“God is sufficient unto me; He verily is the All-sufficing!”
Nabíl further reports what he had heard Bahá’u’lláh Himself describe regarding the conditions in the Síyáh-Chál and some of the events that happened there:
All those who were struck down by the storm that raged during that memorable year in Tihrán were Our fellow-prisoners in the Síyáh-Chál, where We were confined. We were all huddled together in one cell, our feet in stocks, and around our necks fastened the most galling of chains. The air we breathed was laden with the foulest impurities, while the floor on which we sat was covered with filth and infested with vermin. No ray of light was allowed to penetrate that pestilential dungeon or to warm its icy-coldness. We were placed in two rows, each facing the other. We had taught them to repeat certain verses which, every night, they chanted with extreme fervour. “God is sufficient unto me; He verily is the All-sufficing!” one row would intone, while the other would reply: “In Him let the trusting trust.” The chorus of these gladsome voices would continue to peal out until the early hours of the morning. Their reverberation would fill the dungeon, and, piercing its massive walls, would reach the ears of Násirí’d-Dín Sháh, whose palace was not far distant from the place where we were imprisoned. “What means this sound?” he was reported to have exclaimed. “It is the anthem the Bábís are intoning in their prison,” they replied. The Sháh made no further remarks, nor did he attempt to restrain the enthusiasm his prisoners, despite the horrors of their confinement, continued to display. 11_ACT16
“One day, there was brought to Our prison a tray of roasted meat”
Bahá’u’lláh continued:
One day, there was brought to Our prison a tray of roasted meat, which they informed Us the Sháh had ordered to be distributed among the prisoners. “The Sháh,” We were told, “faithful to a vow he made, has chosen this day to offer to you all this lamb in fulfilment of his pledge.” A deep silence fell upon Our companions, who expected Us to make answer on their behalf. “We return this gift to you,” We replied; “we can well dispense with this offer.” The answer We made would have greatly irritated the guards had they not been eager to devour the food we had refused to touch. Despite the hunger with which Our companions were afflicted, only one among them, … showed any desire to eat of the food the sovereign had chosen to spread before us. With a fortitude that was truly heroic, Our fellow-prisoners submitted, without a murmur, to endure the piteous plight to which they were reduced. Praise of
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