Events leading up to Badasht – Page 2

Summer 1848

It is the start of the summer of 1848.
The Báb has been moved from the prison of Máh-Kú to that of Chihríq.
Mullá Husayn and Quddús based in Mashhad [main city in northeastern part of the province of Khurásán] are highly successful in their teaching work and causing quite a stir.
The Báb has directed the believers to head to Khurásán and join forces with them.
Through Bahá’u’lláh’s efforts, Táhirih has escaped her confinement in Qazvín, and Bahá’u’lláh and Táhirih are among those on their way from Tihrán to Khurásán. They have arrived at the village of Sháh-Rúd which is in the province of Semnán [Simnán] and lies between Tihrán and Mashhad.

Badasht is a hamlet that lies just a few miles east of Sháh-Rúd. Badasht is where the other believers from different parts of the land have arrived and camped, planning to join Bahá’u’lláh to go to Khurásán.

What happened in Mashhad and led to the events at Badasht is described below.

Mashhad: They raised the cry of “Yá Sáhibu’z-Zamán!”

The Báb had previously asked the believers to head to Khurásán to join Quddús and Mullá Husayn, in Mashhad. But as events unfolded, there was a shift in that direction. This shift was triggered by what transpired in Mashhad.

Nabíl recounts:

The whole province of Khurásán was in those days in the throes of a violent agitation. The activities which Quddús and Mullá Husayn had initiated, their zeal, their courage, their outspoken language, had aroused the people from their lethargy, had kindled in the hearts of some the noblest sentiments of faith and devotion, and had provoked in the breasts of others the instincts of passionate fanaticism and malice. A multitude of seekers constantly poured from every direction into Mashhad, eagerly sought the residence of Mullá Husayn, and through him were ushered into the presence of Quddús. Their numbers soon swelled to such proportions as to excite the apprehension of the authorities.

In an attempt to intimidate Mullá Husayn and force him to curtail his activities, the chief constable of Mashhad had Mullá Husayn’s special attendant, Hasan, arrested.

291 / 803