To Mázindarán under the Black Standard

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DB 19

Section 1

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Section One: To Mázindarán Under the Black Standard

July 1848 had been a fateful month. The Conference of Badasht had ended at the beginning of that month; the incident at Níyálá transpired by middle of the month; and the Báb had been taken to Tabríz, interrogated and bastinadoed by the end of the month. Also, by the end of that month, Bahá’u’lláh and Táhirih were safely in Núr, but Quddús who had reached Sárí, was being held in house confinement there. Mullá Husayn who was in Mashhad during this time, was not yet aware of any of these events.

Mashhad: July 1848

Mullá Husayn had been staying by order of the Prince Hamzih Mírzá at the Prince’s regiment’s encampment on the outskirts of Mashhad. The Prince had asked Mullá Husayn to come there as part of trying to calm down the situation in Mashhad caused by the earlier altercation between the locals and the Bábí’s [DB 13-16, Section 5]. By July, things were sufficiently calm, such that the Prince allowed Mullá Husayn to return to Mashhad.

Quddus’ parting instructions to Mullá Husayn before leaving Mashhad, had been: “We shall meet at whatever place the Almighty will have decreed.” For now, Mullá Husayn decided that he would go to Karbalá’ in Iráq. The Prince, who thought Mullá Husayn’s goal was to go on pilgrimage to the Shrine of Imám Husayn in Karbalá’, offered to pay for the cost of this pilgrimage to that holy city. But Mullá Husayn would not accept and asked him to instead give the money to the poor of Mashhad. The Prince’s artillery captain who knew Mullá Husayn and greatly admired him, offered to cover the requirements of the trip for everyone. Mullá Husayn again would not accept that either, but instead accepted a sword and a horse, both of which, we shall see, he is destined to utilize.