Káshán, Qum, Tihrán & Khurásán – Page 8

emotion. He started to his feet, received with bowed head the gift from my hand, and fervently kissed it. He then took me in his arms, kissed my eyes, and said: “My dearly beloved friend! I pray that even as you have rejoiced my heart, God may grant you eternal felicity and fill your heart with imperishable gladness.” I was amazed at the behaviour of Mullá Husayn. What could be, I thought to myself, the nature of the bond that unites these two souls? What could have kindled so fervid a fellowship in their hearts? Why should Mullá Husayn, in whose sight the pomp and circumstance of royalty were the merest trifle, have evinced such gladness at the sight of so inconsiderable a gift from the hands of Bahá’u’lláh? I was puzzled by this thought and could not unravel its mystery.

A few days later, Mullá Husayn left for Khurásán. As he bade me farewell, he said: “Breathe not to anyone what you have heard and witnessed. Let this be a secret hidden within your breast. Divulge not His name, for they who envy His position will arise to harm Him. In your moments of meditation, pray that the Almighty may protect Him, that, through Him, He may exalt the downtrodden, enrich the poor, and redeem the fallen. The secret of things is concealed from our eyes. Ours is the duty to raise the call of the New Day and to proclaim this Divine Message unto all people. Many a soul will, in this city, shed his blood in this path. That blood will water the Tree of God, will cause it to flourish, and to overshadow all mankind.” ‘

Muhammad-i-Mu’allim, this obscure Shaykhí student, who relates the above story and becomes a believer in the Báb through Mullá Husayn, is destined to be closely associated with Bahá’u’lláh, and eventually shed his blood on the same battlefield as Mullá Husayn at Fort Shaykh Tabarsí.

Khurásán: Their knowledge is not a veil to them 41ACT3

Khurásán is the large northeastern province of Írán. Nowadays it is divided into three provinces: North Khurásán, Razaví Khurásán and South Khurásán. It was Mullá Husayn’s home province; his small hometown of Bushrúyih is in the southeastern part of the province (now South Khurásán). He had gone to religious

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