The Báb: The Herald of the Day of DaysBalyuzi, H. M.
Religion
The Báb: The Herald of the Day of Days
Balyuzi, H. M.
Bab, Ali Muhammad Shirazi, 1819-1850; Bahai Faith
'On account of these circumstances, the stay of your devoted servant in
Bagdad is needless--As yet I have received no money from Kermanshah, if
you were graciously pleased to grant it, and wrote to the Shoojah ood.
dowleh [[_Sh_]ujá`u'd-Dawlih], to send some money speedily to me your
devoted servant, to pay some of my debts,[FV] it is possible that I
might be able to bring the Zil.i.Sultan[FW] along with me.'[3]
[Footnote FV: Mullá `Abdu'l-`Azíz dared not go to Karbilá
because he feared his creditors. Siyyid Káẓim had urged
him to visit the holy city.]
[Footnote FW: Ẓillu's-Sulṭán was not in a distressed
condition, and his presence in Írán was not welcomed.]
* * * * *
'The latest accounts from Kerbella,' wrote Lt.-Col. Farrant at the end
of his long report on the siege, 'state the town to be perfectly quiet
and its population daily increasing.'
APPENDIX 2
THE MARTYRDOM OF THE BÁB
The martyrdom of the Báb was reported by Lt.-Col. Sheil to Lord
Palmerston, the British Foreign Secretary, on July 22nd 1850:
'The founder of this sect has been executed at Tabreez--He was killed by
a volley of musketry, and his death was on the point of giving his
religion a lustre which would have largely increased its proselytes.
When the smoke and dust cleared away after the volley, Báb was not to be
seen, and the populace proclaimed that he had ascended to the skies--The
balls had broken the ropes by which he was bound, but he was dragged
from the recess where after some search, he was discovered, and shot.
'His death according to the belief of his disciples will make no
difference, as Bâb must always exist.'[1]
At the time of the martyrdom of the Báb, R. W. Stevens, the British
Consul, was absent from Tabríz, and his brother, George, was left in
charge of the Consulate. The latter had failed to report the event to
Sheil. On July 24th, R. W. Stevens, back at his post, rectified that
omission and added that the body of the Báb and His disciple had been
'thrown into the Town ditch where they were devoured by dogs.'[2] Sheil
wrote to Palmerston, on August 15th, that 'Although the advice and
opinions of foreign agents are generally unpalatable to the Persian
Minister, I nevertheless think it my duty to bring under his observation
any flagrant abuse or outrage that reaches my knowledge. I persuade
myself that on such occasions notwithstanding the absence of
acknowledgement on the part of the Ameer-i-Nizam [Mírzá Taqí [_Kh_]án,
the Grand Vizier], he may perhaps privately take steps for applying a
remedy.' He went on to say that the Consul at Tabríz had reported that
the body of the Báb, 'by order of the Ameer-i-Nizam's brother, was
thrown into the ditch of the town to be devoured by dogs, which actually
happened.'[3] He enclosed the copy of the letter he had written to the
Grand Vizier on this subject. This is what he wrote to Mírzá Taqí
[_Kh_]án:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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