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This Shaykh Muhammad-Hasan whose response is compared by Bahá’u’lláh to that of the Sifter of Wheat, was one of leading exponents of Shí’a Islam of his time. He was the author of voluminous writings on Shí’a jurisprudence and based in Najaf. His test of crossing of the metaphoric Bridge of Sirát and that of the Sifter of Wheat occurred virtually at the same time, although in different lands. Remember, while Mullá Husayn had been instructed by the Báb to go north to Isfáhán as his first stop, Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastámí, the second Letter of the Living, had been instructed to go west to Najaf and Karbalá’ in Iraq [DB 3, Section 5]. Therefore, the two were raising the call of the coming of the Báb at about the same time in two different cities [Mullá Husayn in Isfáhán and Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastámí in Najaf] in two different lands [Iran and Iraq]. What happened in Najaf was this: Mullá ‘Alí went to this Shaykh Muhammad-Hasan while he was heading a huge gathering of his devotees. At this large gathering, Mullá ‘Alí arose and announced the manifestation of the Báb. Shaykh Muhammad-Hasan immediately pronounced Mullá ‘Alí to be a heretic and had him expelled. Furthermore, at Shaykh Muhammad-Hasan’s instigation, Mullá ‘Alí was then put on trial, sent to Constantinople 17ACT3 and condemned to hard labour, from which he died. Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastámí is recognized as the first to suffer for the Cause of the Báb, and the first of the many thousands who will be killed in the next few years announcing the Dawn of a New Day. 18ACT3 For now, let’s return to Mullá Husayn in Isfáhán.
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