Table of Contents
The efforts to kill Bahá’u’lláh
The enemies of Bahá’u’lláh tried everything they could to have Him executed, but their plans were not destined to work. The Sháh’s mother had developed a vindictive attitude towards Bahá’u’lláh and wanted very much to have him executed. As part of this plan, they got a former servant of Hájí Sulaymán Khán, a youth named ‘Abbás, who knew all the Bábís his master had associated with, to go around and point out individuals as Bábís. Nabíl records that:
This ‘Abbás was taken to the Síyáh-Chál and introduced to Bahá’u’lláh, whom he had met previously on several occasions in the company of his master, in the hope that he would betray Him. They promised that the mother of the Sháh would amply reward him for such a betrayal. Every time he was taken into Bahá’u’lláh’s presence, ‘Abbás, after standing a few moments before Him and gazing upon His face, would leave the place, emphatically denying ever having seen Him. Having failed in their efforts, they resorted to poison, in the hope of obtaining the favour of the mother of their sovereign. They were able to intercept the food that their Prisoner was permitted to receive from His home, and mixed with it the poison they hoped would be fatal to Him. This measure, though impairing the health of Bahá’u’lláh for years, failed to achieve its purpose.
‘Azím confesses
Finding they could not charge Bahá’u’lláh as the prime mover of that assassination attempt, the investigating authorities decided to transfer the responsibility for this act to ‘Azím, whom they now accused of being the real author of the crime. By this means they endeavoured to at least obtain the favour of the mother of the Sháh. ‘Azím had already been arrested. He was questioned as to whether he regarded Bahá’u’lláh as the responsible leader of the group that had made the assassination attempt. His response which was taken down as evidence was:
The Leader of this community was none other than the Siyyid-i-Báb, who was slain in Tabríz, and whose martyrdom induced me to arise and avenge His death. I alone conceived this plan and endeavoured to execute it.
‘Azím was then handed over to the ‘ulamá for further questioning, but during that interaction, one of them took a club and smashed ‘Azím’s head. His example was followed by the rest of the crowd, who fell upon him with daggers, sticks and stones, leaving mutilated remains.
Bahá’u’lláh is released
The confession of ‘Azím freed Bahá’u’lláh. The Russian minister had been putting a lot of pressure on the Grand Vazír, that the authorities must acknowledge ‘Azím’s confession and free Bahá’u’lláh. The Grand Vazír therefore sent his own representative to the Síyáh-Chál to present the order for the release of Bahá’u’lláh. Nabíl records what happened:
Upon his arrival, the sight which the emissary beheld filled him with grief and surprise. The spectacle which met his eyes was one he could scarcely believe. He wept as he saw Bahá’u’lláh chained to a floor that was infested with vermin, His neck weighed down by galling chains, His face laden with sorrow, ungroomed and dishevelled, breathing the pestilential atmosphere of the most terrible of dungeons. … He removed the mantle from his shoulders and presented it to Bahá’u’lláh, entreating Him to wear it when in the presence of the minister and his counsellors. Bahá’u’lláh refused his request, and, wearing the dress of a prisoner, proceeded straightway to the seat of the imperial government.
The first word the Grand Vazír was moved to address to his Captive was the following: “Had you chosen to take my advice, and had you dissociated yourself from the faith of the Siyyid-i-Báb, you would never have suffered the pains and indignities that have been heaped upon you.” “Had you, in your turn,” Bahá’u’lláh replied, “followed my counsels, the affairs of the government would not have reached so critical a stage.”
The Grand Vazír then remembered the discussion he had had with Bahá’u’lláh shortly after the government ordered execution of the Báb had taken place, when Bahá’u’lláh, had told him: “the flame that has been kindled will blaze forth more fiercely than ever”.
“The warning you uttered,” he [the Grand Vazír] remarked, “has, alas been fulfilled. What is it that you advise me now to do?”
“Command the governors of the realm,” was the instant reply, “to cease shedding the blood of the innocent, to cease plundering their property, to cease dishonouring their women and injuring their children. Let them cease the persecution of the Faith of the Báb; let them abandon the idle hope of wiping out its followers.”
The Grand Vazír did issue orders right away, which were sent to various governors of the provinces, that the persecution of the Bábís be halted. But alas, as history will show, that is not what happened.
Bahá’u’lláh returns to His Family
While Bahá’u’lláh had been taken to the Síyáh-Chál, His immediate family did not fare much better. The mob had attacked and ransacked His house in Tihrán. The immediate family [Ásíyih Khánum, and the three children, nine-year-old ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, seven-year-old Bahíyyih and three-year-old Mihdí] had escaped but were out on the streets with virtually nothing. The other extended family members were afraid to give them shelter in case they were labelled as Bábís and similarly attacked. Ásíyih Khánum with what little she had, managed to rent a small place [two little rooms] in an obscure quarter of the city. They had so little, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá later describing that time said: “Life became so difficult that one day Mother put a little flour in my hand and I ate it like that.”
When Bahá’u’lláh was first released, He went to stay with the family in those two little rooms, but He was physically in very poor condition. One of Bahá’u’lláh’s half-brothers, Mírzá Ridá-Qulí, was a physician and lived in Tihrán with his wife, Maryam. Maryam was also Bahá’u’lláh’s cousin. Bahá’u’lláh was taken to this half-brother’s house and taken care of by Ásíyih Khánum and Maryam. He slowly recovered.
Bahá’u’lláh is exiled: The Russian Minister offers his protection
Bahá’u’lláh’s life was saved, but the Sháh and his government knew His pre-eminent role in the Faith of the Báb. Shortly after His release, Bahá’u’lláh was informed that within one month of the issuing of this order, He, with His family, should leave Tihrán for a place beyond the confines of Persia.
The Russian minister, as soon as he learned about this order, volunteered to take Bahá’u’lláh under his protection, and invited Him to go to Russia. But Bahá’u’lláh refused that offer.
12 January 1853: Departure for ‘Iráq
Bahá’u’lláh chose to be exiled to Baghdád, ‘Iráq. Escorted by an imperial guard and an official of the Russian legation, Bahá’u’lláh and His family set out from Tihrán on 12 January 1853 for Baghdád. They will reach Baghdád on 8 April 1853.
It was the midst of bitter winter. In a prayer revealed by Bahá’u’lláh during that time, He recounts His suffering in the Síyáh-Chál and this journey:
My God, My Master, My Desire!… Thou hast created this atom of dust through the consummate power of Thy might, and nurtured Him with Thine hands which none can chain up.… Thou hast destined for Him trials and tribulations which no tongue can describe, nor any of Thy Tablets adequately recount. The throat Thou didst accustom to the touch of silk Thou hast, in the end, clasped with strong chains, and the body Thou didst ease with brocades and velvets Thou hast at last subjected to the abasement of a dungeon. Thy decree hath shackled Me with unnumbered fetters, and cast about My neck chains that none can sunder. .… How many the nights during which the weight of chains and fetters allowed Me no rest, and how numerous the days during which peace and tranquillity were denied Me, by reason of that wherewith the hands and tongues of men have afflicted Me! Both bread and water which Thou hast, through Thy all-embracing mercy, allowed unto the beasts of the field, they have, for a time, forbidden unto this servant, … until, finally, Thy decree was irrevocably fixed, and Thy behest summoned this servant to depart out of Persia, accompanied by a number of frail-bodied men and children of tender age, at this time when the cold is so intense that one cannot even speak, and ice and snow so abundant that it is impossible to move.
So began a series of exiles and imprisonments that would take Bahá’u’lláh across the Ottoman empire from Baghdád to Constantinople to Adrianople and eventually to the prison-city of ‘Akká, in whose vicinity on 29 May 1892 the Sun of Bahá will set in this physical realm. The tale of what transpired in that amazing forty-year period will have to be told another day.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *