The mad attempt and the immediate horrendous consequences: - it “stirred the indignation of the entire body of the ecclesiastical order of Persia”

So grave a menace to their sovereign and to the institutions of his realm stirred the indignation of the entire body of the ecclesiastical order of Persia. To them so bold a deed called for immediate and condign punishment. Measures of unprecedented severity, they clamoured, should be undertaken to stem the tide that was engulfing both the government and the Faith of Islám. Despite the restraint which the followers of the Báb had exercised ever since the inception of the Faith in every part of the land; despite the repeated charges of the chief disciples to their brethren enjoining them to refrain from acts of violence, to obey their government loyally, and to disclaim any intention of a holy war, their enemies persevered in their deliberate efforts to misrepresent the nature and purpose of that Faith to the authorities. Now that an act of such momentous consequences had been committed, what accusations would not these same enemies be prompted to attribute to the Cause with which those guilty of the crime had been associated! The moment seemed to have come when they could at last awaken the rulers of the country to the necessity of extirpating as speedily as possible a heresy which seemed to threaten the very foundations of the State. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

The mad attempt and the immediate horrendous consequences: - “the outbreak of a series of persecutions and massacres of such barbarous ferocity as could be compared only to the atrocities of Mázindarán and Zanján”

That act, though committed by wild and feeble-minded fanatics, and in spite of its being from the very first emphatically condemned by no less responsible a person than Bahá’u’lláh, was the signal for the outbreak of a series of persecutions and massacres of such barbarous ferocity as could be compared only to the atrocities of Mázindarán and Zanján. The storm to which that act gave rise plunged the whole of Ṭihrán into consternation and distress. It involved the life of the leading companions who had survived the calamities to which their Faith had been so cruelly and repeatedly subjected. That storm was still raging when Bahá’u’lláh, with some of His ablest lieutenants, was plunged into a filthy, dark, and fever-stricken dungeon, whilst chains of such weight as only notorious criminals were condemned to carry, were placed upon His neck. For no less than four months He bore the burden, and such was the intensity of His suffering that the marks of that cruelty remained imprinted upon His body all the days of His life. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

The impact of this assault on the whole of Niyavaran

The whole of Níyávarán where the imperial court and troops had congregated was, as a result of this assault, plunged into an unimaginable tumult. The ministers of the state, headed by Mírzá Áqá Khán-i-Núrí, the I‘timádu’d-Dawlih, the successor of the Amír-Niẓám, rushed horror-stricken to the side of their wounded sovereign. The fanfare of the trumpets, the rolling of the drums and the shrill piping of the fifes summoned the hosts of His Imperial Majesty on all sides. The Sháh’s attendants, some on horseback, others on foot, poured into the palace grounds. Pandemonium reigned in which every one issued orders, none listened, none obeyed, nor understood anything. Ardishír Mírzá, the governor of Ṭihrán, having in the meantime already ordered his troops to patrol the deserted streets of the capital, barred the gates of the citadel as well as of the city, charged his batteries and feverishly dispatched a messenger to ascertain the veracity of the wild rumors that were circulating amongst the populace, and to ask for special instructions. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

The mad attempt and the immediate horrendous consequences: - fate of the three attackers

The Shah and his retinue had just left his summer palace at Niyavaran on a hunting expedition, when the three young men approached him as petitioners seeking redress and justice. They were far from being professional assassins, and attempted their dastardly deed in a clumsy way. Their weapons were inadequate: short daggers and pistols that fired pellets. They tried to drag the Shah from his horse, and inflicted pellet wounds on him which were not serious. By this time the members of the Shah's retinue had reached him to protect him, and beat off the assailants. Sadiq was killed on the spot. His body was cut in two, and each half was hoisted and left dangling over one of the several gates of the capital… Fathu'llah, who would not say a word under torture, was taken to be deaf and dumb. Molten lead was poured down his throat. Haji Qasim too was soon dispatched. 

- Balyuzi  (‘Baha’u’llah, the King of Glory’)

The first to suffer on that calamitous day was the ill-fated Ṣádiq, who was instantly slain on the scene of his attempted crime. His body was tied to the tail of a mule and dragged all the way to Ṭihrán, where it was hewn into two halves, each of which was suspended and exposed to the public view, while the Ṭihránís were invited by the city authorities to mount the ramparts and gaze upon the mutilated corpse. Molten lead was poured down the throat of his accomplice, after having subjected him to the torture of red-hot pincers and limb-rending screws. A comrade of his, Ḥájí Qásim, was stripped of his clothes, lighted candles were thrust into holes made in his flesh, and was paraded before the multitude who shouted and cursed him. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

circa 1930: A view of Niyavaran, north of Tihran

(The Dawn-Breakers)

Comte de Gobineau, French chargé d'affaires in Tihran, gives the account of the attempted assassination

“In the morning, the king went out for a horseback ride. Before him, as usual, went equerries carrying long lances, grooms leading horses with embroidered saddle cloths, and a group of nomad riders with their rifles slung over the shoulder and their swords hanging from their saddles. This vanguard preceded the king in order that he might not be annoyed by the dust raised by the cavalry, and the king followed along slowly, a little distance from the retinue of the great lords, chiefs and officers who accompanied him everywhere. He was near the palace and had barely passed the small door of the garden of Muhammad-Hasan, Sanduq-dar or treasurer of the Savings, when he noticed, at the side of the road, three men, three gardeners, standing two on the left, and one on the right side, seemingly waiting for him. He did not suspect danger and rode on. When quite close, he saw them bow very low and he heard them cry out together, ‘We are your sacrifice! We make a request.’ This is the traditional formula, but instead of remaining aloof as is customary, they rushed on him repeating, ‘We make a request!’ Surprised, the king shouted, ‘Rascals, what do you want?’ At that moment, the man on his right took hold of the bridle of the horse and fired upon the king. In the meantime, the two men on the left fired also. One of the shots cut the collar of pearls adorning the horse’s neck, another riddled with buckshot the right arm and back of the king. Immediately, the man on the right pulled on the leg of His Majesty and would have unsaddled him, had it not been that the two assassins on the left were pulling on the other side. The king was striking his assailants on the head with his fists, while the jumping of the frightened horse paralyzed their efforts and delayed their aggression. The royal retinue, at first dumbfounded, hurried towards their master. Asadu’lláh Khán, the grand equerry, and one of the nomad riders killed the man on the right with their swords. In the meantime, several lords threw down the other two men and bound them.

August 15, 1852: A round of shot was fired at the Sháh in Níyávarán, north of Tihran

Obsessed by the bitter tragedy of the martyrdom of his beloved Master [the Báb], driven by a frenzy of despair to avenge that odious deed, and believing the author and instigator of that crime to be none other than the Sháh himself, a certain Sádiq-i-Tabrízí, an assistant in a confectioner’s shop in Tihrán, proceeded on an August day (August 15, 1852), together with his accomplice, an equally obscure youth named Fathu’lláh-i-Qumí, to Níyávarán where the imperial army had encamped and the sovereign was in residence, and there, waiting by the roadside, in the guise of an innocent bystander, fired a round of shot from his pistol at the Sháh, shortly after the latter had emerged on horseback from the palace grounds for his morning promenade. The weapon the assailant employed demonstrated beyond the shadow of a doubt the folly of that half-demented youth, and clearly indicated that no man of sound judgment could have possibly instigated so senseless an act. 

- Shoghi Effendi  ('God Passes By')

The “shameful act of a fanatical and irresponsible Bábí” caused the Faith of the Báb to experience “the oppressive load of a fresh calamity, unprecedented in its gravity, disgraceful in its character, and devastating in its immediate consequences”

Such a severe ordeal the Faith of the Báb, still in the earliest stages of its infancy, was now beginning to experience. Maligned and hounded from the moment it was born, deprived in its earliest days of the sustaining strength of the majority of its leading supporters, stunned by the tragic and sudden removal of its Founder, reeling under the cruel blows it had successively sustained in Mázindarán, Tihrán, Nayríz and Zanján, a sorely persecuted Faith was about to be subjected through the shameful act of a fanatical and irresponsible Bábí, to a humiliation such as it had never before known. To the trials it had undergone was now added the oppressive load of a fresh calamity, unprecedented in its gravity, disgraceful in its character, and devastating in its immediate consequences. 

- Shoghi Effendi  ('God Passes By')

The disastrous plan by a few Bábis to assassinate Násiri’d-Dín Sháh

Nabil explains that according to Baha’u’llah’s brother, Áqáy-i-Kalím, sometime during this homecoming period a Bábí by the name of Mullá Shaykh 'Alí of Turshíz, entitled 'Azím, a veteran of the Faith, approached Baha’u’llah to enlist His support and gain His advice for a plan to assassinate the young Sháh and his new Prime Minister who were deemed to be the source of the continuing persecutions. Supported by his group of Bábí conspirators, 'Azím also aspired to be the successor of the Báb. They also thought that the Sháh's death might be a propitious time for the advancement of the Bábí Cause. Baha’u’llah, however, condemned 'Azím’s designs and advised him in most emphatic terms to abandon the plan he had conceived, and disassociated himself entirely from the intended rash act, warning him that fresh disasters of unprecedented magnitude would thus be precipitated. But 'Azím and his Bábí conspirators chose to disregard Baha’u’llah’s warnings. They continued their secret meeting in various homes, including that of Haji Sulayman Khan, another veteran of the Faith, the same brave and devoted man who had, at  the behest of Baha'u'llah, gone to Tabriz to recover the remains of the martyred Báb and bring them to Tihran. Amongst those Bábis attached to 'Azím were three young men, a confectioner, an engraver of Qum, and a third person who apparently had suffered much at the hands of the adversaries of his Faith. In the eyes of these youths, the young Shah was the source of all the calamities that had befallen them, and so they plotted to assassinate him. It is not known how many were involved in this criminal folly, but 'Azím certainly was. 

(Adapted from ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, by Nabil, ‘Baha’u’llah King of Glory’, by Balyuzi, and ‘Robe of Light, vol. 1’, by David Ruhe)

circa 1930: Village of Afchih, northeast of Tihran

Village of Afchih

Mansion of Baha'u'llah's father in the village of Afchih

Baha’u’llah went to the village of Afchih northeast of Tihran

The because of the excessive heat prevailing in the capital Baha’u’llah left Shimírán for the village of Afchih, the property of the Grand Vazír, located about forty miles northeast of Tihran. There He joined His family at the mansion of His Father. 

(Adapted from ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, by Nabil, and ‘Robe of Light’, by David Ruhe)

April-May 1852: Bahá’u’lláh arrived in Tihran

He [Bahá’u’lláh] arrived in the capital in the month of Rajab, [April 21-May 21, 1852 A.D.] and was welcomed by the Grand Vazír’s brother, Ja’far-Qulí Khán, who had been specially directed to go forth to receive Him. For one whole month, He was the honoured Guest of the Grand Vazír, who had appointed his brother to act as host on his behalf. So great was the number of the notables and dignitaries of the capital who flocked to meet Him that He found Himself unable to return to His own home. He remained in that house until His departure for Shimírán.[1] 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

[1] “Shimírán or Shimrán (sometimes used in the plural, Shimránát) is the name applied generally to the villages and mansions situated on the lower slopes descending from Elburz which serve as summer residences to the wealthier inhabitants of Ṭihrán.” (“Traveller’s Narrative,” p. 81, footnote 1.)

April-May 1852: Persian prime minister asked Bahá’u’lláh to return to Persia

Mirza Aqa Khan-i-Nuri

While Bahá’u’lláh was in Karbilá, the young Násiri’d-Dín Sháh, jealous and fearful of Mírzá Taqí Khán’s rising power, dismissed him and ordered his execution. The new prime minister, Mírzá Áqá Khán-i-Núrí, whose cousin had married an elder brother of Bahá’u’lláh, hoped to effect a reconciliation between the government and Bahá’u’lláh, Whom he regarded as the most capable of the Báb’s disciples. Thus he sent Him a warm letter requesting Him to return to Tihrán, and expressing his eagerness to meet Him. However, ere the receipt of that letter Bahá’u’lláh had already decided to leave ‘Iráq for Persia. 

(Adapted from ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, by Nabil and ‘Call to Remembrance’ by Geoffry Marks)  

March 1852: “Bahá’u’lláh still in ‘Iráq, engaged in spreading the teachings, and making firm the foundations, of the New Revelation.”

The eighth Naw-Rúz after the Declaration of the Báb, which fell on the twenty-seventh day of the month of Jamádiyu’l-Avval, in the year 1268 A.H., [1852 A.D.]  found Bahá’u’lláh still in ‘Iráq, engaged in spreading the teachings, and making firm the foundations, of the New Revelation. Displaying an enthusiasm and ability that recalled His activities in the early days of the Movement in Núr and Mázindarán, He continued to devote Himself to the task of reviving the energies, of organising the forces, and of directing the efforts, of the Báb’s scattered companions. He was the sole light amidst the darkness that encompassed the bewildered disciples who had witnessed, on the one hand, the cruel martyrdom of their beloved Leader and, on the other, the tragic fate of their companions. He alone was able to inspire them with the needful courage and fortitude to endure the many afflictions that had been heaped upon them; He alone was capable of preparing them for the burden of the task they were destined to bear, and of inuring them to brave the storm and perils they were soon to face. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

1851: Baha’u’llah in Karbila – additional examples of Baha’u’llah’s divine influence in winning over converts for the Cause of the Báb

It was during that visit to Karbilá that Bahá’u’lláh encountered, as He was walking through the streets, Shaykh Hasan-i-Zunúzí, to whom He confided the secret He was destined to reveal at a later time in Baghdád. He found him eagerly searching after the promised Husayn, to whom the Báb had so lovingly referred and whom He had promised he would meet in Karbilá. We have already, in a preceding chapter, narrated the circumstances leading to his meeting with Bahá’u’lláh. From that day, Shaykh Hasan became magnetised by the charm of his newly found Master, and would, but for the restraint he was urged to exercise, have proclaimed to the people of Karbilá the return of the promised Husayn whose appearance they were awaiting.

Among those who were made to feel that power was Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alíy-i-Tabíb-i-Zanjání, in whose heart was implanted a seed that was destined to grow and blossom into a faith of such tenacity that the fires of persecution were powerless to quench it. To his devotion, his high-mindedness and singleness of purpose Bahá’u’lláh Himself testified. That faith carried him eventually to the field of martyrdom. The same fate was shared by Mírzá ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb-i-Shírází, son of Hájí ‘Abdu’l-Majíd, who owned a shop in Karbilá and who felt the impulse to forsake all his possessions and follow his Master. He was advised, however, not to abandon his work, but to continue to earn his livelihood until such time as he should be summoned to Tihrán. Bahá’u’lláh urged him to be patient, and gave him a sum of money wherewith he encouraged him to extend the scope of his business. Unable to concentrate his attention upon his trade, Mírzá ‘Abdu’l-Vahháb hastened to Tihrán, where he remained until he was thrown into the dungeon in which his Master was confined and there suffered martyrdom for His sake.

Shaykh ‘Alí-Mirzay-i-Shírází was likewise attracted to, and remained to his last breath a staunch supporter of, the Cause to which he had been called and which he served with a selflessness and devotion beyond all praise. To friend and stranger alike he recounted his experiences of the marvellous influence the presence of Bahá’u’lláh had had upon him, and enthusiastically described the signs and wonders he had witnessed during and after the days of his conversion. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

1851: Baha’u’llah in Karbila – an example of Baha’u’llah’s divine influence in winning over converts for the Cause of the Báb

While in Karbila, Baha’u’llah sought out the Bábis, as well as those of receptive heart and spirit.

In “Karbilá, He found that a number of its leading residents, among whom were Shaykh Sultán and Hájí Siyyid Javád, had fallen victims to the pernicious influence of a certain Siyyid-i-’Uluvv, and had declared themselves his supporters. They were immersed in superstitions and believed their leader to be the very incarnation of the Divine Spirit. Shaykh Sultán [1] ranked among his most fervent disciples and regarded himself, next to his master, as the foremost leader of his countrymen. Bahá’u’lláh met him on several occasions and succeeded, by His words of counsel and loving-kindness, in purging his mind from his idle fancies and in releasing him from the state of abject servitude into which he had sunk. He won him over completely to the Cause of the Báb and kindled in his heart a desire to propagate the Faith. His fellow-disciples, witnessing the effects of his immediate and marvellous conversion, were led, one after another, to forsake their former allegiance and to embrace the Cause which their colleague had risen to champion. Abandoned and despised by his former adherents, the Siyyid-i-’Uluvv was at length reduced to recognising the authority of Bahá’u’lláh and acknowledging the superiority of His position. He even went so far as to express repentance for his acts, and to pledge his word that he would never again advocate the theories and principles with which he had identified himself.” (Nabil, ‘The Dawn-Breakers, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

Many others, during those months of Baha'u'llah's sojourn in the holy cities of 'Iraq, attained His presence and became devoted to Him. Among them were Mirza 'Abdu'l-Vahhab, that glorious youth of Shiraz; Shaykh-'Ali Mirza, also of Shiraz and the nephew of Shaykh Abu-Turab, the imam-jum'ih of that city who had stood up to protect the Báb; and Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, a well-known physician of Zanjan, who, many years later, met a martyr's death. (Balyuzi, ‘Baha’u’llah, The King of Glory’)

[1] He was an Arab who had been converted to the Babi doctrines by Tahirih when she was in Karbila (David Ruhe, ‘Robe of Light’)

1851 Karbilá, Iraq: A disciple of the Báb becomes the first person to whom Baha’u’llah confided His Divine Mission – as foreordained by the Báb in 1848

It was during Bahá’u’lláh’s nine-month exile to Karbilá in 1851 (on the order of the Persian Prime Minister) that He “encountered, as He was walking through the streets, Shaykh Hasan-i-Zunúzí, to whom He confided the secret He was destined to reveal at a later time in Baghdád. He found him eagerly searching after the promised Husayn, to whom the Báb had so lovingly referred and whom He had promised he would meet in Karbilá. (Nabil, ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

Shaykh Hasan-i-Zunúzí was an elderly Babi, quietly went about his life as a scribe and quite unknown to the community of Babis in Karbila. He had been an early disciple of Siyyid Kazim and one who during his days among the Shaykhis in Karbila had fleetingly encountered the Báb, not yet known to be the One awaited, visiting Him with Siyyid Kazim when first He had arrived from Shiraz. During Shaykh Hasan’s first months of conversion as a Bábi he had journeyed to Chihriq to join the Báb in that distant prison, there to act as transcriber of His works. It was then 1848 and Shaykh Hasan was moved to join the valiant defenders of Fort Shaykh Tabarsi, for the mustering summons had gone forth to the faithful. He expressed his wish to the Báb, only to be startled by His countermanding the intention.

The Báb told him: “Participation in that struggle is not enjoined upon you. You should proceed to Karbila and should abide in that holy city, inasmuch as you are destined to behold, with your own eyes, the beauteous countenance of the promised Husayn. As you gaze upon that radiant face, do also remember Me. Convey to Him the expression of My loving devotion!” And then He added, “Verily I say, I have entrusted you with a great mission! Beware lest your heart grow faint, lest you forget the glory with which I have invested you.” (Nabil, ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

Sometime between July 30 to August 28, 1851: Baha’u’llah arrived in Karbilá

On His way to Karbila Baha’u’llah arrived in Kirmanshah – there He spent about a month. The only two companiosn that He chose to accompany him to Karbila were: Shukru’llah-i-Núrí, one of His kinsmen, and Mírzá Muhammad-i-Mázindarání, who had survived the struggle of Tabarsí. Baha’u’llah arrived at Karbila during July 30 to August 28, 1851. (Adapted from 'The Dawn-Breakers') The tomb of the martyred Imam Husayn, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad, and Baha’u’llah’s spiritual forebear, is in Karbila and is considered as one of the holiest places of pilgrimage for Shí'ah Islam, outside of Mecca and Medina.

“On His way to that holy city [Karbila], He tarried a few days in Baghdád, that place which He was soon to visit again and where His Cause was destined to mature and unfold itself to the world. While Baha’u’llah was in Karbila, the Guardian tells us that He was engaged in “spreading, with that same enthusiasm and ability that had distinguished His earlier exertions in Mázindarán, the teachings of His departed Leader, in safeguarding the interests of His Faith, in reviving the zeal of its grief-stricken followers, and in organizing the forces of its scattered and bewildered adherents.”  

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

June 1851: Baha’u’llah’s first exile

Mirza Taqi Khan

Soon after the martyrdom of the Báb, Mirza Taqi Khan, the Grand Vizier (the Prime minister) who was responsible for and had ordered the death of the Báb, and was now the Shah's brother-in-law, sought a meeting with Baha'u'llah. At this meeting in his office he stated in gently insinuating fashion:

"I am well aware of the nature and influence of your activities, and  am firmly convinced that were it not for the support and assistance which you have extended to Mulla Husayn and his companions, neither he nor his band of inexperienced students would have been capable of resisting for seven months the forces of the imperial  government. The ability and skill with which you have managed to direct and encourage those efforts could not fail to excite my admiration, but I have been unable to obtain any evidence whereby I could establish your complicity in this affair. I feel it a pity that so resourceful a person should not be given an opportunity to serve his country and sovereign. The thought has come to me to suggest that you visit Karbila in these days when the Shah is contemplating a visit to Isfahan. It is my intention to be enabled, upon your return, to confer upon you the position of Amir-Divan (Head of the Court) a function you could admirably discharge."  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’)

Although couched politely, this was tantamount to an order by the Prime Minister.

1850: Following the martyrdom of the Báb and His companion, Baha’u’llah instructed His faithful brother, Áqáy-i-Kalím to arrange for the transfer of the bodies to Tehran

On the afternoon of the second day after the Báb’s martyrdom, Hájí Sulaymán Khán, son of Yahyá Khán, arrived at Bagh-Míshih, a suburb of Tabríz, and was received at the house of the Kalantar [Mayor], one of his friends and confidants, who was a dervish and belonged to the súfí community.

As soon as he had been informed of the imminent danger that threatened the life of the Báb, Hájí Sulaymán Khán had left Tihrán with the object of achieving His deliverance. To his dismay, he arrived too late to carry out his intention.

No sooner had his host informed him of the circumstances that had led to the arrest and condemnation of the Báb, and related to him the events of His martyrdom, than he instantly resolved to carry away the bodies of the victims, even at the risk of endangering his own life. The Kalantar advised him to wait and follow his suggestion rather than expose himself to what seemed to him would be inevitable death. He urged him to transfer his residence to another house and to wait for the arrival, that evening, of a certain Hájí Alláh-Yár, who, he said, would be willing to carry out whatever he might wish him to do.

House in Tehran where Baha'u'llah was born

A group of Baha'i visitors are shown in the foreground

circa June, 1850: Baha’u’llah receives a very special and scared package from the Báb

Forty days before the arrival of that officer at Chihríq, [to transfer the Báb to Tabriz for His execution] the Báb collected all the documents and Tablets in His possession and, placing them, with His pen-case, His seals, and agate rings, in a coffer, entrusted them to the care of Mullá Báqir, one of the Letters of the Living. To him He also delivered a letter addressed to Mírzá Ahmad, His amanuensis, in which He enclosed the key to that coffer. He urged him to take the utmost care of that trust, emphasised the sacredness of its character, and bade him conceal its contents from anyone except Mírzá Ahmad.

Mullá Báqir departed forthwith for Qazvín. Within eighteen days he reached that town and was informed that Mírzá Ahmad had departed for Qum. He left immediately for that destination and arrived towards the middle of the month of Sha’bán. I was then in Qum, together with a certain Sádiq-i-Tabrízí, whom Mírzá Ahmad had sent to fetch me from Zarand. I was living in the same house with Mírzá Ahmad, a house which he had hired in the Bagh-Panbih quarter. In those days Shaykh Azím, Siyyid Ismá’íl, and a number of other companions likewise were dwelling with us. Mullá Báqir delivered the trust into the hands of Mírzá Ahmad, who, at the insistence of Shaykh Azím, opened it before us. We marvelled when we beheld, among the things which that coffer contained, a scroll of blue paper, of the most delicate texture, on which the Báb, in His own exquisite handwriting, which was a fine shikastih script, had penned, in the form of a pentacle, what numbered about five hundred verses, all consisting of derivatives from the word “Bahá.”  That scroll was in a state of perfect preservation, was spotlessly clean, and gave the impression, at first sight, of being a printed rather than a written page. So fine and intricate was the penmanship that, viewed at a distance, the writing appeared as a single wash of ink on the paper. We were overcome with admiration as we gazed upon a masterpiece which no calligraphist, we believed, could rival. That scroll was replaced in the coffer and handed back to Mírzá Ahmad, who, on the very day he received it, proceeded to Tihrán. Ere he departed, he informed us that all he could divulge of that letter was the injunction that the trust was to be delivered into the hands of Jináb-i-Bahá [Baha’u’llah] in Tihrán.  

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’; translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

1848-1850: Baha’u’llah’s house in Tihran becomes a focal point for the Bábi Faith

Baha'u'llah’s…house in Tihran became a focal point for the Bábis of the capital city, and those Bábis who were passing through Tihran also received His hospitality. Among the Bábis who at this time frequented the house of Baha'u'llah was Vahid, who was to go from there to earn eternal fame and glorious martyrdom at Nayriz. Another visitor was Mirza 'Aliy-i-Sayyah (Mulla Adi Guzal of Maraghih), who was acting as courier for the Báb and was commissioned by Him to perform a pilgrimage to Shaykh Tabarsi and pray at the graves of those distinguished martyrs. Yet another who called on Baha'u'llah was Mulla 'Abdu'l-Karim-i-Qazvini (Mirza Ahmad), bringing with him the pen-case, seals and rings of the Báb. 

- H. M. Balyuzi  (‘Baha’u’llah, The King of Glory’)

As a result of the incidents in Ámul, Bahá’u’lláh’s intention to join the defenders of the fort of Shaykh Tabarsí didn’t materialized “through the mysterious dispensation of Providence”

Bahá’u’lláh’s intention to throw in His lot with the defenders of the fort of Shaykh Tabarsí was destined to remain unfulfilled. Though Himself extremely desirous to lend every possible assistance in His power to the besieged, He was spared, through the mysterious dispensation of Providence, the tragic fate that was soon to befall the chief participators in that memorable struggle. Had He been able to reach the fort, had He been allowed to join the members of that heroic band, how could He have played His part in the great drama which He was destined to unfold? How could He have consummated the work that had been so gloriously conceived and so marvellously inaugurated? He was in the heyday of His life when the call from Shíráz 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. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

1848: The governor of Ámul humbly and respectfully apologized for Baha’u’llah’s house arrest and arranged for His safe departure to Tihrán

What he had seen of the heroism of the defenders of the fort had quite changed the mind and heart of the governor of Ámul. He returned filled with admiration for a Cause which he had formerly despised, and the progress of which he had strenuously resisted. The scenes he witnessed had disarmed his wrath and chastened his pride. Humbly and respectfully, he went to Bahá’u’lláh and apologised for the insolence of the inhabitants of a town that he had been chosen to govern. He served Him with extreme devotion, utterly ignoring his own position and rank. He paid a glowing tribute to Mullá Husayn, and expatiated upon his resourcefulness, his intrepidity, his skill, and nobleness of soul. A few days later, he succeeded in arranging for the safe departure of Bahá’u’lláh and His companions for Tihrán. 

- Nabil  (‘The Dawn-Breakers’, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)