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imprisonment He suffered for the sake of His loved ones.”65ACT6 Eventually, through the efforts of other friends who were senior in the government, Bahá’u’lláh was released. Much to the disappointment of the captors, they could not get any money out of this from anyone.
Shaykh Sálih becomes the First Martyr on Persian Soil
In spite of all their plotting, the heirs of Mullá Taqí could not get the Grand Vazír and the Sháh to agree to execute the prisoners. Instead, they were ordered to find the murderer, and only execute him. Given this outcome, the disappointed Taqí supporters decided to get their hatred and anger out in whatever way they could. They declared without any proof that Shaykh Sálih , who was a close associate of Táhirih’s, was the murderer and put him to death. Shaykh Sálih was an Arab and a resident of Karbalá’66ACT6. He had been taught the Faith of the Báb by Táhirih in Karbalá’ and had travelled with her all the way from there. Nabíl recounts how he approached his execution:
As he was being conducted to the scene of his martyrdom, his face glowed with zeal and joy. He hastened to the foot of the gallows and met his executioner as if he were welcoming a dear and lifelong friend. Words of triumph and hope fell unceasingly from his lips. “I discarded,” he cried, with exultation, as his end approached, “the hopes and the beliefs of men from the moment I recognised Thee, Thou who art my Hope and my Belief!” 67ACT6
So it was that the Arab Shaykh Sálih, a Bábí from Karbalá’, became the first Bábí to shed his blood on Persian soil in the path of the Cause of God. 68ACT6 The first Bábí to be martyred for the Cause was the second Letter of the Living, Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastámí, but that was on in Constantinople and not on Persian soil [DB 3, Section 5].
The First Massacre of Bábís
The hatred that drove the heirs and followers of Mullá Taqí was insatiable. Having falsely accused and put to death Shaykh Sálih, they now worked to kill the rest of the prisoners being held in the capital. In contrast to other occasions which will arise in the future, this time, both the Grand Vazír [Hájí Mírzá Áqásí] and the Sháh
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