Chapter 8: The City of `abbás the Great

The garlands wither on your brow,
Then boast no more your mighty deeds;
Upon Death's purple altar now
See where the victor-victim bleeds:
Your heads must come
To the cold tomb;
Only the actions of the just
Smell sweet and blossom in the dust.
--James Shirley

Autumn was setting in when the Báb left the house of `Abdu'l-Ḥamíd [_Kh_]án, turned His back on [_Sh_]íráz and took the road to Iṣfahán. He was attended by Siyyid Káẓim-i-Zanjání.[1] No opportunity had there been for Him to see His mother and His wife, and they never met again. But He said farewell to His uncle, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí.

His family was in great distress, and the confounded and frustrated Governor turned upon them to give vent to his fury. First he seized and chastised the venerable Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí, then had his men break into the house of Ḥájí Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim, the brother-in-law of the Báb, who was dangerously ill in bed. He was dragged out, carried to the Governor's residence, threatened, reviled and fined. Porters took him back to his house, slinging him over their shoulders since he was unable to walk. The people of [_Sh_]íráz were warned that if a single sheet of the writings of the Báb was found in their possession, they would be severely punished. In their panic, scores dashed to the house of Ḥájí Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim with bundles of the writings of the Báb, all written in His own hand, threw them into the open portico of the house and dashed away, lest they might be seen with the incriminating material. Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí advised the members of that household to wash away the ink and bury the sodden paper.[CO]

[Footnote CO: The present writer remembers hearing from his
mother her recollections of her paternal grandmother, the
wife of Ḥájí Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim, which included an account
of the washing away of the writings of the Báb. Huge copper
collanders were used for the purpose. The paper was either
buried or thrown into wells.]

A day or two before the house of Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí was raided, Ḥájí Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim wrote to Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid Muḥammad, who was still in Bú[_sh_]ihr, in tones of great dismay: opposition was mounting, even a relative by marriage was vociferously denouncing the Báb (whom he names as Ḥájí Mírzá `Alí-Muḥammad throughout his letter) and Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí. As there were certain matters which Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí could not manage by himself, he desired Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid Muḥammad to come as soon as possible from Bú[_sh_]ihr, to do all that was needed to settle their affairs. 'Some people may feel ashamed and keep within bounds when they see you,' he wrote. He wanted to be freed of their trading engagements so that he could take his family and leave [_Sh_]íráz, to avoid any further injustices.

* * * * *

Iṣfahán, towards which the Báb set His face, was and is, _par excellence_, the city of `Abbás the Great, the most illustrious of the Ṣafavid monarchs (1501-1732), who is best known in the West because of his association with the Sherley brothers and the East India Company, with whose aid he drove the Portuguese out of the Persian Gulf. He is 'The Great Sophy' of Shakespeare. Iṣfahán had been the capital of the Saljúqs (Seljucids), centuries before, but it had suffered neglect in the intervening years. [_Sh_]ah `Abbás moved his capital from Qazvín to Iṣfahán, and began restoring the city which was to be styled, erelong, Niṣf-i-Jahán--Half-the-World. Magnificent mosques and colleges and pavilions, and the largest public square in the world, are prominent among that great ruler's works, and are there today to inspire wonder and admiration. But with the decline and eventual fall of the Ṣafavids, Iṣfahán, too, declined and met with repeated misfortunes in the days of the Qájárs, who pulled down or painted over Ṣafavid buildings.

In that autumn of 1846, the Governor-General of Iṣfahán was a Georgian eunuch: Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án, the Mu`tamidu'd-Dawlih. He had been, writes Layard,

purchased in his childhood as a slave, had been brought up a
Musulman, and reduced to his unhappy condition. Like many of
his kind, he was employed when young in the public service,
and had by his remarkable abilities risen to the highest
posts. He had for many years enjoyed the confidence and the
favour of the Shah. Considered the best administrator in the
kingdom, he had been sent to govern the great province of
Isfahan, which included within its limits the wild and
lawless tribes of the Lurs and Bakhtiyari, generally in
rebellion, and the semi-independent Arab population of the
plains between the Luristan Mountains and the Euphrates. He
was hated and feared for his cruelty, but it was generally
admitted that he ruled justly, that he protected the weak
from oppression by the strong, and that where he was able to
enforce his authority life and property were secure.[2]

Layard established a close friendship with Muḥammad-Taqí [_Kh_]án, the chieftain of the [_Ch_]ahár-Lang section of the Ba[_kh_]tíyárís. Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án captured this chieftain, after lengthy manoeuvres, and sent him with his family to Ṭihrán, where he died. Chiefly for that reason Layard is not at all complimentary in his copious writings about Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án. There is no doubt that the Ba[_kh_]tíyárí chieftain was in rebellion against the central government and even intended to take himself and his territory out of its jurisdiction. The proof is afforded by the fact that he sent Henry Layard to the island of [_Kh_]árg, then occupied by British forces, to sound the British authorities for support. Hennell told Layard that although Britain was in a state bordering on war with Írán, she would not countenance or encourage insurrection or secession.

Disregarding Layard's prejudices, the fact remains that historical evidence exists in plenty to prove that Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án had, in the company of his peers, his ample share of avarice and cruelty. He had been a faithful servant of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh, had fought battles for him to make his throne secure, and had, in successive appointments, pacified a vast area of the country, stretching from Kirmán[_sh_]áh in the west to Iṣfahán in the central regions, and to the waters of the Persian Gulf in the south. When he served as the Vizier of the province of Fárs, he put down an uprising, brought some seventy to eighty prisoners with him to [_Sh_]íráz, and outside the gate of Bá[_gh_]-i-[_Sh_]áh had a tower erected with their living bodies, which was held firm by mortar.

The Báb, as He approached Iṣfahán, wrote a letter to Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án in which he asked for shelter. Siyyid Káẓim-i-Zanjání took the letter to the Governor, who, greatly impressed by it, sent it on to Siyyid Muḥammad, the Sulṭánu'l-`Ulamá, the Imám-Jum`ih of Iṣfahán, and requested that high dignitary to open his home to the Báb. The Imám-Jum`ih dispatched a number of people close to himself, amongst them his brother,[CP] some distance out of the city to escort the Báb to Iṣfahán, and at the city-limits he himself welcomed the Visitor with respect and reverence. He went far beyond the usual marks of cordial hospitality, even to the extent of pouring water from a ewer over the hands of the Báb, a task normally performed by attendants.

[Footnote CP: This man in future years proved so hostile,
bloodthirsty and rapacious that Bahá'u'lláh designated him as
'Raq[_sh_]á', the She-Serpent.]

There were, by this time, an appreciable number of Bábís in Iṣfahán, many of them natives of the city and some directed there by the Báb Himself. Amongst the wider public the fame of the Báb spread rapidly. There was one occasion when people came to take away the water He had used for His ablutions, so greatly did they value it. His host was enthralled by the Báb. One night, after the evening meal, he asked his Guest to write for him a commentary on the Súrih of V'al-`Aṣr (Afternoon--Qur'án ciii), one of the shortest Súrihs:

By the afternoon!
Surely Man is in the way of loss,
save those who believe, and do righteous deeds,
and counsel each other unto the truth,
and counsel each other to be steadfast.[3]

The Báb took up His pen and wrote His commentary, there and then, to the astonishment and delight of all who were present. It was past midnight when the assemblage broke up. Mullá Muḥammad-Taqíy-i-Hirátí, one of the divines of Iṣfahán, was so overcome by the power of the Báb's pen and voice that he said with great feeling:

Peerless and unique as are the words which have streamed
from this pen, to be able to reveal, within so short a time
and in so legible a writing, so great a number of verses as
to equal a fourth, nay a third, of the Qur'án, is in itself
an achievement such as no mortal, without the intervention
of God, could hope to perform.[4]

People of all ranks flocked to the house of the Imám-Jum`ih. Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án himself called there to meet the Báb. He was a proud man and a powerful Governor, ruling over an important section of the realm. His visit to a young Siyyid, hitherto unknown, indicates the measure of change wrought in him by that one letter which he had received from the Báb. Indeed, Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án was to become a changed man under the influence of the Báb, who had been a fugitive and an exile at his door. He now asked the Báb for a treatise on 'Nubuvvat-i-[_Kh_]áṣṣih'--the specific station and mission of the Prophet Muḥammad. Again surrounded by a number of the leading divines of Iṣfahán, the Báb wrote instantaneously the treatise which the Governor desired. Within two hours He produced a disquisition of fifty pages, superbly reasoned, proving unassailably the claim and the achievement of Islám, and ending His theme on the subject of the advent of the Qá'im and the Return of Imám Ḥusayn (Rij`at-i-Ḥusayní). Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án's immediate response was:

Hear me! Members of this revered assembly, I take you as my
witnesses. Never until this day have I in my heart been
firmly convinced of the truth of Islám. I can henceforth,
thanks to this exposition penned by this Youth, declare
myself a firm believer in the Faith proclaimed by the
Apostle of God. I solemnly testify to my belief in the
reality of the superhuman power with which this Youth is
endowed, a power which no amount of learning can ever
impart.[5]

It was inevitable that soon the jealousy of the clergy would be aroused. Áqá Muḥammad-Mihdí,[CQ] the son of the renowned Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ibráhím-i-Kalbásí, began to use the pulpit to insult and disparage the Báb. When Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí heard of the situation in Iṣfahán, he wrote to upbraid the Imám-Jum`ih for having harboured the Báb. The Grand Vizier was afraid that Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án, because of the confidence that Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh reposed in him, might succeed in arranging a meeting between the Báb and the monarch. The hold which Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí had on Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh was chiefly due to the quasi-religious nature of their relationship. He was the mur[_sh_]id (spiritual guide) and his king was the muríd (disciple). The Imám-Jum`ih, still loyal, took no step in opposition, but endeavoured to reduce the number of visitors.

[Footnote CQ: Because of his stupidity Áqá Muḥammad-Mihdí
was mockingly called Safíhu'l-`Ulamá--the Foolish One of the
Learned.]

As the clamour of the opponents increased, Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án thought of a scheme to silence them. He invited the leading divines to meet the Báb at his home and argue their case. Ḥájí Siyyid Asadu'lláh, the son of the celebrated Ḥájí Siyyid Muḥammad-Báqir-i-Ra[_sh_]tí, declined the invitation and advised the rest to do the same:

I have sought to excuse myself and I would most certainly
urge you to do the same. I regard it as most unwise of you
to meet the Siyyid-i-Báb face to face. He will, no doubt,
reassert his claim and will, in support of his argument,
adduce whatever proof you may desire him to give, and,
without the least hesitation, will reveal as a testimony to
the truth he bears, verses of such a number as would equal
half the Qur'án. In the end he will challenge you in these
words: 'Produce likewise, if ye are men of truth.' We can in
no wise successfully resist him. If we disdain to answer
him, our impotence will have been exposed. If we, on the
other hand, submit to his claim, we shall not only be
forfeiting our own reputation, our own prerogatives and
rights, but will have committed ourselves to acknowledge any
further claims that he may feel inclined to make in the
future.[6]

Only Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ja`far-i-Ábádi'í took Ḥájí Siyyid Asadu'lláh's advice and kept away. In the presence of Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án, Mírzá Ḥasan-i-Núrí was the first to pose a question. Mírzá Ḥasan was a follower of the I[_sh_]ráqí school (Platonism), and his question concerned certain elements of the philosophy of Mullá Ṣadrá contained in his celebrated work: the _Ḥikmatu'l-`Ar[_sh_]íyyah_ (Celestial or Divine Philosophy).[7] The Báb's answers, even though couched in simple terms, were beyond the grasp of Mírzá Ḥasan's mind. 'The Foolish One of the Learned' was the next to face the Báb, and he began to probe into points of Islamic jurisprudence. Unable to withstand the force of the Báb's exposition he started a verbal assault which the Governor quickly brought to an end. Sensing the mood of the audience, Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án deemed it prudent that the Báb should stay under the protection of his roof and not return to the house of the Imám-Jum`ih, where he had been a guest for forty days.

The next move came from the divines. Like their compatriots in [_Sh_]íráz, they gathered together and passed a verdict on the Báb which carried with it the sentence of death. Both Ḥájí Siyyid Asadu'lláh-i-Ra[_sh_]tí and Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ja`far-i-Ábádi'í refused to be identified with it, but the Imám-Jum`ih, with an eye to his position, wrote:

I testify that in the course of my association with this
youth I have been unable to discover any act that would in
any way betray his repudiation of the doctrines of Islam. On
the contrary, I have known him as a pious and loyal observer
of its precepts. The extravagance of his claims, however,
and his disdainful contempt for the things of the world,
incline me to believe that he is devoid of reason and
judgment.[8]

Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh had already instructed Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án to send the Báb to Ṭihrán. The transforming power of the Báb can now be discerned. Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án had served the Qájár monarch faithfully at all times. His generalship had helped to secure Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh's position. But, once conquered by the Báb and won over to His Cause, Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án unhesitatingly availed himself of the [_Sh_]áh's command, not to send the Báb immediately to the capital which would have put Him at the mercy of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí, but to shield Him from His enemies. Under public gaze the Báb was escorted out of Iṣfahán, guarded by five hundred horsemen. Nabíl-i-A`ẓam writes:

Imperative orders had been given that at the completion of
each farsang[CR] one hundred of this mounted escort should
return directly to Iṣfahán. To the chief of the last
remaining contingent, a man in whom he placed implicit
confidence, the Mu`tamid confidentially intimated his desire
that at every maydán[CS] twenty of the remaining hundred
should likewise be ordered by him to return to the city. Of
the twenty remaining horsemen, the Mu`tamid directed that
ten should be despatched to Ardistán for the purpose of
collecting the taxes levied by the government, and that the
rest, all of whom should be of his tried and most reliable
men, should, by an unfrequented route, bring the Báb back in
disguise to Iṣfahán. They were, moreover, instructed so
to regulate their march that before dawn of the ensuing day
the Báb should have arrived at Iṣfahán and should have
been delivered into his custody.... At an unsuspected hour,
the Báb re-entered the city, was directly conducted to the
private residence of the Mu`tamid, known by the name of
`Imárat-i-[_Kh_]ur[_sh_]íd [the Sun-House], and was
introduced, through a side entrance reserved for the
Mu`tamid himself, into his private apartments. The governor
waited in person on the Báb, served His meals, and provided
whatever was required for His comfort and safety.[9]

[Footnote CR: Three miles roughly to a farsang or
farsa[_kh_].]

[Footnote CS: Maydán is a public square or an arena; as a
measure of distance it was an indeterminate sub-division of a
farsang.]

`Abdu'l-Bahá states in _A Traveller's Narrative_ that Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án gave secret orders for the return of the Báb when He and His escort had reached Múr[_ch_]ih-[_Kh_]ár, some thirty-five miles to the north of Iṣfahán.[10]

Wild rumours began to circulate regarding the fate of the Báb. It was believed that He had been executed in Ṭihrán. To allay the fears of the Bábís of Iṣfahán the Báb allowed Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Qazvíní, Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí and [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí to be brought to meet Him. He entrusted them with the task of transcribing His Writings. Not long afterwards, He instructed them to tell the other Bábís who had moved to Iṣfahán to leave the city and go northwards, to Ká[_sh_]án, or Qum or Ṭihrán.

Not long before his death, Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án offered the Báb all his immense fortune,[CT] and the resources of his army which were considerable, that they might march to Ṭihrán and approach the person of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh. Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án was certain that the monarch, who trusted him completely, would listen to his plea, recognize the truth of the Revelation of the Báb, and whole-heartedly lend his support to the promotion of the new Faith. And Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án looked even beyond the frontiers of Írán, for he told the Báb: '... I hope to be enabled to incline the hearts of the rulers and kings of the earth to this most wondrous Cause...' To this the Báb replied:

May God requite you for your noble intentions. So lofty a
purpose is to Me even more precious than the act itself.
Your days and Mine are numbered, however; they are too short
to enable Me to witness, and allow you to achieve, the
realisation of your hopes. Not by the means which you fondly
imagine will an almighty Providence accomplish the triumph
of His Faith. Through the poor and lowly of this land, by
the blood which these shall have shed in His path, will the
omnipotent Sovereign ensure the preservation and consolidate
the foundation of His Cause. That same God will, in the
world to come, place upon your head the crown of immortal
glory, and will shower upon you His inestimable blessings.
Of the span of your earthly life there remain only three
months and nine days, after which you shall, with faith and
certitude, hasten to your eternal abode.[12]

[Footnote CT: According to Nicolas, the French envoy in
Ṭihrán (M. de Bonnière) wrote to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs in Paris, on March 4th 1847, that Mu`tamidu'd-Dawlih,
the Governor of Iṣfahán, had died, leaving a fortune
estimated at 40 million francs.[11]]

The Báb, in His Tablet addressed to Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh, states that He foretold, in a letter to two divines in Yazd, the date of the death of Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án, eighty-seven days before it occurred. And He mentions that Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án had offered Him all that he possessed, even taking off his rings and placing them before Him.

Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án had come to realize that his wealth was the product of oppression. The Báb accepted both his repentance and his wealth, then returned to him his riches for his use until his death, which occurred in the month of Rabí`u'l-Avval 1263 A.H. (February-March 1847 A.D.)

Even though in his will Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án left all his property to the Báb, his nephew and successor, Gurgín [_Kh_]án, appropriated everything after his death, and informed Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh that the Báb was in Iṣfahán, having been kept, well-protected, by the late Governor in the seclusion of `Imárat-i-[_Kh_]ur[_sh_]íd. Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh's trust in Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án was not shaken. He felt certain that that wise man and faithful servant had guarded the Báb against all possible harm until an opportune time when a meeting between himself and the Báb could be arranged. He issued orders for the removal of the Báb to the capital in such wise that He should not be recognized _en route_.

Those four months in the private residence of the Governor of Iṣfahán were the calmest that the Báb was to experience throughout His Ministry.[13]