In the Land of Refuge

Vahíd and the Nayríz Episodes

[p.115:5] Subsequent to the departure of His blessed Person [the Báb], the friends in Shíráz observed wisdom and lived in serenity and tranquility. No other event took place for a while until the episode of the honored Áqá Siyyid Yahyá Dárábí and the events of Nayríz transpired.

Earlier in these pages mention was made that the venerable Áqá Siyyid Yahyá, [surnamed] Vahíd, came to Yazd from the direction of Bávanát. It is important to describe briefly in these pages the occurrences associated with his stay in Yazd so that the sequence of events is clarified. Of a certainty, the full story of his visit and of the events of Yazd is either told in the history of that town [by other narrators], or it will be related.¹⁰⁰

Vahíd in Yazd

After the illustrious Vahíd had believed and pledged submission, in accordance with His hallowed instruction [i.e., the Báb’s], he took leave of the Latter and set out in direction of Yazd for the edification of the people, the promulgation of the Word of the Almighty, and the teaching of the Cause of God. For a while during the earlier period of his mission in that city he had expounded and taught the doctrines of His Holiness in gatherings of only such among the accomplished and the learned as were prepared and fitted to hear them. But afterwards, according to the purport of the verse:

Prudence and love can ne’er walk hand in hand,
and the verse:
Love and fair fame must wage eternal war;

O lover, halt not at the beloved’s door!

he began openly to proclaim the truth of the Cause and converted a great multitude, as well as leading many to profess devotion and sympathy who, not having reached the stage of conviction and the haven of assurance, were yet greatly attracted and manifested empathy. At length, through the officiousness of certain mischievous persons, the governor of Yazd was informed of what was taking place. The governor, fearing for himself, sent a body of men to arrest him [i.e., Vahíd]. A trifling altercation occurred, and thereupon the governor readied for battle and prepared to effect his capture by force of arms.

The esteemed Áqá Siyyid Yahyá retired with a number of his followers and friends into the citadel of Yazd, while the myrmidons of the governor surrounded it and commenced hostilities and agitation. At length, the matter escalated into actual warfare, in the course of which some thirty or more of the governor’s men and the rogues and vagabonds [of the city who had joined them] were killed, while seven of [Vahíd’s] friends and companions were also slain, the rest being besieged for some time until some, unwilling to endure further suffering or withstand trial, dispersed.

His honor [Vahíd] therefore determined to set out for Shíráz and said one night, “If one of you could manage to lead out my horse, so that I might defuse this incident and convey myself to some other place, it would be well.” A certain Hasan who had been for some time in attendance upon his honor and had performed his service with the utmost faithfulness and devotion, witnessing on the part of his august master many a display of miraculous and supernatural faculties, replied, “By your leave, I will lead out the horse.” “They will capture and slay you,” [responded Vahíd]. “In the path of your servitude,” rejoined [Hasan], “that is easy to bear. No ambition have I beyond it.”

So he was allowed to go and, even as had been foretold, they took the youth captive outside the citadel and brought him before the governor, who ordered him blown from the mouth of a cannon. As they bound him to the gun, he begged the gunners: “Bind me, I pray you, with my face toward the gun that I may see it fired.” Gunners and bystanders alike were astonished at his composure and cheerfulness, and indeed one who can be cheerful in such a plight must needs have great faith, capacity, and fortitude. It is seemly indeed that one be so joyous and jubilant at such an hour!

In short, that honored personage [Vahíd] succeeded in effecting his departure from the citadel with one other, and set out for Shíráz, and from there he proceeded to Nayríz.¹⁰¹

[p. 120] After his withdrawal, the governor vanquished his followers. Several were taken captive and put to death, while from the rest, after they had suffered divers torments, fines of money were exacted.

Vahíd’s Arrival at Nayríz

Now when that honored personage arrived in Nayríz, where his wife resided and where he had many friends, many became believers, others denied, while still others caviled and remained in doubt. Though formerly professing the most devout attachment and humility towards his person, no sooner did the district governor perceive that a struggle was imminent and the government might slip from his hands, than he sent word to him [i.e., Vahíd] saying, “I do not consider it expedient that you should continue any longer in this province. It is best that you should depart with all speed to some other place.” To this the honored visitor replied, “I have returned here, after a prolonged absence, to learn how matters fare, and to see my wife and family, neither do I wish to interfere with anyone. What makes you order me to quit my house and abode, instead of affording me protection, and observing towards me the friendship and respect that is my due? Do you not fear God, and have you no shame before my Ancestor?”

So when the governor saw that he heeded not his words and answered him sharply, he was filled with obstinate spite and strove to raise a tumult, inciting such men of every class and kind as were most wicked and mischievous to make a disturbance and drive out the honored personage. In turn Vahíd, perceiving this, repaired to the mosque and after performing his devotions ascended the pulpit, and thus spoke:
O people! Am I not he whose opinions you were wont to follow in all religious questions? In your needs and trials, as well as in all matters of doctrine, practice, and religious tradition were you not wont to prefer my word to that of any other? Were not my belief and ijtihád¹⁰² the criteria of all your actions? What has become of you that now you greet me with opposition and enmity? What forbidden thing have I sanctioned in the pure religion [i.e., Islam], or what lawful thing have I forbidden, that thus without reason you charge me with heresy and error? I stand here among you wronged and oppressed for no other cause than that I have, for your awakening and enlightenment, spoken true words and held faithful discourse, and that I have, out of sympathy for you and desire for your welfare, not withheld the path of guidance from you. This being so, let each one who supports or slights me know of a certainty that howsoever he acts toward me, he acts toward my illustrious Ancestor [Muhammad].
When he had spoken to this effect, some were repentant, and some wept bitterly, saying, “We still continue in our former allegiance and devotion to you, and all that you say we hold true, right, and most meritorious.”

The Bábí Encampment

In short, Vahíd came forth from the mosque, quitted the city, and was compelled to alight in a ruined castle close by, the friends who bore him company being not more than seventeen in number. But even after he had left the city, his malicious and mischievous persecutors ceased not from their evil designs, for they pursued him with a great throng, scouring the country in all directions until they discovered his ruined retreat. Thereupon, they laid siege to the castle from every side and initiated hostilities.

Then the honored personage commanded seven of his men to go out and drive them away, and gave them full instructions as to the ordering of battle, adding that whoever should occupy a certain position would be slain by a wound, and that such as went in a certain direction would return unhurt. One among those present, a young lad of Yazd, good of heart and comely of countenance, arose and said, “I beseech you to suffer me to be the first among this muchwronged band and precede my comrades in martyrdom.” And that honored [p. 125] personage kissed him on the cheek and intoned a prayer for him.

Then the illustrious defenders of the castle sallied swiftly forth, attacked the foes, and ere long scattered them forthwith. But the Yazdí lad, even as his master had foretold, and he had himself desired, drained the draught of martyrdom, escaped from the bonds of earth’s deceits, and gained the everlasting world and life eternal—blessings were his, and his end was good. The rest returned victorious.

At the very time of these events, the exalted Navváb, Prince Farhád Mírzá,¹⁰³ recently appointed governor-general of Fárs, came from the capital, Tihrán, to assume the government in Shíráz and was informed of what had taken place. He at once collected a considerable military force, which he dispatched under the command of Muhammad-‘Alí Khán Díván-Begí, son of Hájí Shukru’lláh Khán Núrí, and MustafáQulí Khán, commander of the Qaraguzlú, to subdue and take captive the insurgents.

When this force reached the vicinity of the castle, the number of [Vahíd’s] followers had increased to seventy. Several encounters took place between the two forces, and on each occasion the friends and companions [i.e., the Bábís] routed and dispersed their opponents and obtained possession of a goodly spoil. And all this while the devotion, faith, and love of Vahíd’s companions were much increased by the many victories they tasted and the great prodigies he wrought, so that each was fully prepared to lay down his life and possessions. He had repeatedly described to his companions the circumstances of his own martyrdom, and all had, for the good pleasure of the Beloved, washed their hands of life and, quit of earthly ties, awaited martyrdom.

Deceiving the Bábís

Those who had come to take them being unable, notwithstanding all their efforts, to prevail by force of arms, and despairing of the final issue, opened the door of treachery and deceit, and sent a missive before the illustrious Vahíd expressing perplexity as to his Cause, making excuses for past deeds, declaring themselves desirous of inquiring into the matter, and begging for instruction. They further pledged, with oaths sworn upon the Word of God [i.e., the Qur’án], that if he would be good enough to come out to meet them, they would obey whatever terms he might propose.

So, out of respect for the sacred Qur’án, which bore their seal, Vahíd prepared to go forth. But his followers surrounded him on every side declaring, “We are fearful and anxious about your departure, for this host is more faithless than the men of Kufa.¹⁰⁴ No reliance can be placed on their oaths and covenants, neither ought you to believe their assertions.” That honored person replied, “By God, I clearly perceive their perfidy, faithlessness, and treachery, and I know it as well as my saintly Ancestor¹⁰⁵ knew the perfidy of the men of Kufa. But how can I resist their wiles, these being in accord with the divinely appointed destiny? Because of what they have written and pledged themselves on the Qur’án to perform, it is incumbent on me to go and complete the proof. Abide here till you receive my written instructions.” Then he mounted his horse and took a last farewell of his companions, saying, “Verily, we belong to God, and verily unto Him do we return.”¹⁰⁶ And his followers wept, a bitter weeping.

So that honored personage came to the warring camp and there alighted. [At first] the commanders treated him with all due respect and deference, and they agreed to postpone all discussion of terms between his honor and themselves till the morrow, and spent that night conversing on various topics. But when morning came and that honored person would have gone forth from his tent, [p. 130] the sentinels prevented him, saying, “It is not permitted you to go out.” So he remained a prisoner in the tent.

No sooner had tidings of this reached his faithful followers than, unable to restrain themselves, they emerged from their castle, hurled themselves upon the center of the army, and, in a short time, threw the whole camp into confusion. The senior officers seeing this, hastened into that honored person’s presence, saying, “Was it not agreed between us last night that there should be peace and concord?” “Aye,” said he, “but your conduct this morning provoked this reprisal.” “It was done without our knowledge and approval,” answered they, “and without our sanction. Some of our men, who have lost kinsmen and relatives in this warfare, offered you this insult ignorantly and without our knowledge. You, who are merciful and generous, must overlook their fault.” “What,” queried he, “would you have me do?” “Write,” said they, “to these men of yours, bidding them evacuate the castle and return to their own homes, that the minds of our soldiers may be tranquilized and we, too, be reassured; and we will then arrange matters as you may determine, and act agreeably to your suggestions.”

That honored personage had no recourse but to write to his followers, “Come what may, you must submit to divinely ordained decrees; and meanwhile there is nothing for it but that you should gather up your own possessions, leaving the spoils you have won exactly as they are, and return to your own homes. Let us wait and see what God wills.” So these poor companions, being constrained to obey his behest, the following day departed to their homes. But no sooner were they arrived there than their foes attacked each of their houses, carried off all their goods as spoil, destroyed their dwellings, and brought them in chains, bound hand and foot, to the camp.

Vahíd’s Martyrdom

There was with the venerable Vahíd a certain believer of Yazd¹⁰⁷ who had served him faithfully both at Yazd and Nayríz, suffering much in the path of his master’s good pleasure and attaining the exalted station of servitude and true recognition of the Lord by renouncing all earthly possessions. And when word was brought that the executioner was on his way from the city [i.e., Shíráz] charged with the killing of that illustrious Siyyid [Yahyá], this man began to make great lamentation. But his master said, “It is you, not me, whom this headsman shall slay; he who shall slay me will arrive tomorrow.”

When the morrow came, he performed the morning obligatory prayer, and an hour later, he said again, “He who is to slay me is now come.” Shortly after this, a party of farrashes arrived and led out that honored person and the Yazdí from the tent. Then the executioner, just as Vahíd had foretold, administered to the youth the draught of martyrdom. When his glance fell on that honored person, however, he said, “I am ashamed before the face of God’s Messenger and will never lift my hand to slay His offspring,” neither would he, for all their importuning, consent to do their bidding.

Then one who had lost two brothers in the earlier part of the war, and therefore cherished a deep resentment, said, “I will kill him.” And he loosed the shawl wherewith that honored person was girt, cast it round his neck, and drew it tight. And others beat his holy body with sticks and stones, dragging it here and there over the plain, till his soul soared falconlike to the branches of paradise. Then they severed his head from his body, skinned it, stuffed it with straw, and sent it, with other heads, along with the captives to Shíráz.¹⁰⁸

Captives Taken to Shíráz

And they sent an announcement of their victory and triumph to Prince Farhád [sic] Mírzá, [p. 135] and fixed a day for their entry into Shíráz. And when on the appointed day they drew near, the city was bedecked, the people busy disporting themselves and making merry, most of them having come out from the town to greet the victorious troops, welcome the triumphant soldiers, and gaze upon the captives. As narrated by one Kuchak ‘Alí Beg, headman and chief of the Basírí¹⁰⁹ [tribe of Shíráz]:¹¹⁰

After they had slain that honored person [i.e., Vahíd], they came to take camels from our tribe, intending to set the captives on barebacked camels. I was distressed at this, but could not resist the Governor’s order. I therefore rode away from the army’s camp at night and came to Shíráz, that at least I might not be among my tribe and have to endure the insolence of the soldiers. When I was come within half a farsang¹¹¹ of Shíráz, I lay down to sleep for a while and to be rid of my weariness. When I awoke, I saw that the people of Shíráz had come out in large numbers with minstrels and musicians, and were sitting about in groups at every corner and crossroad, feasting and making merry with wanton women. On every side I noted with wonder drunken brawls, wine imbibing, the savor of roasted meats, and the strains of guitars and lutes. Thus wondering I entered the city.

After a while, unable to endure the suspense, I determined to go out of the city to see what was taking place. As I came forth from the city-gate, I saw such feasting and rejoicing as I had never before witnessed. The men were engaged in making merry and toying with their lecherous and wanton women. After a little while I saw the camels approaching, whereupon there were set some forty or fifty women. Many of the soldiers bore on their spears the severed heads of the men they had slain. Until this time the townsfolk had been busy with their carnal desires, but no sooner did their eyes fall on the severed heads borne aloft on spears and the captives set on barebacked camels than they inconsolably burst into tears and sobbing.

Thus they brought the illustrious captives into the bazaars, which had been decorated and adorned, and though it was no great distance from the bazaars to the Governor’s Ark [i.e., the government’s seat], yet such was the throng of spectators who purposely retarded the passage of the captives that it was after mid-day when they reached the Governor’s palace. The Navváb Prince was holding a pleasureparty in Kuláh Farangí¹¹² and the garden adjoining it, he sitting on a chair, and the nobles and magnates of the city standing. A curtain was drawn in front of the other chambers of Kuláh Farangí, behind which the women of the Prince’s household were ensconced. And the captives were led in this plight to the accompaniment of cymbals and trumpets into the garden and brought before the Qájár Prince. Then Muhammad-‘Alí Khán, Mírzá Na‘ím, and the other officers recounted their exploits and their glorious victory, with various versions and many embellishments, to the Qájár Prince, who on his part kept inquiring as to the names and family of the captives, and throwing in an occasional, “Who is this?” and “Which is that?” And all the captives were women, with the exception of one child five years of age who was with them.

After that, those illustrious beings were excused from the presence [of the Prince] and housed outside of the city in a ruined caravansary that dated back to the time of Karím Khán Zand.

On the same night when the raid had been made on the houses of the believers [in Nayríz] and they were taken prisoner, twelve of the friends had succeeded in effecting their escape towards Isfahán. These, however, were subsequently captured in the neighborhood of Isfahán and brought to Shíráz, where they suffered martyrdom.

Second Nayríz Episode

Two years later, a protracted and unusual warfare was again waged against the believers who, because of the cruelties and brutalities to which they were subjected, were for a long while in hiding in the mountains with their wives and children. Until a mighty host of regular troops [p. 140] and volunteers from far and near had been gathered against them, and consequently those wronged-ones were compelled to commence warfare. Hemmed in as they were, that wronged-band began defenses and won many gallant victories despite the fewness of their numbers. This struggle and the siege of the mountain from all directions lasted for a long time.

Often would a company of seven or nineteen men come down from the mountain with cries of “Yá Sahibu’z-Zamán!” attack a battery, cut down the gunners, capture the gun, and bear it away with them to the mountain, where they would mount it on a tree trunk and fire it morning and evening against the camp. At other times they would make nightattacks on certain suburbs of Nayríz inhabited by enemies and opponents, and return safely. [At such times] none could withstand them, nor do aught but choose between submission and flight.

Now Zaynu’l‘Abidín Khán, the governor of Nayríz, had taken the chief part in bringing about all these troubles. He it was who had compassed the death of the much-wronged Áqá Siyyid Yahyá in the first war; he it was who devised most of the stratagems, tactics, dispositions, and arrangements of the army; he it was who, both in the first and the second war, provoked strife for the sake of securing his position as governor and winning approval from the government; he it was, in short, who had driven away [the Bábís] from their homes and possessions, and caused them with their wives and families to be beleaguered in the mountains. So one day when this honorable governor had gone to the bath, the illustrious insurgents attacked the bath and slew him.¹¹³

But reinforcements of men and artillery sent in rapid succession by the Navváb Tahmasp Mírzá, the Mu‘ayyadu’d-Dawlih, who at that time was the governor-general of Fárs, continued to arrive from Shíráz and occupy the rising ground adjoining the mountain. Still, notwithstanding the greatness of their host, they did not have the courage to face the defenders or venture to ascend the mountain in an attack. Even in their camp they were ill at ease because of the nightattacks and sudden onslaughts made upon them by very small parties of the friends [i.e., the Bábís]. These, as was related, would ofttimes rush into the camp, attack the artillery, slay the gunners, and return, pushing the guns with their shoulders, until they reached the mountain. Then, because the guncarriages would go no further, they would unmount the guns, and, with shoulders and ropes, push and drag them up the mountain. There they would remount them on treetrunks in place of carriages.

So when the royalist troops saw that they could effect nothing, they sent word to Istahbanat, Darab, and the other districts round Nayríz, and commanded the tribes to furnish as many marksmen and warriors as could be mustered, that these might surround the mountain on all sides and storm it after their own [tribal] fashion of warfare. And when this had been done, there were, besides the regular troops deputed for this task, nearly three thousand¹¹⁴ mounted gunmen of the people of Fárs, tribesmen, and others. These ascended the mountain on every side.

The illustrious friends [i.e., the Bábís], men and women alike, defended themselves most gallantly, and everywhere displayed, both in defense and attack, the most desperate courage, until most of them were slain, and the few survivors, having exhausted their powder and shot, were taken prisoners. Then the people, swarming over the mountain on all sides, seized the griefstricken and downhearted women whose husbands had been slain, and brought them, together with a few little children, to the camp; and we can well guess the treatment to which these women and children were then subjected. After that the host of local auxiliaries dispersed, while the regular troops broke up their camp, and, carrying with them their prisoners, and the severed heads of the men, set out for Shíráz, which in due course they reached.

In accordance with the instruction of the central authorities, the heads of the martyrs were sent from Shíráz to the Qájár monarch in Tihrán as a prize. However upon reaching Ábádih, the royal command arrived with the instruction not to bring the heads to Tihrán, but rather to [p. 145] bury them in that locality. [From the blessings of the martyrs,] Ábádih has now become an exceptionally pleasant place, and a Hadiratu’l-Quds had been established in that spot as well.

I have been informed that when the exalted Nabíl¹¹⁵ passed through Nayríz, he heard the details from certain aged folk who had survived from that time and had full knowledge of all that took place. The truth of the first and the second [Nayríz] battles is what has been described herein.

In short, with utmost wretchedness and distress, the much-wronged captives were kept in a caravansary for a period until the believers in Shíráz began to sponsor a number of them and they found husbands [and gained support].¹¹⁶

Chapter 6
The Household of Hujjat

[p. 145:10] After a while, consistent with the instruction of the Qájár sovereign, the captives of Zanjan, that is, the household of the illustrious Akhúnd Mullá Muhammad-‘Alí Zanjání, [surnamed] Hujjat,¹¹⁷ who were previously destined for Tihrán, were now ordered to be sent to Shíráz. Bíbí Ruqiyyih, the eldest daughter of the illustrious Hujjat, related the details of this episode for this servant thus:

After thirteen months during which the much-wronged party [i.e., the Bábís] had battled the government’s army, one morning Hujjat summoned his entire household into his presence. These included his three wives, two of whom were permanent, while one was contracted,¹¹⁸ and she did not have a child. One of the permanent wives was our mother who had six children, that is, five daughters and a son: Bíbí Ruqiyyih, Bíbí Sarih, Bíbí Fátimih, Bíbí Saffiyih, Bíbí Hamidiyh, and Mírzá Husayn. The other permanent wife had a two-year-old son named Ahmad¹¹⁹ who was held closely at his mother’s bosom. We all attained our father’s presence where we were exhorted with words to this effect:
You must endeavor to distinguish yourselves over the other people and in no wise should you be like the rest. You must possess chastity, purity, piety, detachment, religion, and trustworthiness. Your deeds must bear witness to the nobility of being a believer and a companion of the Qá’im. Should your conduct be such that the One Exalted God will be well pleased with you, my spirit will also rejoice and be glad. My martyrdom is certain. They will martyr me. After me, each of you many choose either martyrdom or captivity, and the Lord will assuredly grant your desire.
He spoke at length in this manner. The younger wife who had an infant child replied, “I wish martyrdom so that in whichever of God’s worlds you dwell, I would be with you.” He replied, “Since you desire and aspire martyrdom, be confident that such will be your destiny.”

Our mother made reply, “Captivity has a greater station since the Household of the Prophet, that is, the wife and the descendants of the Prince of Martyrs [i.e., Imám Husayn] were seized and taken from town to town and land to land, and, therefore, I desire enslavement.” “Imprisonment is decreed as your fortune and that of your children,” Hujjat answered. He then added, “Today is my last day in this transient world. I ask that after my martyrdom, you bury me in my clothes by the threshold of this room and place all your reliance in the Divine Sovereignty.”

After his utterances concluded, a cannonball shot by the enemies broke through the room and instantly martyred the younger wife and the child at her bosom. Hujjat instructed that she and her infant be buried at the same spot. Shortly thereafter, another bullet came through and took his own life. In accordance with his instructions, the companions interred his remains by the room’s entrance. When the enemies learned that his holiness [Hujjat] was martyred, they surrounded the camp and seized all the remaining followers. Then they searched for his body. Finding the spot where he had been buried, they exhumed the remains and, cutting off his finger, [p. 150] removed a ring he wore.¹²⁰

Thereafter, they apprehended all of us—a group that consisted of five sisters and my brother, together with our mother and our father’s concubine wife—and plundered all our possessions and seized our properties. Having completed these, they readied camels previously belonging to our family, and, accompanied by caravan-masters, they compelled us to mount the camels. In utmost misery, we were conducted in such wise from Zanjan to Tihrán.

Upon arrival at Tihrán, the Qájár monarch was informed of the manner in which they were made captive and conducted to the capital. The Sháh ordered that the prisoners must not remain in Tihrán but instead panniers be prepared for their delivery to Fárs in a dignified and befitting manner. Subsequent to the Sháh’s command, panniers with exquisite covers were readied and several attendants assigned to their service. In this manner they were conducted to Shíráz.

Arrival in Shíráz

Upon arrival, they were housed outside the city limits in a caravansary constructed by the late Karím Khán Zand, known by the name of Sháh Mír ‘Alí-Hamzih. After two days, in accordance with the instructions from the central authorities, the governor-general leased a house near his Ark [the seat of government] and relocated them to that place. He also issued orders for a governmental stipend so that the family would have a source of livelihood.

Time passed and the daughters of Hujjat reached the age of maturity and each married. The late Mírzá Abú‘l-Hasan Khán, the Mushíru’l-Mulk¹²¹ [II], took one of the daughters named [Bíbí] Saffiyih as a permanent wife, and he also arranged for her brother, Mírzá Husayn Khán, to be employed as his personal attendant, thereby ensuring their escape from the constant harassment and injury of the enemies.¹²²

The Journey of Mírzá Abú’l-Qásim

During the period that the captives of Nayríz and Zanjan were being brought to Shíráz, the report was circulating among the population in an unseemly manner, provoking a general uproar and tumult. As such, Hájí Mírzá Abú’l-Qásim<11>, whose excellent name was previously mentioned in these pages, recognized that because of the persecutions by lewd elements and the tyranny and pressure of the authorities, he could no longer tarry in Shíráz and therefore prepared to leave for Mecca. The wife of the illustrious martyred-uncle, Hájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí, insisted that her only child, Hájí Mírzá Javád<23>, was to accompany his uncle,¹²³ Hájí Mírzá Abú’l-Qásim, to Mecca.¹²⁴ At that time Mírzá Javád was about twenty-eight years old and a year earlier had married his cousin, the daughter of Hájí Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad, the illustrious maternal uncle of the Báb. It was during this journey that Mírzá Javád passed away in Mecca.¹²⁵

This journey of Hájí Mírzá Abú’l-Qásim lasted some eighteen months. The news of the martyrdom of the His Holiness the Exalted One—may the spirit of both worlds be a sacrifice for His pure blood—and the news of the passing of Hájí Mírzá Javád concurrently reached Shíráz and caused intense mourning and grief [among the kinsmen].

After his pilgrimage to Mecca and the ‘Atabát,¹²⁶ the honored Hájí Mírzá Abú’l-Qásim returned to Shíráz, and by then the excitement in Fárs had subsided to some degree and no longer was this matter current on the tongues and in the conversations.

Chapter 7