Letters of the Living-4 – Dawn Breakers

a vision. There appeared a light, which he followed and which led him in the vision to his Beloved. Mullá ‘Alí was exultant and rushed to Mullá Husayn in the middle of the night and threw himself into the arms of his revered companion. Mullá Husayn most lovingly embraced him and said: “Praise be to God who hath guided us hither! We had not been guided had not God guided us!”

Nabíl recounts what transpired next:

That very morning, at break of day, Mullá Husayn, followed by Mullá Ali, hastened to the residence of the Báb. At the entrance of His house they met the faithful Ethiopian servant, who immediately recognised them and greeted them in these words: ‘ Ere break of day, I was summoned to the presence of my Master, who instructed me to open the door of the house and to stand expectant at its threshold. ”Two guests,” He said, ”are to arrive early this morning. Extend to them in My name a warm welcome. Say to them from Me: Enter therein in the name of God.”

The first meeting of Mullá ‘Alí with the Bab, which was analogous to the meeting with Mullá Husayn, differed only in this respect, that whereas at the previous meeting the proofs and testimonies of the Bab’s mission had been critically scrutinized and expounded [upon], at this meeting, all argument had been set aside and nothing but the spirit of intense adoration and of close and ardent fellowship prevailed. The entire chamber seemed to have been vitalised by that celestial potency which emanated from His inspired utterance. Everything in that room seemed to be vibrating with this testimony: “Verily, verily, the dawn of a new Day has broken. The promised One is enthroned in the hearts of men. In His hand He holds the mystic cup, the chalice of immortality. Blessed are they who drink therefrom!”

Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastámí’s recognition of the Báb occurred forty days after that of Mullá Husayn.

⁴¹ Dawn-Breakers Chapter 3, p68

⁴² Dawn-Breakers Chapter 3, p68-69

⁴³ “Understand in the same way the beginning of the manifestation of the Bayán: during forty days no one but the letter Sín believed in B.” From the Persian Bayán quoted in Dawn-Breakers Chapter 3 p66 footnote 1. Also, God Passes By, Chapter 1, p7, notes: “Not until forty days had elapsed, however, did the enrollment of the seventeen remaining Letters of the Living commence.”

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