Bahá’u’lláh refuses to hide
Bahá’u’lláh refused to hide away as proposed by the Grand Vazír’s brother. The Afchih village in Lavásán was part of the Grand Vazír’s estate5_ACT16 and so would have been a safe hiding place if Bahá’u’lláh had chosen to remain there. Instead, the next day, Bahá’u’lláh, with calm confidence, rode out from Lavásan to the headquarters of the imperial army stationed in Níyávarán in the Shimírán district.
Bahá’u’lláh’s brother-in-law [Mírzá Majíd-i-Áhí] was the secretary to the Russian minister. The seat of the Russian legation was the village of Zarkandih in the Shimírán district. Bahá’u’lláh went straight to Mírzá Majíd’s Zarkandih residence which adjoined that of the Russian minister. When the court and the Sháh were informed of Bahá’u’lláh’s location, they sent a message that He should be delivered into their hands. The Russian minister refused, instead requesting Bahá’u’lláh to go to the Grand Vazír’s residence. Bahá’u’lláh did accept that request. The Grand Vazier, Mírzá Áqá Khán-i-Núrí, who had become Grand Vazier less than a year ago, was a distant relative of Bahá’u’lláh and knew Him from before. He thought highly of Bahá’u’lláh and could have provided a degree of protection to Bahá’u’lláh. However, soon after setting out from Mírzá Majíd’s Zarkandih residence, the officers of the imperial army intervened and arrested Bahá’u’lláh. 6_ACT16
Bahá’u’lláh is taken to the Síyáh-Chál
Síyáh-Chál [the Black Pit] was the name given to the subterranean prison in Tihrán located right by the Sháh’s palace. It had at one time been the water reservoir for one of the public baths. It was the prison to which the worst criminals and those accused of crimes such as treason were sent. As soon as Bahá’u’lláh was outside the Russian legation’s area [Zarkandih village in Shimírán], He was seized by the imperial forces. He was taken on foot to be imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál in Tihrán. Nabíl describes that journey in these words:
From Shimírán to Tihrán, Bahá’u’lláh was several times stripped of His garments, and was overwhelmed with abuse and ridicule. On foot and exposed to the fierce rays of the midsummer sun, He was compelled to cover, barefooted and bareheaded, the whole distance from Shimírán to the dungeon already referred to. All along the route, He was pelted and vilified by the crowds whom His enemies had succeeded in convincing that He was
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