The Báb’s pilgrimage to Mecca14

Tell him that in the days of My retirement in the mountains of Sulaymáníyyih

, I, in a certain ode which I composed, set forth the essential requirements from every wayfarer who treads the path of search in his quest of Truth. Share with him this verse from that ode:

“If thine aim be to cherish thy life,

approach not our court;

But if sacrifice be thy heart’s desire,

come and let others come with thee.

For such is the way of Faith,

if in thy heart thou seekest reunion with Bahá;

Shouldst thou refuse to tread this path,

why trouble us? Begone!”

If he be willing, he will openly and unreservedly hasten to meet Me; if not, I refuse to see him.

Bahá’u’lláh’s unequivocal answer must have really disconcerted Mírzá Muhít. Unable to resist and unwilling to comply, Mírzá Muhít departed, the very day he received that message, for his home in Karbalá. As soon as he arrived home, he sickened, and, three days later, he died.

The Báb and His companions complete the pilgrimage and return to Búshihr

It is 10 January 1845. The Báb, Quddus and Mubárak proceed from Mecca to Medina, the city where the Prophet Muhammad is buried. As we already know, it is on the land journey between Mecca and Medina that the Báb reveals the answers to Mírzá Muhít questions, which He entitles Sahífiy-i-Baynu’l-Haramayn [The Epistle between the Two Shrines].

With this visit to Medina, the Báb’s Hajj is completed, and the Báb together with His companions return to Jeddah. From Jeddah, they embark on the sailing vessel and take the long sea voyage back to Búshihr.

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