Nabíl says, their conduct “provoked the wrath of the Almighty and
caused their immediate dispersion,” it had unfortunate consequences for
Bahá’u’lláh and His companions.
(Geoffry Marks, ‘Call to Remembrance’)
