No prisoner has ever been accorded the treatment which I
received at the hands of the acting governor of Ámul. He treated Me with the
utmost consideration and esteem. I was generously entertained by him, and the
fullest attention was given to everything that affected My security and
comfort. I was, however, unable to leave the gate of the house. My host was
afraid lest the governor, who was related to ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán-i- Láríjání,[1]
might return from the fort of Tabarsí and inflict injury upon Me. I tried to
dispel his apprehensions. “The same Omnipotence,” I assured him, “who has
delivered us from the hands of the mischief-makers of Ámul, and has enabled us
to be received with such hospitality by you in this house, is able to change the
heart of the governor and to cause him to treat us with no less consideration
and love.”One night we were suddenly awakened by the clamour of the people who had gathered outside the gate of the house. The door was opened, and it was announced that the governor had returned to Ámul. Our companions, who were anticipating a fresh attack upon them, were completely surprised to hear the voice of the governor rebuking those who had denounced us so bitterly on the day of our arrival. “For what reason,” we heard him loudly remonstrating, “have these miserable wretches chosen to treat so disrespectfully a guest whose hands are tied and who has not been given the chance to defend himself? What is their justification for having demanded that he be immediately put to death? What evidence have they with which to support their contention? If they be sincere in their claims to be devotedly attached to Islám and to be the guardians of its interests, let them betake themselves to the fort of Shaykh Tabarsí and there demonstrate their capacity to defend the Faith of which they profess to be the champions.”
- Bahá’u’lláh (Cited in ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, by
Nabil; translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)
[1] A prominent military commander who led troops in battle
against the Bábís gathered at Shaykh Tabarsí.
