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
In days gone by Mullá Ḥusayn had written a dissertation on some of
the abstruse doctrines and teachings which [_Sh_]ay[_kh_] Aḥmad and
Siyyid Káẓim had enunciated. He carried a copy of this treatise
with him. He now presented it to his Host and asked Him to peruse it,
and elucidate the mysteries which it contained. Not only did his Host
after a rapid look through that treatise shed light upon it, He went
far beyond it. Then Mullá Ḥusayn was given the proof of which he
had ample knowledge. There is a Súrih (Arabic 'Súrah': chapter) in the
Qur'án entitled the Súrih of Joseph.[R] It tells the story of Joseph,
the son of Jacob, he whom his brothers betrayed and sold into slavery,
who suffered imprisonment in Egypt, but rose to rule that land. It is
highly allegorical. Siyyid Káẓim had told Mullá Ḥusayn, when
requested by him to write a commentary on that chapter of the Qur'án:
'This is, verily, beyond me. He, that great One, who comes after me
will, unasked, reveal it for you. That commentary will constitute one
of the weightiest testimonies of His truth, and one of the clearest
evidences of the loftiness of His position.'
[Footnote R: Súrih xii.]
Mullá Ḥusayn's Host told him: 'Now is the time to reveal the
commentary on the Súrih of Joseph.'
'He took up His pen,' Mullá Ḥusayn related, 'and with incredible
rapidity revealed the entire Súrih of Mulk, the first chapter of His
commentary on the Súrih of Joseph. The overpowering effect of the
manner in which He wrote was heightened by the gentle intonation of
His voice which accompanied His writing. Not for one moment did He
interrupt the flow of the verses which streamed from His pen. Not once
did He pause till the Súrih of Mulk was finished. I sat enraptured by
the magic of His voice and the sweeping force of His revelation.'
But Mullá Ḥusayn was anxious to rejoin his companions. Since that
afternoon--and long ago it seemed--when he had sent them into the city
and had himself lingered outside the city-gates, he had had no news of
them nor they of him. So he rose and asked to be permitted to depart.
His Host smilingly told him: 'If you leave in such a state, whoever
sees you will assuredly say: "This poor youth has lost his mind."' 'At
that moment,' Mullá Ḥusayn has said, 'the clock registered two
hours and eleven minutes after sunset.'
In that moment a new Dispensation was born.
'This night,' said He who ushered in the new Dispensation, He who was to
herald a new cycle, 'this very hour will, in the days to come, be
celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all
festivals.'[S]
[Footnote S: Today that night and that hour are celebrated
with joy and reverence and gratitude all over the world.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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