Chapter 12: That Midsummer Noon

Transcendent Star, past mortal ken
The glory of your Life through all the spheres
Bathes the unending vista of the years.
The radiance of the Light you brought to men
Has purified the planet's heart anew!
Your blood was poured upon its dearth like dew,
Ichor of God's decree, let each drop shed
Raise up the nations, and the living dead,
Revive the vision of the spirit's youth:
Auroral is the fountain of your Truth.
--Beatrice Irwin

The death of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh and the downfall of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí were events of far-reaching consequence. The new monarch was very young and inexperienced, while the man who now occupied the seat left vacant by the disappearance of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí was capable and uncorrupted, but self-willed and headstrong. Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án, the Amír-Niẓám (better known by his later title Amír-i-Kabír) had by sheer force of his abilities raised himself from humble origins to a position of power. His father had been a cook in the employment of the illustrious Qá'im-Maqám. And it had been that great minister who had first noticed high promise in the young Taqí. Although Náṣiri'd-Dín [_Sh_]áh now reigned over Írán, it was Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án who ruled it.

* * * * *

Once again, within the confines of [_Ch_]ihríq, the Báb had uninterrupted communication with His followers. Mullá Ádí Guzal, a native of Mará[_gh_]ih (Á[_dh_]-rbáyján), acted as a courier, often traversing vast distances on foot. Decades later `Abdu'l-Bahá recalled a day when this indefatigable man arrived at Ṭihrán, dressed as a dervish and much travel-stained. Vaḥíd, on learning who he was and from whence he had come, bent low and kissed the mud-encrusted feet of the courier, for he had been in the presence of the Beloved.

One of this courier's journeys took him to Quddús, with the gift of a valuable pen-case and a silk turban sent by the Báb. And when Quddús and Mullá Ḥusayn and their companions died as martyrs in Mázindarán, the Báb chose this same faithful courier to go on pilgrimage in His stead to the land drenched with their blood. Thus Mullá Ádí Guzal was the first Bábí to set eyes on the scenes of that carnage. He was also, for two months, the Báb's personal attendant in the castle of [_Ch_]ihríq.[1]

Sulaymán [_Kh_]án, the son of Yaḥyá [_Kh_]án of Tabríz, was one of the prominent followers of the Báb who attained His presence in this castle, after making the journey in disguise.[DY] He had no liking for service at court, and had gone to `Iráq, to live under the shadow of the Shrine of Imám Ḥusayn. There he found himself attracted to the teachings of Siyyid Káẓim and, hearing later of the advent of the Báb, gave Him his allegiance. The news of the plight of his fellow-believers, who were hounded and besieged in Mázindarán, drew him back to his native land. He reached Ṭihrán dressed as a cleric. Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án, however, made him discard his turban and long cloak, and forced him to wear a military uniform. But he could not prevail upon him to enter the service of the Government. Sulaymán [_Kh_]án's primary purpose remained unfulfilled: to give aid to Quddús and the Bábu'l-Báb proved impossible, but his sudden departure from Karbilá was not to be in vain, or barren of significant result.

[Footnote DY: The father of Sulaymán [_Kh_]án was an
attendant of `Abbás Mírzá, and then of his son, Muḥammad
[_Sh_]áh.]

Another visitor to [_Ch_]ihríq during the closing months of the life of the Báb was His uncle, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí. His life too was nearing its end, to be laid down in the path of his Nephew. Two years had passed since the day his Nephew bade him farewell in [_Sh_]íráz, and Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí could no longer bear the pangs of separation. He settled his accounts, closed his books and took the road to Á[_dh_]arbáyján. Having attained his heart's desire, he wrote to his brother, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid Muḥammad, to help him see the truth of their Nephew's mission. His letter was written on the fifth day of Jamádíu'l-Úlá--the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb. 'On such a day,' he told his brother, 'the resplendent Light of God shone forth.... This is the day of Resurrection ... the day to behold the Visage of God.'[2] The One promised, expected and awaited had indeed come, he asserted, and come with verses constituting the primal proof of all the Manifestations of God. He desired all the members of his family to see his letter. One cannot but marvel at the quality of devotion and certainty that this letter reveals.

To meet, after such a long interval, the uncle who had stood _in loco parentis_ to Him when He was orphaned, must have given the Báb intense joy. But within a few months[DZ] of His uncle's visit, news came that brought Him unbearable sorrow. At [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ṭabarsí in Mázindarán a large number of His followers had been massacred, including nine of His first disciples, the Letters of the Living; amongst them were the Bábu'l-Báb who had first believed in Him, and Quddús, His companion on the journey to Ḥijáz, the beloved disciple whose primacy was unquestioned.

[Footnote DZ: Towards the end of June 1849.]

According to His amanuensis:

The Báb was heart-broken at the receipt of this unexpected
intelligence. He was crushed with grief, a grief that
stilled His voice and silenced His pen. For nine days He
refused to meet any of His friends. I myself, though His
close and constant attendant, was refused admittance.
Whatever meat or drink we offered Him, He was disinclined to
touch. Tears rained continually from His eyes, and
expressions of anguish dropped unceasingly from His lips. I
could hear Him, from behind the curtain, give vent to His
feelings of sadness as He communed, in the privacy of His
cell, with His Beloved. I attempted to jot down the
effusions of His sorrow as they poured forth from His
wounded heart. Suspecting that I was attempting to preserve
the lamentations He uttered, He bade me destroy whatever I
had recorded. Nothing remains of the moans and cries with
which that heavy-laden heart sought to relieve itself of the
pangs that had seized it. For a period of five months He
languished, immersed in an ocean of despondency and
sorrow.[3]

Conscious that His own life was fast approaching its end, the Báb put all His Writings, His pen-case, His seals and rings in a box which He entrusted to Mullá Báqir-i-Tabrízí, one of the Letters of the Living, with instructions to deliver it, together with a letter, to Mírzá Aḥmad-i-Kátib (Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Qazvíní). Nabíl-i-A`ẓam writes:

Mullá Báqir departed forthwith for Qazvín. Within eighteen
days he reached that town and was informed that Mírzá
Aḥmad had departed for Qum. He left immediately for that
destination and arrived towards the middle of the month of
[_Sh_]a`bán.[EA] I was then in Qum.... I was living in the
same house with Mírzá Aḥmad.... In those days
[_Sh_]ay[_kh_] `Aẓím, Siyyid Ismá`íl, and a number of
other companions likewise were dwelling with us. Mullá Báqir
delivered the trust into the hands of Mírzá Aḥmad, who,
at the insistence of [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] `Aẓím, opened it
before us. We marvelled when we beheld, among the things
which that coffer contained, a scroll of blue paper, of the
most delicate texture, on which the Báb, in His own
exquisite handwriting, which was a fine [_sh_]ikastih
script, had penned, in the form of a pentacle, what numbered
about five hundred verses, all consisting of derivatives
from the word 'Bahá'.[EB] That scroll was in a state of
perfect preservation, was spotlessly clean.... So fine and
intricate was the penmanship that, viewed at a distance, the
writing appeared as a single wash of ink on the paper. We
were overcome with admiration as we gazed upon a masterpiece
which no calligraphist, we believed, could rival. That
scroll was replaced in the coffer and handed back to Mírzá
Aḥmad, who, on the very day he received it, proceeded to
Ṭihrán. Ere he departed, he informed us that all he could
divulge of that letter was the injunction that the trust was
to be delivered into the hands of Jináb-i-Bahá[EC] in
Ṭihrán.[4]

[Footnote EA: Towards the end of June 1850.]

[Footnote EB: There were 360 derivatives. (Browne, ed., _A
Traveller's Narrative_, Vol. II, p. 42.)]

[Footnote EC: Bahá'u'lláh.]

It was also during the last few months of His life that the Báb composed the Arabic _Bayán_, which, in the estimation of Nicolas, is the epitome of the teachings of the Báb.

* * * * *

The man who took the decision to have the Báb executed was Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án, the Grand Vizier of Náṣiri'd-Dín [_Sh_]áh. His obdurate nature brooked no opposition. Mírzá Áqá [_Kh_]án-i-Núrí, who had a ministerial post, made a faint protest, but his voice went unheeded. Orders were sent to Ḥamzih Mírzá, the Ḥi[_sh_]matu'd-Dawlih, Governor-General of Á[_dh_]arbáyján, to bring the Báb to Tabríz. When these were carried out further orders came from the Grand Vizier, brought by no less a person than his brother, Mírzá Ḥasan [_Kh_]án, the Vazír Nizám. They were to the effect that the Báb should be executed by a firing squad, in full public view. Ḥi[_sh_]matu'd-Dawlih refused absolutely to be associated in any way with such a dastardly action. His response was: 'I am neither Ibn-i-Zíyád nor Ibn-i-Sa`d[ED] that he should call upon me to slay an innocent descendant of the Prophet of God.'[5]

[Footnote ED: Men responsible for the tragedy of Karbilá, and
the martyrdom of Imám Ḥusayn.]

The Grand Vizier, on being informed by Mírzá Ḥasan [_Kh_]án of this refusal, instructed his brother to carry out the orders under his own authority. Divested of His turban and sash which indicated His lineage, the Báb and His attendants were taken on foot to the barracks, from the house which the Governor had put at their disposal. On the way to the citadel, a youth, barefoot and dishevelled, threw himself at the feet of the Báb, beseeching Him: 'Send me not from Thee, O Master. Wherever Thou goest, suffer me to follow Thee.' To this the Báb replied: 'Muḥammad-`Alí, arise, and rest assured that you will be with Me. Tomorrow you shall witness what God has decreed.'[6]

This youth, Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alíy-i-Zunúzí, had long been devoted to the Báb, but his stepfather[EE] had used every subterfuge to prevent him from meeting the Báb and voicing his allegiance, even going to the length of locking him up in his own house. [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí was related to the family, and thus had access to Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí. Visiting him one day, [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan found the youth transformed, no longer wretched and bemoaning his fate, but happy and at peace. 'The eyes of my Beloved,' he told [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ḥasan, 'have beheld this face, and these eyes have gazed upon His countenance.' He then recounted an experience he had had:

Let me tell you the secret of my happiness. After the Báb
had been taken back to [_Ch_]ihríq,[EF] one day, as I lay
confined in my cell, I turned my heart to Him and besought
Him in these words: 'Thou beholdest, O my Best-Beloved, my
captivity and helplessness, and knowest how eagerly I yearn
to look upon Thy face. Dispel the gloom that oppresses my
heart, with the light of Thy countenance.' What tears of
agonising pain I shed that hour! I was so overcome with
emotion that I seemed to have lost consciousness. Suddenly I
heard the voice of the Báb, and, lo! He was calling me. He
bade me arise. I beheld the majesty of His countenance as He
appeared before me. He smiled as He looked into my eyes. I
rushed forward and flung myself at His feet. 'Rejoice,' He
said; 'the hour is approaching when, in this very city, I
shall be suspended before the eyes of the multitude and
shall fall a victim to the fire of the enemy. I shall choose
no one except you to share with Me the cup of martyrdom.
Rest assured that this promise which I give you shall be
fulfilled.'[7]

[Footnote EE: Siyyid `Alíy-i-Zunúzí.]

[Footnote EF: Following his examination in the summer of
1848.]

Now, two years later, in a thoroughfare of Tabríz, Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alíy-i-Zunúzí received the same promise and assurance from the Báb.

That night the Báb was joyous. He knew that on the following day He would quaff the cup of martyrdom. He also knew that His Mission on this earth was totally accomplished, despite fierce opposition mounted by the divines and rulers of the land, and despite the tyrannies and indignities to which He had been mercilessly subjected. No power had succeeded in quenching the flame of faith which His Word had set ablaze. He had knowingly sacrificed His life for the sake of the Redeemer promised unto all Faiths. The near advent of 'Him Whom God shall make manifest' (Man-Yuẓhiruhu'lláh) had been His constant theme. He had made the acceptance of His own Book--the mighty _Bayán_--dependent upon the good pleasure of 'Him Whom God shall make manifest', Whom He had addressed in the early days of His Ministry:

O Thou Remnant of God! I have sacrificed myself wholly for
Thee; I have accepted curses for Thy sake, and have yearned
for naught but martyrdom in the path of Thy love.[8]

And now on this night--His last on earth--He was happy and contented. He told the faithful disciples who were with Him that He preferred to meet His death at the hand of a friend rather than at the hands of enemies, and invited them to fulfil His wish. Among those men who so dearly loved Him, only Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí dared to undertake that fearsome task, but his companions restrained him. 'This same youth who has risen to comply with My wish,' the Báb said, 'will, together with Me, suffer martyrdom. Him will I choose to share with Me its crown.' And He added: 'Verily Muḥammad-`Alí will be with Us in Paradise.'[9]

Jesus was crucified with two criminals, and St. Luke tells us:

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him,
saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou
fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?

And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our
deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss.

And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom.

And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day
shalt thou be with me in paradise.[EG]

[Footnote EG: xxiii, 39-43.]

In the morning they took the Báb to the homes of the leading divines: Mullá Muḥammad-i-Mámaqání, Mullá Murtiḍá-Qulíy-i-Marandí and Mírzá Báqir, to obtain the death-warrants. These men needed no inducement: they had the warrants written, signed and sealed, ready to deliver to the farrá[_sh_]-bá[_sh_]í, and did not even deign to show their faces to the Prisoner.

Again we are reminded of St. Luke:

And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote _him_.

And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the
face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote
thee?

And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

And as soon as it was day, the elders of the people and the
chief priests and the scribes came together, and led him
into their council, saying,

Art thou the Christ? tell us. And he said unto them, If I
tell you, ye will not believe:

And if I also ask _you_, ye will not answer me, nor let _me_
go.

Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the
power of God.

Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he
said unto them, Ye say that I am.

And they said, What need we any further witness? for we
ourselves have heard of his own mouth.[EH]

[Footnote EH: xxii, 63-71.]

The stepfather of Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí now made an attempt to save him. Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí and his brother, at the instructions of the Báb Himself, had recanted so that they could take to the followers of the Báb His last words and wishes. Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí refused all blandishments, declared his desire to die with his Master, and told Mullá Muḥammad-i-Mámaqání to his face: 'I am not mad. Such a charge should rather be brought against you who have sentenced to death a man no less holy than the promised Qá'im. He is not a fool who has embraced His Faith and is longing to shed his blood in His path.'[10] His young child was brought to him. They thought that, perchance, the sight of the boy might soften his heart. But Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí's resolve remained unshaken. God would provide for his child and protect him.

So at noon they led the Báb and His disciple to the square in front of the citadel of Tabríz. Sám [_Kh_]án, the commander of the Armenian regiment detailed to execute them, was ill at ease. The Prisoner looked kind and compassionate. For what crime was He to be put to death? Unable to still the voice of his conscience, Sám [_Kh_]án approached the Báb: 'I profess the Christian Faith and entertain no ill will against you. If your Cause be the Cause of Truth, enable me to free myself from the obligation to shed your blood.' To this the Báb replied: 'Follow your instructions, and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you from your perplexity.'[11]

The Báb and His disciple were suspended by ropes from a nail in the wall, the head of Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí resting on the breast of the Báb. Seven hundred and fifty soldiers were positioned in three files. Roofs of the buildings around teemed with spectators.

Each row of soldiers fired in turn. The smoke from so many rifles clouded the scene. When it lifted the Báb was not there. Only His disciple could be seen, standing under the nail in the wall, smiling and unconcerned. Bullets had only severed the ropes with which they were suspended. Cries rang out from the onlookers: 'The Siyyid-i-Báb has gone from our sight!'

A frantic search followed. The Báb was found, sitting in the same room where He had been lodged the night before, in conversation with His amanuensis. That conversation had been interrupted earlier in the day. Now it was finished and He told the farrá[_sh_]-bá[_sh_]í to carry out his duty. But the farrá[_sh_]-bá[_sh_]í was terror-stricken and ran away, nor did he ever return to his post. Sám [_Kh_]án, for his part, told his superiors that he had carried out the task given to him; he would not attempt it a second time. So Áqá Ján [_Kh_]án-i-[_Kh_]amsih and his Náṣirí regiment replaced the Armenians, and the Báb and His disciple were suspended once again at the same spot.

Now the Báb addressed the multitude gathered to see Him die:

Had you believed in Me, O wayward generation, every one of
you would have followed the example of this youth, who stood
in rank above most of you, and willingly would have
sacrificed himself in My path. The day will come when you
will have recognised Me; that day I shall have ceased to be
with you.[12]

And St. Luke relates:

And there followed him a great company of people, and of
women, which also bewailed and lamented him.

But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem,
weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your
children.

For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall
say, Blessed _are_ the barren, and the wombs that never
bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us;
and to the hills, Cover us.[EI]

[Footnote EI: xxiii, 27-30.]

The Náṣirí regiment fired. The bodies of the Báb and His disciple were shattered, and their flesh was united. But the face of the Báb was untouched. Then a storm descended upon Tabríz. Tempestuous winds blew and dust darkened the skies, and the skies remained dark, until the darkness of the day merged into the darkness of the night.

And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness
over all the earth until the ninth hour.

And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was
rent in the midst.

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father,
into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he
gave up the ghost.[EJ]

[Footnote EJ: Luke xxiii, 44-6.]

Thus at noon, one midsummer day--Sunday July 9th 1850[EK]--they put to death a Manifestation of God, just as at noon, centuries before, another Manifestation of God was slain.

[Footnote EK: [_Sh_]a`bán 28th, 1266 A.H.]

When night fell, they dragged the bodies through the streets of Tabríz, and threw them on the edge of the moat surrounding the city. Soldiers were stationed there to guard over them, lest the Bábís attempt to retrieve the precious remains. Not far away, two Bábís, feigning madness, kept vigil throughout the night.

Next morning the Russian Consul took an artist with him to make a drawing of the remains of the Báb.

* * * * *

Sulaymán [_Kh_]án, that loyal disciple who attained the presence of the Báb in [_Ch_]ihríq, reached Tabríz the day after His martyrdom. He had intended to rescue his Master. But that was not to be. Now, he went straightway to Ḥájí Mírzá Mihdí [_Kh_]án, the Kalántar (Mayor) of Tabríz, who was a friend of long standing, and told him that he had decided to dare everything that very night and carry the bodies away by a surprise attack on the soldiers guarding them on the edge of the moat. The Kalántar told Sulaymán [_Kh_]án to withdraw for the moment and assured him that there was a much safer and more reliable way to achieve his purpose.

There was in Tabríz a certain Ḥájí Alláh-Yár, a confidant of the Kalántar, well-known for his exploits. Instructed by the Kalántar, Ḥájí Alláh-Yár used such means as he knew best to take the bodies away from under the eyes of the soldiers. He delivered the remains to Sulaymán [_Kh_]án, who had them moved to the silk factory of Ḥájí Aḥmad, a Bábí of Mílán. There they were enshrouded and hidden under the bales of silk. Next day a casket was made to contain them, and they were sent away to safety. Ḥájí Alláh-Yár refused to accept any reward for his service.[13]

Soldiers reported the disappearance of the bodies. Wild beasts had devoured the remains, they alleged, while they slept. And the divines gave credence to that story and shouted for joy. What better proof could there be to show how false the Siyyid-i-Báb was? Beasts do not, cannot consume the remains of the Imám.[EL]

[Footnote EL: See Appendix 2 for extracts from British
official documents which report the execution and the
disposition of the bodies.]