Chapter XXVI: Attempt on the Shah's Life, and Its Consequences (part 2)

Much as He Himself had suffered, the agony He was made to endure was but a drop compared to the calamities which were to rain down upon the multitude of His avowed followers. The cup of sorrow that had touched His lips had yet to be drained to its very dregs by those who still remained after Him. The catastrophe of &Shaykh &Tabarsi, which robbed Him of His ablest lieutenants, &Quddus and &Mulla &Husayn, and which engulfed no less than three hundred and thirteen of His staunch companions, came as the cruelest blow that had yet fallen upon Him, and enveloped with a shroud of darkness the closing days of His fast-ebbing life. The struggle of &Nayriz, with its attendant horrors and cruelties, involving as it did the loss of &Vahid, the most learned, the most influential, and the most accomplished among the followers of the &Bab, was an added blow to the resources and numbers of those who continued to hold aloft the torch in their hands. The siege of &Zanjan, following closely in the wake of the disaster that had befallen the Faith in &Nayriz, and marked by the butcheries with which the name of that province will ever remain associated, depleted still further the ranks of the upholders of the Faith, and deprived them of the sustaining strength with which the presence of &Hujjat inspired them. With him was gone the last outstanding figure among the representative leaders of the Faith who towered, by virtue of their ecclesiastical authority, their learning, their fearlessness and force of character, above the rank and file of their fellow-disciples. The flower of the +P654 &Bab's followers had been mown down in a ruthless carnage, leaving behind it a vast company of enslaved women and children, who groaned beneath the yoke of an unrelenting foe. Their leaders, who, alike by their knowledge and example, had fed and sustained the flame that glowed in those valiant hearts, had also perished, their work seemingly abandoned amidst the confusion that afflicted a persecuted community.

Of all those who had shown themselves capable of carrying on the work which the &Bab had handed down to His followers, &Baha'u'llah alone remained.+F1 All the rest had fallen by the sword of the enemy. &Mirza &Yahya, the nominal leader of the band that survived the &Bab, had ingloriously sought refuge in the mountains of &Mazindaran from the perils of the turmoil that had seized the capital. In the guise of a dervish, &kashkul+F2 in hand, he had deserted his companions and fled the scene of danger to the forests of &Gilan. Siyyid &Husayn, the &Bab's amanuensis, and &Mirza &Ahmad, his collaborator, who were both well-versed in the teachings and implications of the newly revealed &Bayan and, by virtue of their intimacy with their Master and their familiarity with the precepts of His Faith, were in a position to enlighten the understanding, and consolidate the foundations of the faith, of their companions, lay in chains in the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran, cut off entirely from the body of the believers who so greatly needed their counsel, both doomed to suffer, at an early date, a cruel martyrdom. Even His own maternal uncle, who, ever since His childhood, had surrounded Him with a paternal solicitude that no father could have surpassed, who had rendered Him signal services in the early days of His sufferings in &Shiraz, and who, had he been allowed to survive Him by only a few years, could have rendered +F1 &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl quotes in his "&Fara'id" (pp. 50-51), the following +F1 remarkable tradition from &Muhammad, which is recognised as an authentic +F1 utterance of the Prophet and to which Siyyid &Abdu'l-Vahhab-i-Sha'rani +F1 refers in his work entitled "&Kitabu'l-Yavaqit-iva'l-Javahir": "All of +F1 them [the companions of the &Qa'im] shall be slain except One who shall +F1 reach the plain of &Akka, the Banquet-Hall of God." The full text is also +F1 mentioned, according to &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl, by &Shaykh &Ibnu'l-'Arabi in +F1 his "&Futuhat-i-Makkiyyih." +F2 "`A hollow receptacle of about the size and shape of a cocoa-nut, round the +F2 orifice of which two chains are attached at four points to serve as a +F2 handle. It is used by dervishes as an alms-basket." ("A Traveller's +F2 Narrative," p. 51, note 3.) +P655 inestimable services to His Cause, languished in prison, forlorn and hopeless of ever continuing the work that was so close to his heart. &Tahirih, that flaming emblem of His Cause who, alike by her indomitable courage, her impetuous character, her dauntless faith, her fiery ardour and vast knowledge, seemed for a time able to win the whole womanhood of Persia to the Cause of her Beloved, fell, alas, at the very hour when victory seemed near at hand, a victim to the wrath of a calumnious enemy. The influence of her work, the course of which was so prematurely arrested, seemed to those who stood near as they lowered her into the pit that served as her grave, to have been completely extinguished. The &Bab's remaining Letters of the Living either had perished by the sword or were fettered in prison, or again were leading an obscure life in some remote corner of the realm. The body of the &Bab's voluminous writings suffered, for the most part, a fate no less humiliating than that which had befallen His disciples. Many of His copious works were utterly obliterated, others were torn and reduced to ashes, a few were corrupted, much was seized by the enemy, and the rest lay a mass of disorganised and undeciphered manuscripts, precariously hidden and widely scattered among the survivors of His companions.

The Faith the &Bab had proclaimed, and for which He had given His all, had indeed reached its lowest ebb. The fires kindled against it had almost consumed the fabric upon which its continued existence depended. The wings of death seemed to be hovering above it. Extermination, complete and irremediable, appeared to be threatening its very life. Amidst the shadows that were fast gathering about it, the figure of &Baha'u'llah alone shone as the potential Deliverer of a Cause that was fast speeding to its end. The marks of clear vision, of courage and sagacity which He had shown on more than one occasion ever since He had risen to champion the Cause of the &Bab, appeared to qualify Him, should His life and continued existence in Persia be ensured, to revive the fortunes of an expiring Faith. But this was not to be. A catastrophe, unexampled in the whole history of that Faith, precipitated a persecution fiercer than any that had +P656 hitherto taken place, and this time drew into its vortex the person of &Baha'u'llah Himself. The slender hopes which the remnants of the believers still entertained were wrecked amidst the confusion that ensued. For &Baha'u'llah, their only hope and the sole object of their confidence, was so struck down by the severity of that storm that no recovery could any longer be thought possible. After He had been despoiled of all His possessions in &Nur and &Tihran, denounced as the prime mover of a dastardly attempt upon the life of His sovereign, abandoned by His kindred and despised by His former friends and admirers, plunged into a dark and pestilential dungeon, and at last, with the members of His family, driven into hopeless exile beyond the confines of His native land, all the hopes that had centred round Him as the possible Redeemer of an afflicted Faith seemed for a moment to have completely vanished.

No wonder &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, under whose eyes and by whose impulse such blows were being dealt, was already priding himself on being the wrecker of a Cause against which he had so consistently battled, and which he had at last, to outward seeming, been able to crush. No wonder he imagined, as he sat musing over the successive stages of this vast and bloody enterprise, that by the act of banishment which his hands had signed, he was sounding the death-knell of that hateful heresy which had struck such terror to the hearts of his people. To &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah it appeared, at that supreme moment, that the spell of that terror was broken, that the tide that had swept over his country was at last turning and bringing back to his fellow-countrymen the peace for which they cried. Now that the &Bab was no more; now that the mighty pillars that sustained His Cause had been crushed into dust; now that the mass of its devotees, throughout the length and breadth of his dominion, were cowed and exhausted; now that &Baha'u'llah Himself, the one remaining hope of a leaderless community, had been driven into exile and had, of His own accord, sought refuge in the neighbourhood of the stronghold of &shi'ah fanaticism, the spectre that had haunted him ever since he had ascended the throne had vanished for ever. Never again, he imagined, +P657 would he hear of that detestable Movement which, if he were to believe his best counsellors, was swiftly receding into the shadows of impotence and oblivion.+F1

To even the followers of the Faith who were left to survive the abominations heaped upon their Cause--to even that small caravan, with perhaps a few exceptions, wending its way in the depth of winter through the snows of the mountains bordering on &Iraq,+F2 the Cause of the &Bab, one can well imagine, might for a moment have seemed to have failed in accomplishing its purpose. The forces of darkness that had encompassed it on every side would seem to have at last triumphed over, and put out, the light which that young Prince of Glory had kindled in His land.

In the eyes of &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah, at all events, the power that had seemed for a time to have swept within its orbit the entire forces of his realm had ceased to count. Ill-starred from its very birth, it had eventually been forced to surrender to the violence of the blows which his sword had dealt. The Faith had suffered a disruption certainly well deserved. Delivered from its curse, which for many nights had robbed him of his sleep, he could now, with undivided attention, set about the task of rescuing his land from the devastating effects of that vast delusion. Henceforth his real mission, as he conceived it, was to enable both Church and State to consolidate their foundations and to reinforce their ranks against the intrusion of similar heresies, which might, in a future day, poison the life of his countrymen.

How vain were his imaginings, how vast his own delusion! The Cause he had fondly imagined to have been crushed was still living, destined to emerge from the midst of that great convulsion stronger, purer, and nobler than ever. The Cause +F1 "Excellency, After the carrying out of those energetic measures on the part +F1 of the Persian Government for the extirpation and extermination of the +F1 misguided and detestable sect of the &Babis, with the details of which Your +F1 Excellency is fully acquainted [allusion is made to the great persecution +F1 of the &Babis in &Tihran in the summer of 1852], praise be to God, by the +F1 attention of the Imperial mind of is most potent Majesty, whose rank is as +F1 that of Jamshid, the refuge of the True Religion--may our lives be his +F1 sacrifice!--, their roots were torn up." (Extract from letter addressed by +F1 &Mirza Sa'id &Khan, ex-foreign minister of Persia; to the Persian +F1 ambassador in Constantinople; dated 12th of 12th &Dhu'l-Hijjih, 1278 [May +F1 10, 1862]. Facsimile and translation of the document reproduced in E. G. +F1 Browne's "Materials for the Study of the &Babi Religion," p. 283.) +F2 "It was a terrible journey in rough mountain country and the travellers +F2 suffered greatly from exposure." (Dr. T. K. Cheyne's "The Reconciliation +F2 of Races and Religions," p. 121.) +P658 which, to the mind of that foolish monarch, seemed to be speeding towards destruction was but passing through the fiery tests of a phase of transition that was to carry it a step further on the path of its high destiny. A new chapter in its history was being unfolded, more glorious than any that had marked its birth or its rise. The repression which that monarch had believed to have succeeded in sealing its doom was but the initial stage in an evolution destined to blossom, in the fulness of time, into a Revelation mightier than any that the &Bab Himself had proclaimed. The seed His hand had sown, though subjected, for a time, to the fury of a storm of unexampled violence and though later transplanted to a foreign soil, was to continue to develop and grow, in due time, into a Tree destined to spread its shelter over all the kindreds and peoples of the earth. Though the &Bab's disciples might be tortured and slain, and His companions humiliated and crushed; though His followers might dwindle in number; though the voice of the Faith itself might be silenced by the arm of violence; though despair might settle upon its fortunes; though its ablest defenders might apostatise from their faith, yet the promise embedded within the shell of His word no hand could succeed in ravishing, and no power stand in the way of its germination and growth.

Indeed, the first glimmerings of the dawning Revelation, of which the &Bab had declared Himself to be the Herald, and to the approach and certainty of which He had so repeatedly alluded,+F1 could already be discerned amidst the gloom that encircled &Baha'u'llah in the &Siyah-Chal of &Tihran.+F2 The

+F1 "But just as remarkable as his boldness in claiming Divine authority is his +F1 restraint in insisting that his authority was not final. He felt competent +F1 and commissioned to reveal much, but he felt with equal certainty that +F1 there was infinitely more yet to be revealed. Herein was his greatness. +F1 And herein was his greatest sacrifice. He thereby risked the diminution of +F1 his personal fame. But he insured the continuance of his mission.... He +F1 insured that the movement he had started would grow and expand. He himself +F1 was but `a letter out of that most mighty book, a dewdrop from that +F1 limitless ocean.'... This was the humility of true insight. And it had +F1 its effect. His movement has grown and expanded, and it has yet a great +F1 future before it." (Sir Francis Younghusband's "The Gleam," pp. 210-11.) +F2 "During the days when I was imprisoned in the Land of &Ta [&Tihran], +F2 although the galling weight of chains and the loathsome atmosphere of the +F2 prison allowed me little sleep, yet occasionally, in my moments of slumber, +F2 I felt as if something were pouring forth over breast, even as a mighty +F2 torrent, which, descending from the Summit of a lofty mountain precipitates +F2 itself over the earth. All my limbs seemed to have been set aflame. At +F2 such moments my tongue recited what mortal ears could not hear." ("The +F2 Epistle to the Son of the Wolf," p. 17.) +P659 force that, growing out of the momentous Revelation released by the &Bab, was at a later time to unfold itself in all its glory and encompass the globe, was already pulsating in the veins of &Baha'u'llah as He lay exposed in His cell to the sword of His executioner. The still voice which, in the hour of bitter agony, announced to the Prisoner the Revelation of which He was chosen to be the Mouthpiece, could not, of a certainty, have reached the ears of the monarch who was already preparing the celebration of the extinction of the Faith his Captive had championed. That imprisonment which he who had caused it, believed to have branded with infamy the fair name of &Baha'u'llah, and which he regarded as a prelude to a still more humiliating banishment to &Iraq, was, indeed, the very scene that witnessed the first stirrings of that Movement of which &Baha'u'llah was to be the Author, a Movement which was first to be made known in the city of &Baghdad and at a later time to be proclaimed from the prison-city of &Akka to the &Shah, no less than to the other rulers and crowned heads of the world.

Little did &Nasiri'd-Din &Shah imagine that by the very act of pronouncing the sentence of banishment against &Baha'u'llah he was helping in the unfolding of God's irrepressible Purpose and that he himself was but an instrument in the execution of that Design. Little did he imagine that as his reign was drawing to a close it would witness a revival of the very forces he had sought so strenuously to exterminate-- a revival that would manifest a vitality such as he, in the hour of darkest despair, had never believed that Faith to possess. Not only within the confines of his own realm,+F1 +F1 Gobineau, writing in about the year 1865, testifies as follows: "Public +F1 opinion holds that the &Babis are to be found in every social class and +F1 among the members of every religion, with the exception of the &Nusayris +F1 and the Christians, but it is especially the educated classes, the men of +F1 learning who are suspected of sympathy with &Babism. It is believed, and +F1 with good reason, that many &mullas and, among them, outstanding mujtahids, +F1 magistrates of high rank, and high court officials very close to the king, +F1 are &Babis. According to a recent estimate, there would be in &Tihran, a +F1 city of about eighty thousand souls, five thousand &Babis. But this +F1 estimate is not very reliable and I am inclined to think that, if the +F1 &Babis were to triumph in Persia, their number in the capital would be much +F1 larger, for, at that moment, one would have to add to the number of the +F1 zealous ones, whatever that number may now be, a large proportion of those +F1 who are recently in favor of the officially condemned doctrine and to whom +F1 victory would impart the courage to declare their faith openly." (Les +F1 Religions et les Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale," p. 251.) "Half a +F1 century has not yet elapsed since &Mirza &Ali-Muhammad, the young Seer of +F1 &Shiraz, first began to preach the religion which now counts its martyrs by +F1 hundreds and its adherents by hundreds of thousands; which seemed at one +F1 time to menace the supremacy alike of the &Qajar dynasty and of the +F1 &Muhammadan faith in Persia, and may still not improbably prove an +F1 important factor in the history of Western Asia." (E. G. Browne's +F1 introduction to the "&Tarikh-i-Jadid," p. 7.) "&Babism," writes Professor +F1 James Darmesteter, "which diffused itself in less than five years from one +F1 end of Persia to another, which was bathed in 1852 in the blood of its +F1 martyrs, has been silently progressing and propagating itself. If Persia +F1 is to be at all regenerate it will be through this new faith." (Extract +F1 from "Persia: A Historical and Literary Sketch," translated by G. K. +F1 Nariman.) "If &Babism continues to grow at its present rate of +F1 progression, a time may conceivably come when it will oust &Muhammadanism +F1 from the field in Persia. This, I think, it would be unlikely to do, did +F1 it appear upon the ground under the flag of a hostile faith. But since its +F1 recruits are won from the best soldiers of the garrison whom it is +F1 attacking, there is greater reason to believe that it may ultimately +F1 prevail. To those who know anything of the Persian character, so +F1 extraordinarily susceptible of religious influences as it is, it will be +F1 obvious to how many classes in that country the new creed makes successful +F1 appeal. The &Sufis, or mystics, have long held that there must always be a +F1 &Pir, or Prophet, visible in the flesh, and are very easily absorbed into +F1 the &Babi fold. Even the orthodox Musulman, whose mind's eye has ever been +F1 turned in eager anticipation upon the vanished &Imam, is amenable to the +F1 cogent reasoning, by which it is sought to prove that either the &Bab, or +F1 &Baha, is the &Mihdi, according to all the predictions of the &Qur'an and +F1 the traditions. The pure and suffering life of the &Bab, his ignominious +F1 death, the heroism and martyrdom of his followers, will appeal to many +F1 others who can find no similar phenomena in the contemporaneous records of +F1 &Islam." (Lord Curzon's "Persia and the Persian Question," vol. 1, p. +F1 503.) The author, in the same chapter, commenting on the prospects of +F1 Christian missionary enterprise in Persia, writes as follows: "Persia has +F1 even been described as the most hopeful among the fields of missionary +F1 labour in the East. While conscious of the valuable work that has been and +F1 is being done by the representatives of English, French, and American +F1 Mission societies in that country, by the spread of education, by the +F1 display of charity, by the free gift of medical assistance, by the force of +F1 example, and while in no way suggesting that these pious labours should be +F1 slackened, I am unable, from such knowledge as I possess, to participate in +F1 so sanguine a forecast of the future." (p. 504.) "...In Persia, however, +F1 not the least of the obstacles with which Christian communities are +F1 confronted arise from their own sectarian differences, and the Musulmans +F1 are perfectly entitled to scoff at those who invite them to enter a flock +F1 the different members of which love each other so bitterly. Protestants +F1 squabble with Roman Catholics, Presbyterians with Episcopalians, the +F1 Protestant Nestorians look with no very friendly eye upon the Nestorians +F1 proper, and these, again, are not on the most harmonious terms with the +F1 Chaldaeans, or Catholic Nestorians. The Armenians gaze askance upon the +F1 United (or Catholic) Armenians, and both unite in retarding the work of the +F1 Protestant missions. Finally, the hostility of the Jews may, as a rule, be +F1 reckoned upon. In the various countries of the East in which I have +F1 traveled, from Syria to Japan, I have been struck by the strange and, to my +F1 mind, sorrowful phenomenon, of missionary bands waging the noblest of +F1 warfares under the banner of the King of Peace with fratricidal weapons in +F1 their hands." (Pp. 507-8.) "...If, then, the criterion of missionary +F1 enterprise in Persia be the number of converts it has made from &Islam, I +F1 do not hesitate to say that the prodigious expenditure of money of honest +F1 effort, and of sacrificing toil that has been showered upon that country +F1 has met with a wholly inadequate return. Young &Muhammadans have sometimes +F1 been baptised by Christian missionaries. But this must not too readily be +F1 confounded with conversion, since the bulk of the newcomers relapse into +F1 the faith of their fathers and I question if, since the day when Henry +F1 Martyn set foot in &Shiraz up till the present moment, half a dozen +F1 Persian &Muhammadans have genuinely embraced the Christian creed. I have +F1 myself often enquired for, but have never seen, a converted Musulman (I +F1 exclude, of course, those derelicts or orphans of Musulman parents who are +F1 brought up from childhood in Christian schools). Nor am I surprised at +F1 even the most complete demonstration of failure. Putting aside the +F1 dogmatic assumptions of Christianity (e.g. the doctrine of the Trinity and +F1 the Divinity of Christ), which are so repugnant to the &Muhammadan +F1 conception of the unity of God, we cannot regard the reluctance of a +F1 Musulman to desert his faith with much astonishment when we remember that +F1 the penalty for such an act is death. The chances of conversion are remote +F1 indeed so long as the body as well as the soul of the convert is thrown +F1 into the scales But personal apprehensions, though an important are not the +F1 deciding factor in the situation. It is against the impregnable rock-wall +F1 of &Islam as a system embracing every sphere, and duty, and act of life, +F1 that the waves of missionary effort beat and buffet in vain. Marvellously +F1 adapted alike to the climate, character and occupations of those countries +F1 upon which it has laid its adamantine grip, &Islam holds its votary in +F1 complete thrall from the cradle to the grave. To him, it is not only +F1 religion, it is government, philosophy, and science as well. The +F1 &Muhammadan conception is not so much that of a state church as, if the +F1 phrase may be permitted, of a church state. The undergirders with which +F1 society itself is warped round are not of civil, but of ecclesiastical, +F1 fabrication, and, wrapped in this superb, if paralysing creed, the Musulman +F1 lives in contented surrender of all volition, deems it his highest duty to +F1 worship God and to compel, or, where impossible, to despise those who do +F1 not worship Him in the spirit, and then dies in sure and certain hope of +F1 Paradise. So long as this all-compelling, all-absorbing code of life holds +F1 an Eastern people in its embrace, determining every duty and regulating +F1 every act of existence, and finally meting out an assured salvation +F1 missionary treasure and missionary self-denial will largely be spent in +F1 vain. Indeed, an active propaganda is, in my judgment, the worst of +F1 policies that a Christian mission in a bigoted Musulman country can adopt +F1 and the very tolerance with which I have credited the Persian government is +F1 in large measure due to the prudent abstention of the Christian +F1 missionaries from avowed proselytism." (Pp. 508-9.) +P660 not only throughout the adjacent territories of &Iraq and Russia, but as far as India in the East,+F1 as far as Egypt and European Turkey in the West, a recrudescence of the Faith such as he had never expected, awakened him from the dreams in which he had so fondly indulged. The Cause of the &Bab seemed as if risen from the dead. It appeared under a form infinitely more formidable than any under which it had appeared in the past. The fresh impetus which, despite his calculations, the personality of &Baha'u'llah, and, above all, the inherent strength of the Revelation which He personified, had lent to the Cause of the &Bab, was one &Nasiri'd &Din &Shah had never imagined. The rapidity with which a +F1 Gobineau, writing about the year 1865, gives the following testimony: +F1 "Thus &Babism has won a considerable influence on the mind of Persia, and +F1 spreading beyond the Persian frontier, has overflowed into the pachalick of +F1 &Baghdad and penetrated into India. Among its characteristics, one of the +F1 most striking is that, even during the life of the &Bab, many of the new +F1 faith, many of its most convinced and devoted followers, have never known +F1 personally their prophet and do not seem to have attached great importance +F1 to the hearing of his instructions from his own lips. Nevertheless, they +F1 rendered him, completely and without reservation, the honors and the +F1 veneration to which, in their own eyes, he was certainly entitled." (Comte +F1 de Gobineau's "Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale," p. +F1 255.) +P661 slumbering Faith had been revived and consolidated within his own territory; its spreading out to States beyond its confines; the stupendous claims advanced by &Baha'u'llah almost in the midst of the stronghold where He had chosen to dwell; the public declaration of that claim in European Turkey, and its proclamation in challenging Epistles to the crowned heads of the earth, one of which the &Shah himself was destined to receive; the enthusiasm that announcement evoked in the +P662 hearts of countless followers; the transference to the Holy Land of the centre of His Cause; the gradual relaxation of the severity of His confinement which marked the closing days of His life; the lifting of the ban that had been imposed by the &Sultan of Turkey on His intercourse with visitors and pilgrims who flocked from various parts of the East to His prison; the awakening of the spirit of enquiry among the thinkers of the West; the utter disruption of the forces that had attempted to effect a schism in the ranks of His followers, and the fate that had befallen its chief instigator; above all, +P663 the sublimity of those teachings with which His published works abounded and which were being read, disseminated, and taught by an ever-increasing number of adherents in Russian &Turkistan, in &Iraq, in India, in Syria, and as far off as European Turkey--these were among the chief factors that convincingly revealed to the eyes of the &Shah the invincible character of a Faith he believed himself to have bridled and destroyed. The futility of his efforts, however much he might attempt to conceal his feelings, was only too apparent. The Cause of the &Bab, the birth and tribulations of which he had himself witnessed, and the triumphant progress of which he was now beholding, had risen phoenix-like from its ashes and was pressing forward along the road leading to undreamt-of achievements.+F1 +F1 "The Cause of the &Bab is on the road to great achievements. We have +F1 now shown how there has taken place a religious movement which absorbs the +F1 deepest attention of Central Asia, that is to say, of Persia, several +F1 regions of India and a section of Asiatic Turkey; a religious movement, +F1 therefore, truly remarkable and worthy of being studied. Through it, we +F1 witness events, manifestations, catastrophes such that one could only +F1 imagine possible in remote ages when the great religions were born. I even +F1 confess that if I were to see appear in Europe a religion like unto +F1 &Babism, with advantages such as &Babism possesses, with complete faith, an +F1 undaunted enthusiasm, tried courage and proven devotion, winning the +F1 respect of the indifferent, frightening its adversaries and, moreover, a +F1 tireless proselytism constantly gaining adherents in every social class, +F1 --if I were to see such a phenomenon in Europe, I would not hesitate to +F1 predict that, within a given time, power and sovereignty would of necessity +F1 belong to a group so richly endowed." (Comte de Gobineau's "Les Religions +F1 et les Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale," pp. 116, 293-294.) +F1 "It seems certain that from the religious standpoint and especially from +F1 the moral one, &Babism marks an advance over the teachings of &Islam; one +F1 may hold with M. Vambery (French Academy, March 12, 1892) that its leader +F1 has expressed doctrines worthy of the greatest thinkers.... In any case +F1 the growth of &Babism is an interesting chapter in the history of modern +F1 religions and civilization. And thus, after all is said, those who praise +F1 it are perhaps right; it may be that from &Babism will come the +F1 regeneration of the Persian peoples, even of the whole of &Islam which is +F1 in real need of it. Unfortunately there is seldom a national regeneration +F1 without much shedding of blood." (M. J. Balteau's "Le &Babisme," p. 28.) +F1 "Now it appears to me that the history of the &Babi movement must be +F1 interesting in effort ways to others besides those who are directly engaged +F1 in the study of Persian. To the student of religious thought it will +F1 afford no little matter for reflection; for here he may contemplate such +F1 personalities as by lapse of time pass into heroes and demi-gods still +F1 unobscured by myth and fable he may examine by the light of concurrent and +F1 independent testimony one of those strange outbursts of enthusiasm, faith, +F1 fervent devotion, and indomitable heroism--or fanaticism, if you will-- +F1 which we are accustomed to associate with the earlier history of the human +F1 race; he may witness in a word, the birth of a faith which may not +F1 impossibly win a place amidst the great religions of the world. To the +F1 ethnologist also it may yield food for thought as to the character of a +F1 people who, stigmatised as they often have been as selfish, mercenary, +F1 avaricious, egotistical, sordid, and cowardly, are yet capable of +F1 exhibiting under the influence of a strong religious impulse a degree of +F1 devotion, disinterestedness, generosity, unselfishness, nobility, and +F1 courage which may be paralleled in history, but can scarcely be surpassed. +F1 To the politician, too, the matter is not devoid of importance; for what +F1 changes may not be effected in a country now reckoned almost as a cypher in +F1 the balance of national forces by a religion capable of evoking so mighty a +F1 spirit? Let those who know what &Muhammad made the Arabs, consider well +F1 what the &Bab may yet make the Persians." (E. G. Browne's introduction to +F1 "A Traveller's Narrative," pp. 8-9.) +F1 "So here at &Bahji was I installed as a guest, in the very midst of all +F1 that &Babism accounts most noble and most holy; and here did I spend five most +F1 memorable days, during which I enjoyed unparalleled and unhoped-for +F1 opportunities of holding intercourse with those who are the very +F1 fountain-heads of that mighty and wondrous spirit which works with +F1 invisible but ever-increasing force for the transformation and quickening +F1 of a people who slumber in a sleep like unto death. It was in truth a +F1 strange and moving experience, but one whereof I despair of conveying any +F1 save the feeblest impression. I might, indeed, strive to describe in +F1 greater detail the faces and forms which surrounded me, the conversations +F1 to which I was privileged to listen, the solemn melodious reading of the +F1 sacred books, the general sense of harmony and content which pervaded the +F1 place, and the fragrant shady gardens whither in the afternoon we sometimes +F1 repaired; but all this was as nought in comparison with the spiritual +F1 atmosphere with which I was encompassed. Persian Muslims will tell you +F1 often that the &Babis bewitch or drug their guests so that these, impelled +F1 by a fascination which they cannot resist, become similarly affected with +F1 what the aforesaid Muslims regard as a strange and incomprehensible +F1 madness. Idle and absurd as this belief is, it yet rests on a basis of +F1 fact stronger than that which supports the greater part of what they +F1 allege concerning this people. The spirit which pervades the &Babis is +F1 such that it can hardly fail to affect most powerfully all subjected to its +F1 influence. It may appeal or attract: it cannot be ignored or +F1 disregarded. Let those who have not seen disbelieve me if they will; but, +F1 should that spirit once reveal itself to them, they will experience an +F1 emotion which they are not likely to forget." (Ibid., pp. 38-9.) +F1 "It will thus be seen that, in its external organisation, &Babism has +F1 undergone great and radical changes since it first appeared as a +F1 proselytising force half a century ago. These changes, however, have in no +F1 wise impaired, but appear, on the contrary, to have stimulated, its +F1 propaganda, which has advanced with a rapidity inexplicable to those who +F1 can only see therein a crude form of political or even of metaphysical +F1 fermentation. The lowest estimate places the present number of &Babis in +F1 Persia at half a million. I am disposed to think, from conversations with +F1 persons well qualified to judge, that the total is nearer one million. +F1 They are to be found in every walk of life, from the ministers and nobles +F1 of the Court to the scavenger or the groom, not the least arena of their +F1 activity being the Musulman priesthood itself. It will have been noticed +F1 that the movement was initiated by siyyids, &hajis, and &mullas--i.e. +F1 persons who, either by descent, from pious inclination, or by profession, +F1 were intimately concerned with the &Muhammadan creed; and it is among even +F1 the professed votaries of the faith that they continue to make their +F1 converts. Many &Babis are well known to be such, but, as long as they walk +F1 circumspectly, are free from intrusion or persecution. In the poorer walks +F1 of life the fact is, as a rule, concealed for fear of giving an excuse for +F1 the superstitious rancour of superiors. Quite recently the &Babis have had +F1 great success in the camp of another enemy, having secured many proselytes +F1 among the Jewish populations of the Persian towns. I hear that during the +F1 past year they are reported to have made 150 Jewish converts in &Tihran, +F1 100 in &Hamadan, 50 in &Kashan, and 75 per cent of the Jews at +F1 &Gulpayigan." (Lord Curzon's "Persia and the Persian Question," vol. 1, +F1 pp. 499-500.) +F1 "From that subtle race," writes Dr. J. Estlin Carpenter, "issues the most +F1 remarkable movement which modern &Muhammadanism has produced.... Disciples +F1 gathered round him, and the movement was not checked by his arrest, his +F1 imprisonment for nearly six years and his final execution in 1850.... It, +F1 too, claims to be a universal teaching; it has already its noble army of +F1 martyrs and its holy hooks; has Persia, in the midst of her miseries, given +F1 birth to a religion which will go round the world?" ("Comparative +F1 Religion," pp. 70, 71.) +F1 "Once again," writes Professor E. G. Browne, "in the world's history has +F1 the East vindicated her claim to teach religion to the West, and to hold in +F1 the Spiritual World that preeminence which the Western nations hold in the +F1 Material." (Introduction to M. H. Phelps' "Life and Teachings of &Abbas +F1 Effendi," p. 15.) +P664

Little did &Nabil himself imagine that within twoscore years of the writing of his narrative the Revelation of &Baha'u'llah, the flower and fruit of all the Dispensations of the past, would have been capable of advancing thus far on the road leading to its world-wide recognition and triumph. Little did he imagine that less than forty years after the death of &Baha'u'llah His Cause, bursting beyond the confines of Persia and the East, would have penetrated the furthermost regions of the globe and would have encircled the whole earth. Scarcely would he have believed the prediction had he been told that the Cause would, within that period, have implanted its banner in the heart of the American continent, would have made itself felt in the leading capitals of Europe, would have reached out to the southern confines of Africa, and would +P665 have established its outposts as far as Australasia. Hardly would his imagination, fired as it was by a conviction as to the destiny of his Faith, have carried him to a point at which he could have pictured to his mind the Tomb Shrine of the &Bab, of the ultimate destination of whose remains he confesses himself to be ignorant, embosomed in the heart of Carmel, a place of pilgrimage and a beacon of light to many a visitor from the ends of the earth. Hardly could he have imagined that the humble dwelling of &Baha'u'llah, lost amid the tortuous lanes of old &Baghdad, would one day, as a result of the machinations of a tireless enemy, have forced itself on the attention, and become the object of the earnest deliberations, of the assembled representatives of the leading Powers of Europe. Little did he imagine that, with all the praise he, in his narrative, lavishes upon Him, there would proceed from the Most Great Branch+F1 a power that within a short period would have awakened the northern States of the American continent to the glory of the Revelation bequeathed to Him by &Baha'u'llah. Little did he imagine that the dynasties of those monarchs the evidences of whose tyranny he recounts so vividly in his narrative, would have tottered to their fall and suffered the very fate which their representatives had so desperately striven to inflict upon their dreaded opponents. Little did he imagine that the whole ecclesiastical hierarchy of his country, the prime mover and the willing instrument of the abominations heaped upon his Faith, would so swiftly and easily be overthrown by the very forces +F1 &Abdu'l-Baha's title. +P666 it had attempted to subdue. Never would he have believed that the highest institutions of &sunni &Islam, the Sultanate and the Caliphate,+F1 those twin oppressors of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah, would have been swept away so ruthlessly by the very hands of the professing adherents of the Faith of +F1 "The Caliphate began with the election of &Abu-Bakr in A.D. 632 and lasted +F1 until A.D. 1258, when Hulagu &Khan sacked &Baghdad and put +F1 &Mu'tasim-Bi'llah to death. For nearly three centuries after this +F1 catastrophe the title of Caliph was perpetuated in Egypt by descendants of +F1 the House of &Abbas who lived under the protection of its Mameluke rulers, +F1 until in A.D. 1517 &Sultan &Salim, the Osmanli, having conquered the +F1 Mameluke dynasty induced the helpless Caliph to transfer to him the title +F1 and insignia." (P. M. Sykes' "A History of Persia," vol. 2, p. 25.) +P667 &Islam. Little did he imagine that side by side with the steady expansion of the Cause of &Baha'u'llah the forces of consolidation and internal administration would so progress as to present to the world the unique spectacle of a Commonwealth of peoples, world-wide in its ramifications, united in its purpose, co-ordinated in its efforts, and fired by a zeal and enthusiasm that no amount of adversity can quench.

And yet who knows what achievements, greater than any that the past and the present have witnessed, may not still be in store for those into whose hands so precious a heritage has been entrusted? Who knows but that out of the turmoil which agitates the face of present-day society there may not emerge, sooner than we expect, the World-Order of &Baha'u'llah, the bare outline of which is being but faintly discerned among the world-wide communities that bear His name? For, great and marvellous as have been the achievements of the past, the glory of the golden age of the Cause, whose promise lies embedded within the shell of &Baha'u'llah's immortal utterance, is yet to be revealed. Fierce as may seem the onslaught of the forces of darkness that may still afflict this Cause, desperate and prolonged as may be that struggle, severe as may be the disappointments it may still experience, the ascendancy it will eventually obtain will be such as no other Faith has ever in its history achieved. The welding of the communities of East and West into the world-wide Brotherhood of which poets and dreamers have sung, and the promise of which lies at the very core of the Revelation conceived by &Baha'u'llah; the recognition of His law as the indissoluble bond uniting the peoples and nations of the earth; and the proclamation of the reign of the Most Great Peace, are but a few among the chapters of the glorious tale which the consummation of the Faith of &Baha'u'llah will unfold.

Who knows but that triumphs, unsurpassed in splendour, are not in store for the mass of &Baha'u'llah's toiling followers? Surely, we stand too near the colossal edifice His hand has reared to be able, at the present stage of the evolution of His Revelation, to claim to be able even to conceive the full measure of its promised glory. Its past history, stained by the blood of countless martyrs, may well inspire us with the +P668 thought that, whatever may yet befall this Cause, however formidable the forces that may still assail it, however numerous the reverses it will inevitably suffer, its onward march can never be stayed, and that it will continue to advance until the very last promise, enshrined within the words of &Baha'u'llah, shall have been completely redeemed. +P669

APPENDIX

LIST OF THE &BAB'S BEST-KNOWN WORKS 1. The Persian &Bayan 2. The Arabie &Bayan 3. The &Qayyumu'l-Asma' 4. The &Sahifatu'l-Haramayn 5. The &Dala'il-i-Sab'ih 6. Commentary on the &Surih of &Kawthar 7. Commentary on the &Surih of &Va'l-'Asr 8. The &Kitab-i-Asma' 9. &Sahifiy-i-Makhdhumiyyih 10. &Sahifiy-i-Ja'fariyyih 11. &Ziyarat-i-Shah-'Abdu'l-'Azim 12. &Kitab-i-Panj-Sha'n 13. &Sahifiy-i-Radaviyyih 14. &Risaliy-i-'Adliyyih 15. &Risaliy-i-Fiqhiyyih 16. &Risaliy-i-Dhahabiyyih 17. &Kitabu'r-Ruh 18. &Suriy-i-Tawhid 19. &Lawh-i-Hurufat 20. &Tafsir-i-Nubuwat-i-Khassih 21. &Risaliy-i-Furu'-i-'Adliyyih 22. &Khasa'il-i-Sab'ih 23. Epistles to &Muhammad &Shah and &Haji &Mirza &Aqasi

N.B. The &Bab Himself states in one passage of the Persian &Bayan that His writings comprise no less than 500,000 verses.

WORKS CONSULTED BY THE TRANSLATOR 1. Lord Curzon's "Persia and the Persian Question" (2 vols.)

(Longmans, Green and Co., London, 1892) 2. A. L. M. Nicolas' "Essai sur le &Shaykhisme I"

(Librarie Paul Geuthner, Rue Mazarine, Paris, 1910) 3. A. L. M. Nicolas' "Essai sur le &Shaykhisme II"

(Librairie Paul Geuthner, Rue Magazine Paris 1914) 4. A. L. M. Nicolas' "Siyyid &Ali-Muhammad dit le &Bab"

(Libraine Critique, Rue Notre-Dame-de-Lorette, Paris, 1908) 5. Comte de Gobineau's "Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l'Asie

Centrale" (Les Editions G. Cres et Cie., Paris, Rue de Sevres, 1928) 6. Lady Sheil's "Glimpses of Life and Manners in Persia"

(John Murray, Albemarle Street, London, 1856) 7. "The &Tarikh-i-Jadid," by &Mirza &Husayn of &Hamadan, translated from the

Persian by E. G. Browne (The University Press, Cambridge, 1893) 8. M. Clement Huart's "La Religion de &Bab"

(Ernat Leroue, Rue Bonaparte, Paris, 1889) +P670 9. "A Traveller's Narrative," translated from the Persian by E. G. Browne

(The University Press, Cambridge, 1891) 10. "Le &Bayan Persan," traduit du Persan par A. L. M. Nicolas (4 vols.) 11. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1889, articles 6, 12 12. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, articles, 7, 9, 13 13. "Le Livre des Sept Preuves," traduction par A. L. M. Nicolas

(J. Maisonneuve, Rue de Mezieres, Paris, 1902) 14. E. G. Browne's "A Year amongst the Persians"

(Messrs. A. and C. Black, Ltd., London, 1893) 15. E. G. Browne's "A Literary History of Persia" (4 vols.)

(The University Press, Cambridge, 1924) 16. Lieutenant-Colonel P. M. Sykes' "A History of Persia" (2 vols.)

(Macmillan & Co., London, 1915) 17. Clements R. Markham's "A General Sketch or the History of Persia"

(Longman's Green and Co., London, 1874) 18. R. G. Watson's "History of Persia" 19. Journal Asiatique, 1806, sixieme serie, tomes 7, 8

("Bab et les &Babis," by &Mirza &Kazim Big) 20. M. J. Balteau's "Le &Babisme"

(Lecture faite par M. J. Balteau, membre titulaire, a la seance du 22 mai, 1896. Academie Nationale de Reims. Imprimerie de l'Academie, Reims, N. Monce, Directeur; 24 Rue Pluche, 1897) 21. Gabriel Sacy's "Du Regne de Dieu et de l'Agneau connu sous le nom de &Babisme"

(12 Juin, 1902) 22. J. E. Esslemont's "&Baha'u'llah and the New Era"

(The &Baha'i Publishing Committee, New York, 1927) 23. &Muhammad &Mustafa's "&Risaliy-i-Amriyyih"

(Imprimerie Sa'adih, Cairo, Egypt) 24. E. G. Browne's "Materials for the Study of the &Babi Religion"

(The University Press, Cambridge, 1918) 25. &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl's manuscripts and notes (unpublished) 26. &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl's "The &Kashfu'l-Ghita'"

(&Ishqabad, Russia) 27. M. H. Phelps' "Life and Teachings of &Abbas Effendi"

(G. P. Putnam's Sons London, 1912) 28. T. K. Cheyne's "The Reconciliation of Races and Religions"

(Adam and Charles Black, 1914) 29. Sir Francis Younghusband's "The Gleam"

(John Murray, Albemarle Street, London, 1923) 30. Samandar's manuscript (unpublished) 31. E. G. Browne's "The Persian Revolution"

(The University Press, Cambridge, 1910) 32. The Christian Commonwealth, January 22, 1913. 33. G. K. Nariman's "Persia and Parsis," Part I

(The &Iran League, Bombay, 1925) 34. Valentine Chirol's "The Middle Eastern Question" 35. J. Estlin Carpenter's "Comparative Religion" 36. E. J. W. Gibb Memorial Series, vol. 15

(Luzac & Co., London, 1910) 37. "The &Nasikhu't-Tavarikh" (&Qajarayyih volume), by &Mirza &Taqi &Mustawfi, &Lisanu'l-Mulk, known as Sipihr

(Lithograph edition, &Tihran) 38. &Haji &Mu'inu's-Saltanih's "History" (manuscript) 39. &Mirza &Abu'l-Fadl's "&Kitabu'-Fara'id" (Cairo edition) Works of &Baha'u'llah:

"&Kitab-i-Iqan" (Cairo edition, 1900)

"Epistle to the Son of the Wolf" (Cairo edition, 1920) +P671

"&Ishraqat" (manuscript)

"Tablets to the Kings" (manuscript) Works of the &Bab:

"&Sahifatu'l-Haramayn" (manuscript)

"&Qayyumu'l-Asma' " "

"Persian &Bayan" "

"Arabic &Bayan" "

"&Dala'il-i-Sab'ih" " Works of &Abdu'l-Baha:

"Some Answered Questions" (&Baha'i Publishing Society, Chicago, 1918)

"Memorials of the Faithful" (Haifa edition, 1924) N.B. For a general and fuller bibliography, refer to:

1. &Baha'i World, vol. iii, part 3

2. A. L. M. Nicolas' "Siyyid &Ali-Muhammad dit le &Bab," pp. 22-53

3. E. G. Browne's "Materials for the Study of the &Babi Religion," pp. 175-243

4. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1892, pp. 433-99, 637-710

5. "A Traveller's Narrative," pp. 173-211

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS OF PERSIA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

"There is no fixed principle or permanence in the administrative subdivisions of Persia. Their separation or combination is regulated by the ability or reputation of their governors, and by the scope that may be conceded thereto by the confidence or the fears of the sovereign.... It should further be remarked that no principle, geographical, ethnographical, or political, appears to be adopted in determining the borders and sizes of the various divisions, which vary in extent from a province larger than the whole of England, to a small and decayed town with its immediate surroundings."

LARGER PROVINCES OR DISTRICTS Administrative Division Capital &Adhirbayjan &Tabriz &Khurasan and Sistan &Mashhad &Tihran and Dependencies &Tihran &Fars &Shiraz &Isfahan and Dependencies &Isfahan &Kirman and Persian &Baluchistan &Kirman &Arabistan &Shushtar &Gilan and &Talish &Rasht &Mazindaran &Amul Yazd and Dependencies Yazd Persian Gulf Littoral and Islands &Bushihr

(From Lord Curzon's "Persia and the Persian Question," vol. 1, p. 437.)

BRITISH AND RUSSIAN ENVOYS TO THE COURT OF PERSIA, 1814-1855

1814 November . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Morier and Mr. Ellis.

1815 July . . . . . . . . . . . . Sir Henry Willock.

1826 September . . . . . . . . . Sir John Macdonald.

1830 June . . . . . . . . . . . . Sir John Campbell.

1835 November . . . . . . . . . . Sir Henry Ellis.

1836 August . . . . . . . . . . . Sir John McNeill.

1842 August . . . . . . . . . . . Sir Justin Sheil.

1847 October . . . . . . . . . . Colonel Farrant (acting).

1849 November . . . . . . . . . . Sir Justin Sheil (returned from leave).

1853 February . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Taylor Thomson (acting).

1855 April . . . . . . . . . . . Hon. A. C. Murray. +P672

1817 August . . . . . . . . . . . General Yermoloff.

1819 April . . . . . . . . . . . M. Mazarowitch.

1823 January . . . . . . . . . . M. Ambourger (acting).

1824 July . . . . . . . . . . . . M. Mazarowitch (returned from leave).

1825 September . . . . . . . . . M. Amboureer.

1826 July . . . . . . . . . . . . Prince Menschikoff.

1828 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . M. Grebayadoff.

1831 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Prince Dolgorouki.

1833 February . . . . . . . . . . Count Simonich.

1839 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Count Meden.

1846 January . . . . . . . . . . Prince Dologorouki.

1854 September . . . . . . . . . M. Anitchkoff. (From Clements R. Markham, C.B., F.R.S., "A General Sketch of the History of Persia," Appendix B. Longmans, Green and Co., London, 1874.)

LIST OF MONTHS OF THE &MUHAMMADAN CALENDAR &Muharram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 days &Safar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 " &Rabi'u'l-Avval . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 " &Rabi'u'th-Thani . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 " &Jamadiyu'-Avval . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 " &Jamadiy'th-Thani . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 "

Rajab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 " &Sha'ban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 " &Ramadan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 " &Shavval . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 " &Dhi'l-Qa'dih . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 " &Dhi'l-Hijjih . . . . . . . . . . . . 29-30 " &Muharram 1, 1 A.H. . . . . . . . . . July 16, 622 A.D. Friday. &Muharram 1, 1260 " . . . . . . . . . . . January 22, 1844 " Monday. &Muharram 1, 1261 " . . . . . . . . . . . January 10, 1845 " Friday. &Muharram 1, 1262 " . . . . . . . . . . . December 30, 1845 " Tuesday. &Muharram 1, 1263 " . . . . . . . . . . . December 20, 1846 " Sunday. &Muharram 1, 1264 " . . . . . . . . . . . December 9, 1847 " Thursday. &Muharram 1, 1265 " . . . . . . . . . . . November 27, 1848 " Monday. &Muharram 1, 1266 " . . . . . . . . . . . November 17, 1849 " Saturday. &Muharram 1, 1267 " . . . . . . . . . . . November 6, 1850 " Wednesday. &Muharram 1, 1268 " . . . . . . . . . . . October 27, 1851 " Monday. &Muharram 1, 1269 " . . . . . . . . . . . October 15, 1852 " Friday. &Muharram 1, 1270 " . . . . . . . . . . . October 4, 1853 " Tuesday.

(From "&Wustemfield-Mahler'sche Vegleichungs-Tabellen," Leipzig, 1926.) +P673

APPENDIX

GUIDE TO THE PRONUNCIATION OF THE PROPER NAMES TRANSLITERATED

IN THE NARRATIVE [A box with Arabic script and their equal in transliterated English letters appears in the space provided below the above description. Pronunciation of the English letters appearing therein is described below.]

th [underlined] pronounced as s dh [underlined] pronounced as z zh [underlined] pronounced as j (French) s [with dot beneath] pronounced as s d [with dot beneath] pronounced as z t [with dot beneath] pronounced as t z [with dot beneath] pronounced as z a as in account a [with accent] as in arm i as e in best i [with accent] as ee in meet u as o in short u [with accent] as oo in moon aw as in mown

The "i" added to the name of a town signifies "belonging to"; thus &Shirazi means native of &Shiraz.

N.B. The spelling of the Oriental words and proper names used in this book is according to the system of transliteration established at one of the International Oriental Congresses. +P674

GLOSSARY &Aba: Cloak or mantle. &Adhan: Muslim call to prayer. A.H.: "After Hijirah. "Date of &Muhammad's migration from Mecca to

Medina, and basis of &Muhammadan chronology. Akbar: "Greater." &Amir: "Lord," "prince," "commander," "governor." &Aqa: Title given by &Baha'u'llah to &Abdu'l-Baha. &A'zam: "The greatest." &Bab: "Gate." Title assumed by &Mirza &Ali-Muhammad after the declaration of His Mission in &Shiraz in May, 1844, A.D. &Baha: "Glory," "splendour," "light." Title by which &Baha'u'llah

(&Mirza &Husayn-'Ali) is designated. &Baqiyyatu'llah: "Remnant of God." Title applied both to the &Bab and to &Baha'u'llah. &Bayan: "Utterance," "explanation." Title given by the &Bab to His

Revelation, particularly to His Books. Big: Honorary title; lower title than &Khan Caravanserai: An inn for caravans. &Darughih: "High constable." &Dawlih: "State," "government." &Farman: "Order," "command," "royal decree." &Farrash: "Footman," "lictor," "attendant." &Farrash-Bashi: The head &farrash. &Farsakh: Unit of measurement. Its length differs in different parts of the country according to the nature of the ground, the local interpretation of the term being the distance which a laden mule will walk in the hour, which varies from three to four miles. Arabicised from the old Persian "parsang," and supposed to be derived from pieces of stone (sang) placed on the roadside. &Haji: A &Muhammadan who has performed the pilgrimage to Mecca. Howdah: A litter carried by a camel, mule, horse, or elephant for travelling purposes. &Il: "Clan." &Imam: Title of the twelve &shi'ah successors of &Muhammad. Also applied to Muslim religious leaders. &Imam-Jum'ih: The leading &imam in a town or city; chief of the &mullas. &Imam-Zadih: Descendant of an &imam, or his shrine. Jubbih: An upper coat. &Ka'bih: Ancient shrine at Mecca. Now recognised as the most holy shrine of &Islam. &Kad-Khuda: Chief of a ward or parish in a town; headman of a village. +P675 Kalantar: "Mayor." &Kalim: "One who discourses." &Karbila'i: A &Muhammadan who has performed the pilgrimage to &Karbila. &Khan: "Prince," "lord," "nobleman," "chieftain." &Kulah: The Persian lambskin hat worn by government employees and civilians. Madrisih: Religious college. &Man-Yuzhiruh'llah: "He whom God will make manifest." Title given by the &Bab to the promised One. &Mashhadi: A &Muhammadan who has performed the pilgrimage to &Mashhad. Masjid: Mosque, temple, place of worship. &Maydan: A subdivision of a &farsakh. A square or open place. &Mihdi: Title of the Manifestation expected by &Islam. &Mihrab: The principal place in a mosque, where the &imam prays with his face turned towards Mecca. &Mi'raj: "Ascent"; used with reference to &Muhammad's ascension to heaven. &Mirza: A contraction of &Amir-Zadih, meaning son of &Amir. When affixed to a name, it signifies prince; when prefixed, simply Mr. &Mu'adhdhin: The one who sounds the &Adhan, the &Muhammadan call to prayer. Mujtahid: &Muhammadan doctor of law. Most of the mujtahids of Persia have received their diplomas from the most eminent jurists of &Karbila and Najaf. &Mulla: &Muhammadan priest. &Mustaghath: "He who is invoked"; the numerical value of which has been assigned by the &Bab as the limit of the time fixed for the advent of the promised Manifestation. &Nabil: "Learned," "noble." &Naw-Ruz: "New Day." Name applied to the &Baha'i New Year's Day; according to the Persian calendar, the day on which the sun enters Aries. &Nuqtih: "Point." &Pahlavan: "Athlete," "champion." Term applied to brave and muscular men. &Qadi: Judge: civil, criminal, and ecclesiastical &Qa'im: "He who shall arise." Title designating the promised One of &Islam. &Qalyan: A pipe for smoking through water. Qiblih: The direction to which people turn in prayer; especially Mecca, the Qiblih of all &Muhammadans. &Qurban: "Sacrifice." &Sahibu'z-Zaman: "Lord of the Age." One of the titles of the promised &Qa'im. &Shahid: "Martyr." The plural of martyr is "&Shuhada." +P676 &Shaykhu'l-Islam: Head of religious court, appointed to every large city by the &Shah. Siyyid: Descendant of the Prophet &Muhammad. &Surih: Name of the chapters of the &Qur'an. &Tuman: A sum of money equivalent to a dollar. &Vali-'Ahd: "Heir to the throne." &Zadih: "Son."