He kept always to his own way of being. He traveled in the company of
Bahá’u’lláh; from ‘Iráq to Constantinople he was with the convoy and at
the halting-places it was his task to pitch the tents. He served with the
greatest diligence, and did not know the meaning of lethargy or fatigue.
In Constantinople as well, and later in the Land of Mystery, Adrianople,
he continued on, in one and the same invariable condition.
With his peerless Lord, he then was exiled to the Akká fortress, condemned
by order of the Sulṭán to be imprisoned forever.(38) But he accepted in
the same spirit all that came his way—comfort and torment, hardship and
respite, sickness and health; eloquently, he would return thanks to the
Blessed Beauty for His bounties, uttering praise with a free heart and a
face that shone like the sun. Each morning and evening he waited upon
Bahá’u’lláh, delighting in and sustained by His presence; and mostly, he
kept silent.
When the Beloved of all mankind ascended to the Kingdom of Splendors,
Mírzá Muḥammad-Qulí remained firm in the Covenant, shunning the craft, the
malice and hypocrisy which then appeared, devoting himself entirely to
God, supplicating and praying. To those who would listen he gave wise
advice; and he called to mind the days of the Blessed Beauty and grieved
over the fact that he himself lived on. After the departure of
Bahá’u’lláh, he did not draw an easeful breath; he kept company with no
one, but stayed by himself most of the time, alone in his small refuge,
burning with the fires of separation. Day by day he grew feebler, more
helpless, until at the last he soared away to the world of God. Upon him
be peace; upon him be praise and mercy, in the gardens of Heaven. His
luminous grave is in Naqíb, by Tiberias.
USTÁD BÁQIR AND USTÁD AḤMAD
And again among those who left their homeland were two carpenters, Ustád
Báqir and Ustád Aḥmad. These two were brothers, of pure lineage, and
natives of Ká_sh_án. From the time when both became believers each held
the other in his embrace. They harkened to the voice of God, and to His
cry of “Am I not your Lord?” they replied, “Yea, verily!”
For a time they stayed on in their own country, occupied with the
remembrance of God, characterized by faith and knowledge, respected by
friend and stranger alike, known to all for righteousness and
trustworthiness, for austerity of life and the fear of God. When the
oppressor stretched forth his hands against them, and tormented them
beyond endurance, they emigrated to ‘Iráq, to the sheltering care of
Bahá’u’lláh. They were two most blessed souls. For some time they remained
in ‘Iráq, praying in all lowliness, and supplicating God.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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