I have sought to excuse myself and I would most certainly urge you to do the same. I regard it as most unwise of you to meet the Siyyid-i-Báb face to face. He will, no doubt, reassert his claim and will, in support of his argument, adduce whatever proof you may desire him to give, and, without the least hesitation, will reveal as a testimony to the truth he bears, verses of such a number as would equal half the Qur'án. In the end he will challenge you in these words: 'Produce likewise, if ye are men of truth.' We can in no wise successfully resist him. If we disdain to answer him, our impotence will have been exposed. If we, on the other hand, submit to his claim, we shall not only be forfeiting our own reputation, our own prerogatives and rights, but will have committed ourselves to acknowledge any further claims that he may feel inclined to make in the future.[6] Only Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ja`far-i-Ábádi'í took Ḥájí Siyyid Asadu'lláh's advice and kept away. In the presence of Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án, Mírzá Ḥasan-i-Núrí was the first to pose a question. Mírzá Ḥasan was a follower of the I[_sh_]ráqí school (Platonism), and his question concerned certain elements of the philosophy of Mullá Ṣadrá contained in his celebrated work: the _Ḥikmatu'l-`Ar[_sh_]íyyah_ (Celestial or Divine Philosophy).[7] The Báb's answers, even though couched in simple terms, were beyond the grasp of Mírzá Ḥasan's mind. 'The Foolish One of the Learned' was the next to face the Báb, and he began to probe into points of Islamic jurisprudence. Unable to withstand the force of the Báb's exposition he started a verbal assault which the Governor quickly brought to an end. Sensing the mood of the audience, Manú[_ch_]ihr [_Kh_]án deemed it prudent that the Báb should stay under the protection of his roof and not return to the house of the Imám-Jum`ih, where he had been a guest for forty days. The next move came from the divines. Like their compatriots in [_Sh_]íráz, they gathered together and passed a verdict on the Báb which carried with it the sentence of death. Both Ḥájí Siyyid Asadu'lláh-i-Ra[_sh_]tí and Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ja`far-i-Ábádi'í refused to be identified with it, but the Imám-Jum`ih, with an eye to his position, wrote: I testify that in the course of my association with this youth I have been unable to discover any act that would in any way betray his repudiation of the doctrines of Islam. On the contrary, I have known him as a pious and loyal observer of its precepts. The extravagance of his claims, however, and his disdainful contempt for the things of the world, incline me to believe that he is devoid of reason and judgment.[8]