He brought light to the Qá’in area and converted a great number of people.
And when he had become known far and wide by this new name, the clergy,
envious and malevolent, arose, and informed against him, sending their
calumnies on to Ṭihrán, so that Náṣiri’d-Dín _Sh_áh rose up in wrath.
Terrified of the _Sh_áh, the Amír attacked Nabíl with all his might. Soon
the whole city was in an uproar, and the populace, lashed to fury, turned
upon him.
That enraptured lover of God never gave way, but withstood them all. At
last, however, they drove him out—drove out that man who saw what they did
not—and he went up to Ṭihrán, where he was a fugitive, and homeless.
Here, his enemies struck at him again. He was pursued by the watchmen;
guards looked everywhere for him, asking after him in every street and
alley, hunting him down to catch and torture him. Hiding, he would pass by
them like the sigh of the oppressed, and rise to the hills; or again, like
the tears of the wronged, he would slip down into the valleys. He could no
longer wear the turban denoting his rank; he disguised himself, putting on
a layman’s hat, so that they would fail to recognize him and would let him
be.
In secret, with all his powers he kept on spreading the Faith and setting
forth its proofs, and was a guiding lamp to many souls. He was exposed to
danger at all times, always vigilant and on his guard. The Government
never gave up its search for him, nor did the people cease from discussing
his case.
He left, then, for Bu_kh_árá and I_sh_qábád, continuously teaching the
Faith in those regions. Like a candle, he was using up his life; but in
spite of his sufferings he was never dispirited, rather his joy and ardor
increased with every passing day. He was eloquent of speech; he was a
skilled physician, a remedy for every ill, a balm to every sore. He would
guide the Illuminati by their own philosophical principles, and with the
mystics he would prove the Divine Advent in terms of “inspiration” and the
“celestial vision.” He would convince the _Sh_ay_kh_í leaders by quoting
the very words of their late Founders, _Sh_ay_kh_ Aḥmad and Siyyid Kázim,
and would convert Islamic theologians with texts from the Qur’án and
traditions from the Imáms, who guide mankind aright. Thus he was an
instant medicine to the ailing, and a rich bestowal to the poor.
He became penniless in Bu_kh_árá and a prey to many troubles, until at the
last, far from his homeland, he died, hastening away to the Kingdom where
no poverty exists.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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