Table of Contents
Section Seven: Martyrdom of Vahíd
The Governor had only one aim and that was to execute Vahíd. It appears the Governor had a twinge of conscience about breaking his oath to Vahíd made on the Holy Qur’án. But this was overcome with a scheme. Among the officers were those who had not been present when the oath hath been taken, and so they could claim not to be bound by it. One of these, ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán , who was known for his ruthlessness and cruelty, said: “I can arrest at any time and put to death whomever I deem guilty of having violated the laws of the land.”49_ACT12 With this, he summoned three men those whose relatives had been killed during the attack by the Bábís, and ordered them to execute Vahíd.
The three immediately left and found Vahíd. They took the turban, the sign of Vahíd’s noble lineage,50_ACT12 from his head, wound it round his neck, and binding him to a horse, dragged him through the streets. A local mob gathered round Vahíd, pressing from every side around his body. With the accompaniment of drums and cymbals, led by the shrill shouts of the women of Nayríz, the mob gave vent to their hatred. They danced merrily around, as Vahíd uttered his last words:
Thou knowest, O my Beloved, that I have abandoned the world for Thy sake, and have placed my trust in Thee alone. I am impatient to hasten to Thee, for the beauty of Thy countenance has been unveiled to my eyes.
51_ACT12
One Western historian records:
He [Mullá Ridá] took hold of the green belt of Yahyá [Vahíd], symbol of his holy ancestry, tied it in a knot about his neck and began to drag him on the ground. Then came Safar whose brother Sha‘bán had fallen during the war, then Áqá Ján, son of ‘Alí-Asghar Khán, brother of Zaynu’l-‘Ábidín Khán, and the Muhammadans, aroused by the scene, stoned and beat to death the unfortunate man. They then severed the head, tore off the skin, stuffed it with straw and sent that trophy to Shíráz!52_ACT12
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