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
Another particularly notable pilgrim in that year 1260 was a divine of
high repute, Siyyid Ja`far-i-Ka[_sh_]fí, whose son Siyyid Yaḥyá
(later known as Vaḥíd) was to become one of the most distinguished
followers of the Báb.
The journey to Jiddah was long, tedious and exhausting. Seas were
rough and storms frequent. An Arab sailing-boat did not afford much
comfort. 'For days we suffered from the scarcity of water. I had to
content myself with the juice of sweet lemon,' the Báb writes in the
Persian _Bayán_.[3] Ḥájí Abu'l-Ḥasan recounts:
During the entire period of approximately two months, from
the day we embarked at Bú[_sh_]ihr to the day when we landed
at Jaddih, the port of Ḥijáz, whenever by day or night I
chanced to meet either the Báb or Quddús, I invariably found
them together, both absorbed in their work. The Báb seemed
to be dictating, and Quddús was busily engaged in taking
down whatever fell from His lips. Even at a time when panic
seemed to have seized the passengers of that storm-tossed
vessel, they would be seen pursuing their labours with
unperturbed confidence and calm. Neither the violence of the
elements nor the tumult of the people around them could
either ruffle the serenity of their countenance or turn them
from their purpose.[4]
At Jiddah the Báb and His companions put on the iḥrám,[BN] the garb
of the pilgrim. He travelled to Mecca on a camel, but Quddús would not
mount and walked all the way, keeping pace with it. On the tenth day
of [_Dh_]i'l-Ḥijjah the Báb offered the prescribed sacrifice. The
meat of the nineteen lambs which He bought was all given to the poor
and the needy; nine of the animals were sacrificed on His own behalf,
seven on behalf of Quddús and three for Mubárak.[5]
[Footnote BN: sheet of cloth, unstitched.]
Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥabíbu'lláh-i-Afnán, quoting Ḥájí Abu'l-Ḥasan,
relates in his chronicle that after the completion of the rites of the
Ḥajj, at a time when the court of the House of Ka`bah and the roofs
of adjoining houses teemed with pilgrims, the Báb stood against the
structure of the Ka`bah, laid hold of the ring on its door and thrice
repeated, in a clear voice:
I am that Qá'im whose advent you have been awaiting.
Ḥájí Abu'l-Ḥasan recalled, many years later, that a sudden hush fell
upon the audience. The full implication of those momentous words must,
at the time, have eluded that vast concourse of people. But the news of
the claim of the young Siyyid soon spread in an ever-widening circle.
One day in Mecca, the Báb came face to face with Mírzá
Muḥammad-Ḥusayn-i-Kirmání, known as Muḥíṭ.[BO] They
happened to meet close by the sacred Black Stone (Ḥajar al-Aswad).
The Báb took Muḥíṭ's hand, saying:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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