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As to his name, although his given name was Muhammad, Bahá’u’lláh called him by the name Nabíl in tablets addressed to him, and so he started being known as Nabíl-i-Zarandí [meaning Nabíl from Zarand]. The word Nabíl means noble or excellent and it has the same Abjad 9RES numerical value as the word Muhammad. Bahá’u’lláh also addressed him as Nabíl-i-A‘zam [means ‘the most great Nabíl’]. Nabíl was also a great poet and composed many poems in praise of Bahá’u’lláh. Shoghí Effendí listed him as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh, 10RES and in God Passes By described him in these words:
Mullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí ,surnamed Nabíl-i-A’zam, who may well rank as His Poet-Laureate, His chronicler and His indefatigable disciple. 11RES
The Dawn-Breakers is a story of lovers of the Light. It begins with Shoghí Effendí’s dedication of the book to the daughter of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahíyyih Khánum , with these words:
To
The Greatest Holy Leaf
The Last Survivor of a Glorious and Heroic Age
I Dedicate This Work
in Token of a
Great Debt of Gratitude and Love
Nabíl himself was one of those moth-like lovers of the Light. When Bahá’u’lláh passed away in 1892, Nabíl was overcome by grief. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá tried to soothe him and even asked him to put together a few passages from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh that could be read at Bahá’u’lláh’s Grave. Nabíl did that, and the result was the Tablet of Visitation that the Bahá’ís now read at the Shrines of the Bab and Bahá’u’lláh, and when commemorating anniversaries associated with Them. However, Nabíl could not bear the loss of his True Beloved, so much so that one
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