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his feet, implored him, with tearful eyes, to allow her to rush forth to their aid. “My life, I feel, is nearing its end,” she added. “I may myself fall beneath the sword of the assailant. Forgive, I entreat you, my trespasses, and intercede for me with my Master, for whose sake I yearn to lay down my life.”
The Bábà youth in the Fort get married
Hujjat knew that they were set on a path which had no going back. As the siege continued, he asked all the young men and women who were already engaged to get married and celebrate their nuptials. He also chose for each unmarried male youth, a young woman as a spouse. He joined them all in wedlock and, from his own purse, he contributed whatever he had to each couple. NabĂl records:
During more than three months these festivities continued, festivities which were intermingled with the terrors and hardships of a long-protracted siege. How often did the clamour of an advancing foe drown the acclamations of joy with which bride and bridegroom greeted each other! How suddenly was the voice of merriment stilled by the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!” that summoned the faithful to arise and repulse the invader! With what tenderness would the bride entreat the bridegroom to tarry awhile longer beside her ere he rushed forth to win the crown of martyrdom! “I can spare no time,” he would reply. “I must hasten to obtain the crown of glory. We