”Did you believe Me to have escaped?”
Two days after arriving in Kulayn, the Báb was joined by all three of His main amanuenses,
and they were invited to stay in lodgings close to the Báb’s tent. The following day, two believers arrived from Tihrán, and one of them carried a sealed letter and certain gifts from Bahá’u’lláh to the Báb. 98ACT5 Receipt of these by the Báb evoked visible sentiments of delight in Him. The Báb’s face glowed with joy as He overwhelmed the bearer with marks of His gratitude and favour.
One of the three amanuenses of the Báb [Mullá ‘Abdu’l-Karím of Qazvín] recounts this incident which occurred soon after:
My companions and I were fast asleep in the vicinity of the tent of the Bab when the trampling of horsemen suddenly awakened us. We were soon informed that the tent of the Bab was vacant and that those who had gone out in search of Him had failed to find Him. We heard Muhammad Big remonstrate with the guards. ”Why feel disturbed?” he pleaded. “Are not His magnanimity and nobleness of soul sufficiently established in your eyes to convince you that He will never, for the sake of His own safety, consent to involve others in embarrassment? He, no doubt, must have retired, in the silence of this moonlit night, to a place where He can seek undisturbed communion with God. He will unquestionably return to His tent. He will never desert us.”
In his eagerness to reassure his colleagues, Muhammad Big set out on foot along the road leading to Tihran. I, too, with my companions, followed him. Shortly after, the rest of the guards were seen, each on horseback, marching behind us. We had covered about a maydan [a unit of distance] when, by the dim light of the early dawn, we discerned in the distance the lonely figure of the Báb. He was coming towards us from the direction of Tihrán.
<br>“Did you believe Me to have escaped?” were His words to Muhammad Big as He approached him. “Far be it from me,” was the instant reply as he flung himself at the feet of the Bab, “to entertain such thoughts.” Muhammad Big was too much awed by the serene majesty which that radiant face revealed that morning to venture any further remark. A look of confidence had settled upon His [the Báb’s] countenance, His words were invested with such transcendent power, that a feeling of profound reverence wrapped our very souls. No one dared to question Him as to the cause of so remarkable a change in His speech and demeanour. Nor did He Himself choose to allay our curiosity and wonder.
99ACT5
Table of Contents
