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withdraw, and gave them in exchange the houses in which they themselves had been dwelling. 37_AACT14
As the Bábís prepared to come into the fort, Hujjat told them:
The hand of Omnipotence has, in this day, separated truth from falsehood and divided the light of guidance from the darkness of error. I am unwilling that because of me you should suffer injury. … Whoever among you feels the least desire to safeguard his life against the perils with which we are beset, whoever is reluctant to offer his life for our Cause, let him, ere it is too late, betake himself from this place and return whence he came. 38_ACT14
The fort of ‘Alí-Mardán Khán was a relatively large mud-fort. As the Bábís came into the fort, their numbers swelled. They were men, women, youth and children of all ages. Many were families. In the fort, they were assigned living areas and assigned different tasks. Nabíl records the number of companions in the fort to have been about three thousand.39_ACT14
The attacks on the Fort begin
The force assembled by the governor now began their attack against the fort. Nabíl describes the response of the besieged Bábís in the fort:
Every time they rushed to attack the fort, Hujjat would order a few of his companions, who were three thousand in number, to emerge from their retreat and scatter their forces. He never failed, every time he gave them such orders, to caution his fellow-disciples against shedding unnecessarily the blood of their assailants. He constantly reminded them that their action was of a purely defensive character, and that their sole purpose was to preserve inviolate the security of their women and children. “We are commanded,” he was frequently heard to observe, “not to wage holy war under any circumstances against the unbelievers, whatever be their attitude towards us.” 40_ACT14
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