Mullá Husayn, as soon as he had won to the Cause such able and devoted
supporters, decided to address a written report concerning his activities to
the Báb. In his communication he referred at length to his sojourn in Isfáhán
and Káshán, described the account of his experience with Bahá’u’lláh, referred
to the departure of the latter for Mázindarán, related the events of Núr, and
informed Him of the success which had attended his own efforts in Khurásán. In
it he enclosed a list of the names of those who had responded to his call, and
of whose steadfastness and sincerity he was assured. He sent his letter by way
of Yazd, through the trustworthy partners of the Báb’s maternal uncle who were
at that time residing in Tabas. That letter reached the Báb on the night
preceding the twenty-seventh day of Ramadán, [1] a night held in great
reverence by all the sects of Islám and regarded by many as rivalling in
sacredness the Laylatu’l-Qadr [2] itself, the night which, in the words of the
Qur’án, “excelleth a thousand months.”
The only companion of the Báb, when that letter reached Him that night,
was Quddús, with whom He shared a number of its passages.
I have heard Mírzá Ahmad relate the following: “The Báb’s maternal uncle
himself described to me the circumstances attending the receipt of Mullá Husayn’s
letter by the Báb: ‘That night I saw such evidences of joy and gladness on the
faces of the Báb and of Quddús as I am unable to describe. I often heard the
Báb, in those days, exultingly repeat the words, “How marvellous, how
exceedingly marvellous, is that which has occurred between the months of Jamádi
and Rajab!” As He was reading the communication addressed to Him by Mullá Husayn,
He turned to Quddús and, showing him certain passages of that letter, explained
the reason for His joyous expressions of surprise. I, for my part, remained
completely unaware of the nature of that explanation.’”
Mírzá Ahmad, upon whom the account
of this incident had produced a profound impression, was determined to fathom
its mystery. “Not until I met Mullá Husayn in Shíráz,” he told me, “was I able
to satisfy my curiosity. When I repeated to him the account described to me by
the Báb’s uncle, he smiled and said how well he remembered that between the
months of Jamádi and Rajab he chanced to be in Tihrán. He gave no further
explanation, and contented himself with this brief remark. This was sufficient,
however, to convince me that in the city of Tihrán there lay hidden a Mystery
which, when revealed to the world, would bring unspeakable joy to the hearts of
both the Báb and Quddús.”
The references in Mullá Husayn’s letter to Bahá’u’lláh’s immediate
response to the Divine Message, to the vigorous campaign which He had boldly
initiated in Núr, and to the marvellous success which had attended His efforts,
cheered and gladdened the Báb, and reinforced His confidence in the ultimate
victory of His Cause. He felt assured that if now He were to fall suddenly a
victim to the tyranny of His foes and depart from this world, the Cause which
He had revealed would live; would, under the direction of Bahá’u’lláh, continue
to develop and flourish, and would yield eventually its choicest fruit. The
master-hand of Bahá’u’lláh would steer its course, and the pervading influence
of His love would establish it in the hearts of men. Such a conviction
fortified His spirit and filled Him with hope. From that moment His fears of
the imminence of peril or danger entirely forsook Him. Phoenix-like He welcomed
with joy the fire of adversity, and gloried in the glow and heat of its flame.
- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)
[1] Corresponding with the night preceding the 10th of October, 1844 A.D.
[2] The Laylatu’l-Qadr, meaning literally “Night of Power,” is one of the
last ten nights of Ramadán, and, as is commonly believed, the seventh of those
nights reckoning backward.
