Happy he whom love's intoxication So hath overcome that scarce he knows Whether at the feet of the Beloved It be head or turban which he throws![22] Ḥájí Mullá Ismá`íl had been a disciple of Siyyid Káẓim. Even at the moment of his execution, someone came up to him with a message from a friend, pleading with him to recant, but his answer was: Zephyr, prythee bear for me a message To that Ishmael[FK] who was not slain, 'Living from the street of the Beloved Love permits not to return again.'[23] [Footnote FK: Ishmael (Ismá`íl), the son of Abraham, by Hagar.] Ḥájí Muḥammad-Taqí and Siyyid Murtaḍá were merchants of note, and Siyyid Ḥusayn had been a divine famed for his piety. Siyyid Murtaḍá was a brother of that Siyyid Káẓim-i-Zanjání who attended the Báb during His journey to Iṣfahán and later fell a martyr at [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Ṭabarsí. Áqá Muḥammad-Ḥusayn had been tortured to betray his companions, but he would not implicate innocent men in fictitious plots. The Báb, from his remote prison in [_Ch_]ihríq and already overwhelmed by calamity, eulogized these heroic men as the 'Seven Goats' of Islamic tradition, who would precede the promised Qá'im, their true Shepherd, to His own martyrdom.[FL] [Footnote FL: See Appendix 4.] The Episode of Zanján The fiercest and most devastating of the three military actions against the Bábís began in Zanján, in May 1850, after the return of Ḥujjat from his detention in Ṭihrán. (See p. 125.) Although he had enjoyed the protection of Muḥammad [_Sh_]áh in his defence of the Faith of the Báb, he was feared and hated as an infidel by the divines of Zanján. With the death of the [_Sh_]áh and the accession to power of Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án under the succeeding reign, he was the object of a concealed hostility on the part of the authorities, while enjoying the devoted loyalty and affection of countless men and women of his native town. A small quarrel between children, in which Ḥujjat intervened to save the Bábí child, sparked into flame the smouldering animosity against Ḥujjat and a plan was made to seize and bring him before the Governor. Failing in this, his opponents subjected one of his companions to painful injury and death. Then, by the Governor's decree, Zanján was split into two opposing camps, a large number of men were recruited from surrounding villages, and Ḥujjat and his companions were forced to seek safety in the nearby fort of `Alí-Mardán [_Kh_]án. Counting women and children, about three thousand of Ḥujjat's supporters entered the fort, which they held against repeated attack and siege for almost nine months.