Mulla Muhammad, the chief divine of the district of Nur
asked his two trusted sons-in-law, Mulla 'Abbas and Mirza Abu'l-Qasim to meet
Baha’u’llah and determine the true character of the Message that He had
brought. He pledged his unreserved endorsement of whatever conclusions they
might reach.
On being informed, upon their arrival in Tákúr, that
Bahá’u’lláh had departed for His winter resort in Darkala, the representatives
of Mullá Muhammad decided to leave for that place. Darkala is located north of
Takur, closer to the Caspian Sea. It has a milder, rainy weather. Baha’u’llah’s
father had a winter house in Darkala for the use of his extended family who
didn’t live in Tehran. The two envoys had to travel over the mountains to get
to their destination.
When they arrived, they found Bahá’u’lláh engaged in
revealing a commentary on the opening Súrih of the Qur’án, entitled “The Seven
Verses of Repetition.” As they sat and listened to His discourse, the loftiness
of the theme, the persuasive eloquence which characterised its presentation, as
well as the extraordinary manner of its delivery, profoundly impressed them. Mullá
Abbás, unable to contain himself, arose from his seat and, urged by an impulse
he could not resist, walked back and stood still beside the door in an attitude
of reverent submissiveness. The charm of the discourse to which he was
listening had fascinated him. “You behold my condition,” he told his companion
as he stood trembling with emotion and with eyes full of tears. “I am powerless
to question Bahá’u’lláh. The questions I had planned to ask Him have vanished
suddenly from my memory. You are free either to proceed with your enquiry or to
return alone to our teacher and inform him of the state in which I find myself.
Tell him from me that Abbás can never again return to him. He can no longer
forsake this threshold.” Mírzá Abu’l-Qásim was likewise moved to follow the
example of his companion. “I have ceased to recognise my teacher,” was his
reply. “This very moment, I have vowed to God to dedicate the remaining days of
my life to the service of Bahá’u’lláh, my true and only Master.”
The news of the sudden conversion of the chosen envoys of
the mujtahid of Núr spread with bewildering rapidity throughout the district.
It roused the people from their lethargy. Ecclesiastical dignitaries, State
officials, traders, and peasants all flocked to the residence of Bahá’u’lláh. A
considerable number among them willingly espoused His Cause. In their
admiration for Him, a number of the most distinguished among them remarked: “We
see how the people of Núr have risen and rallied round you. We witness on every
side evidences of their exultation. If Mullá Muhammad were also to join them,
the triumph of this Faith would be completely assured.” “I am come to Núr,”
Bahá’u’lláh replied, “solely for the purpose of proclaiming the Cause of God. I
cherish no other intention. If I were told that at a distance of a hundred
leagues a seeker yearned for the Truth and was unable to meet Me, I would,
gladly and unhesitatingly, hasten to his abode, and would Myself satisfy his
hunger. Mullá Muhammad, I am told, lives in Sa’adat-Ábád, a village not far
distant from this place. It is My purpose to visit him and deliver to him the
Message of God.”
(Adapted from ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, by Nabil, translated and
edited by Shoghi Effendi; and from ‘Robe of Light, vol. 1’, by David Ruhe)
