Leaving the city of Qum, Faizi’s Muslim family settled well
in Tehran. Shortly after they were joined by Faizi's newly married brother and
his wife. Because their father was worried about his young son getting lost in
the big, busy city, Faizi was left to studying on his own at home. When his brother became aware of this
situation, he was concerned that he had not been registered in any school and
persuaded their father that it would be better to send him to school. Having
already sent his eldest son to a school run by Baha'is, their father agreed to
send Faizi to the Baha'i Tarbiyat School for boys, which was near where they
lived, so there was no danger of him getting lost. His older brother arranged
for him to be interviewed by the principal of the school.
Early one morning, Faizi, accompanied by his older brother,
set off for Tarbiyat School, the younger one in trepidation of what awaited
him, the older one happy that he was going to entrust his dear brother to the
daily care of a benevolent institution. The classes were already in session
when they arrived and the principal, 'Aziz Misbah, was waiting for them in his
office. How different was the young Faizi's reception at this school compared
to what he had received earlier at the religious school (maktab) in Qum, how genial and kindly Mr. Misbah
was compared to the so-called teachers in his hometown. No wonder that, as soon
as Faizi met this much-loved principal he was immediately drawn to him. After
welcoming the two brothers the principle asked Faizi a few questions to ascertain his
level of literacy and decided to place his new pupil in grade five.
Tarbiyat School, which was the first of several schools established throughout Iran in 1898 by the Baha'is of Iran -- separate schools for boys and girls. It was considered to be the best and most respected school of the capital. Many well-known Muslim families as well as almost all the Baha'is of Tehran sent their boys to it. Most of the teachers were Baha'is and the ethos of the school was based on nurturing the latent talents of its pupils, encouraging them to have high moral standards and fostering in them a love for and desire to be of service to humanity.
Faizi's first day at Tarbiyat arrived. Gone was his
reluctance to get up and go to school due to the earlier unpleasant experiences
he had received when attending the religious school in Qum. He jumped out
of bed early in the morning, excitedly ate a hasty breakfast, put on the clean
clothes that his mother had laid out for him and dashed off enthusiastically to
his new school.
Faizi followed the other children when the bell rang for
the start of the day and was guided to stand in line with the rest of the pupils
in a respectful manner, each row in front of the door to their own class. There was order
and calm and
the new pupil immersed himself
in the quiet and peaceful atmosphere. He lifted his head up
to 'the tall cypress trees in the grounds of the school gently swaying
in the breeze', feasted his eyes on 'the riot of bright flowers planted
everywhere' and was absorbing the natural beauty around him when he was suddenly
jolted out of his daydream by the voice of one of the students rising in sweet melody
with the daily
prayer chanted at the beginning of every school day:
O Thou kind Lord! We are poor children, needy and insignificant, yet we are plants
which have sprouted by Thy heavenly stream and saplings bursting into bloom in Thy
divine springtime. Make us fresh
and verdant by the outpourings of the clouds of Thy mercy;
help us to grow and develop through the rays of the sun of Thy goodly gifts and cause us to be refreshed by the
quickening breeze wafting from
the meadows of Truth. Grant that
we may become flourishing trees laden with fruit in the orchard of knowledge, brilliant stars shining above the horizon of eternal happiness and radiant lamps shedding
light upon the assemblage of mankind.
O Lord! Should Thy tender care be vouchsafed unto us, each one of us would, even as an eagle, soar to
the pinnacle of knowledge, but were we left to ourselves we would be consumed
away and would fall into loss and frustration. Whatever we are, from Thee do we
proceed and before Thy threshold do we seek refuge.
Thou art the Bestower,
the Bountiful, the All-Loving.
‘Abdu’l-Baha [1]
Faizi stood riveted. Since his arrival in the city his
senses had been bombarded with sights and sounds which were alien, strange and
amazing to him. He had a lot to learn and to cope with in his new life but this
was beyond all his expectations.
After his introduction to 'education' in the maktab in Qum under the guidance of tutors who seemed to have had little
interest in whether the children learned anything, let alone had any regard for
their feelings or spiritual development, one can only imagine the effect of
this beautiful prayer on the young boy. He now stood on the shores of an
ocean of knowledge and experience that even he with his vivid imagination could
not foresee.
First Baha’i Class
Faizi very quickly became so attached to all his newly-found
friends that he wanted to spend his whole time in school. During the course of
the week he heard some of his friends talk about their Friday class, so as soon
as Friday (which is the day of rest in Islamic countries) arrived he got up at
the crack of dawn to make sure he did not miss following them. Unaware that
these were Baha'i classes, Faizi
joined his friends, who happily took him along with them without question.
When they reached the house where the class was to be held
they all sat down on the floor of a carpeted room. Faizi felt a little lost but
was happy to be in the company of his friends. As soon as they were all settled
the owner of the house entered the room with a tray of tea and, as the children
took their glass from his tray, lovingly greeted every child individually. They
had finished drinking their tea when a tall, well-dressed young man entered the room and sat down in a corner. Faizi remembered that the young man
wore a red cravat, that he was extraordinarily radiant, and that he felt an
instant deep affection for him. He was the teacher and his name was Nuru’d-Din
Fatheazam. [2]
The class began and the students started reciting in turn the
quotations they had been given
to learn the previous week. One quoted from the sayings of Muhammad, another
from Christ, another from Moses
and so on, leaving the new student in a state of total astonishment. Sinking deep in
thought, the confused boy wondered, 'Oh my God! What is happening here? Where
have they gathered these words from?' He was shaken from these thoughts by the
realization that it would soon be his turn and he had no idea what to say. It had,
of course, not escaped the attention of the kindly teacher that he had a new
student in his class so he did not ask anything of Faizi. Instead he
gave him a quotation from the Baha’i Writings to learn for the following week and
explained to him that the words were not only to be memorized but to be
understood, pondered and put into practice.
The words Faizi heard in that class had a deep effect on him and were the inspiration for the
man he was to become. He was so fascinated by
what he learned that day that thereafter he waited impatiently for the Friday Baha’i classes. Faizi’s mother who soon became
aware of what he was learning in these classes, always gave him clean clothes
to wear on Fridays.
She also continued to 'nip any bad behavior or language in the bud by
saying that it was contrary to her wishes' and would 'seriously prevent any
repetition' of unseemly conduct.
To the end of his life Faizi never stopped thanking God for
having guided him to Nuru’d-Din Fatheazam’s Baha’i class. Even as an adult he could not bring himself to
regard him as a friend but rather as the respected tutor to that child from Qum who
first heard of the teachings of Baha'u'llah from him.
(Adapted from ‘Faizi’, by
May Faizi-Moore)
[1] Prayer book: ‘Let Thy Breeze Refresh Them’
[2] Mr. Fatheazam’s eldest son was to become one of Faizi’s
closest friends and a member of the Universal House of Justice.
