One day the youthful Blessed Beauty [Baha'u'llah] was present at a gathering convened by Mirza Nazar-'Ali, the Sufi murshid (spiritual guide) who was more highly esteemed at the court of Muhammad Shah [the Persian reigning monarch] than the prime minister himself, Haji Mirza Aqasi. The discourse of Mirza Nazar-'Ali had developed to the point of claiming: 'I shall be the last to hold the seat of mystical learning; the succession of great occupants will end with me, for I have attained such a degree of resignation that should Jesus Christ Himself suddenly appear in the doorway, it would cause no change in my state.'
Everyone nodded and murmured assent except Baha'u'llah, Who addressed the speaker: 'Jinab-i-Hakim, [your honor, the wise one] I shall ask you a question, and I urge you to give a truthful reply. If, without your consent, the curtain should be raised and the royal executioner enter, sword in hand and advancing towards you, would this affect your composure?'
After a moment's reflection Mirza Nazar - 'Ali replied, 'Yes, it would affect me.'
‘In that case’, Baha’u’llah stated, ‘you should not have made such a claim.’
(Recorded by Nabil; Stories of Baha’u’llah, compiled by Ali-Akbar Furutan)
