Greatly disturbed, we told them, “Such a thing is out of the question.
This you must not require, for it cannot be complied with. We gave our
word to Bahá’u’lláh that not so much as a copper coin would be accepted.”
But they, too, swore upon oath that it must be as they wished, that they
would agree to nothing else. This servant answered: “Let us leave this
matter for the present. Is there any further disagreement among you?”
“Yes,” said Mírzá Músá, “what has become of the money that was left?”
Asked the amount, he answered: “Three hundred thousand túmans.” The
daughters said: “There are two possibilities: either this money is here in
the house, in some coffer, or buried hereabouts—or else it is in other
hands. We will give over the house and all its contents to Mírzá Músá. We
two will leave the house, with nothing but our veils. If anything turns up
we, as of now, freely accord it to him. If the money is elsewhere, it has
no doubt been deposited in someone’s care; and that person, well aware of
the breach of trust, will hardly come forward, deal honorably by us, and
return it—rather, he will make off with it all. Mírzá Músá must establish
a satisfactory proof of what he says; his claim alone is not evidence.”
Mírzá Músá replied: “All the property was in their hands; I knew nothing
of what was going on—I had no hint of it. They did whatever they pleased.”
In short, Mírzá Músá had no clear proof of his claim. He could only ask,
“Is such a thing possible, that the late Ḥájí had no ready funds?” Since
the claim was unsupported, I felt that pursuing it further would lead to a
scandal and produce nothing of value. Accordingly I bade them: “Cast the
lots.” As for the third share, I had them put it in a separate apartment,
close it off, and affix a seal to the door. The key I brought to
Bahá’u’lláh. “The task is done,” I said. “It was accomplished only through
Your confirmations. Otherwise it could not have been completed in a year.
However, a difficulty has arisen.” I described in detail the claim of
Mírzá Músá and the absence of any proof. Then I said, “Mírzá Músá is
heavily in debt. Even should he expend all he has, still he could not pay
off his creditors. It is best, therefore, if You Yourself will accept the
heirs’ request, since they persist in their offer, and bestow that share
on Mírzá Músá. Then he could at least free himself from his debts and
still have something left over.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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