Table of Contents
House of the Mu’tamidu’d-Dawlih in Isfáhán. Archival photos.
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The Land of Sád [Isfáhán]: The Nahrí Family
There is a Persian proverb: “Isfáhán nesf-e-jahán ast” [Isfáhán is half of the world]. True to the spirit behind this proverb, we see in Isfáhán a prime example of the New Horizon that the coming of the Báb created – the boundary where the forces of stygian darkness and those of dazzling light interact. Isfáhán is where we saw the Sifter of Wheat [the simple man who is honoured with being remembered in both the Bayán and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas] recognize the Báb, while many of the area’s learned turned away. It is the land which had its powerful and highly respected governor, the Mu’tamid, recognize the Báb, to be followed by his tyrannical successor, Gurgín Khán [we will soon see this]. It is the land which nurtured ‘ulamá, so cruel and avaricious as to be given titles such as Raqshá [She-serpent] and Dhib [Wolf], but it is also the land that nurtured the incredible Nahrí family, which became a tree that bore rich spiritual fruits.
The Nahrí family story is that of three brothers: Ibráhím [the eldest brother], Muhammad ‘Alí and Hádí .They were descendants of the Prophet Muhammad and therefore carried the title of Siyyids. We have met the two younger brothers before. Muhammad ‘Alí and Hádí met Mullá Husayn on his first visit to Isfáhán after the Declaration of the Báb, and they right away accepted the Báb and His Message
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