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the gate and brought the Báb to his own house. This brother of the Imám-Jum’ih is sadly one of those lost souls whose choices lead to his spiritual demise. This brother’s savage cruelty in the future will earn him the title of Raqshá [She-serpent] by Bahá’u’lláh. 28ACT5
As to the Imám-Jum’ih, from the very first day, he was so enamoured by the Báb, that, according to Nabíl:
[A]ssuming the functions of an attendant, he [the Imám-Jum’ih] undertook to the minister to the needs and wants of his beloved Guest. Seizing the ewer from the hand of the chief steward and utterly ignoring the customary dignity of his rank, he proceeded to pour out the water over the hands of the Báb. 29ACT5
The Commentary on the Súrih of Va’l-‘Asr
One night, after supper, the Imám-Jum’ih ventured to request his youthful Guest to write a commentary on the Súrih 30ACT5 of Va’l-‘Asr [Chapter of the Afternoon] 31ACT5 of the Qur’án. Nabíl recounts what happened:
His request was readily granted. Calling for pen and paper, the Báb, with astonishing rapidity and without the least premeditation, began to reveal, in the presence of His host, a most illuminating interpretation of the aforementioned súrih. It was nearing midnight when the Bab found Himself engaged in the exposition of the manifold implications involved in the first letter of that súrih. That letter, the letter`váv’ upon which Shaykh
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