Muhammad Shah, the king of Persia, was torn between two
conflicting desires. He wanted to meet the Báb. He was anxious to see in person
this young Man Who could win over to His Faith someone as learned and gifted as
Vahid, and a man of such nobility, stature and wealth as Manuchihr Khan [the
Governor of Isfahan]. He was eager to know more of this young Prophet Who could
so powerfully affect such illustrious people. Yet he was alarmed at the same
time. He was frightened of what might happen if the Báb gained too much
popularity. His Prime Minister, Haji Mirza Aqasi, constantly warned him to
beware of the Báb. The priests at Court spoke of the Báb in the same manner the
religious authorities had spoken of Jesus, saying: "He is a political
revolutionary. He will undermine your
state and destroy your influence over your subjects."
The king wavered. He
blew hot and cold. Prompted by the Prime Minister, he at one time issued
instructions to do away with the Báb, then later withdrew them. Now, thinking
it would have pleased his friend, the late Manuchihr Khan, the king again
expressed his eagerness to meet the Báb in person. Therefore, he summoned the
Báb to the capital city of Tihran.
The historian Nicolas wrote: "The Shah, whimsical and
fickle, forgetting that he had, a short time before, ordered the murder of the
Reformer [the Báb], felt the desire of seeing at last the man who had aroused
such universal interest." [1]
The king's order read: "Send the Báb in disguise, in the company of a mounted escort. Exercise the utmost consideration towards Him in the course of his journey, and strictly maintain the secrecy of His departure. Visit no towns or villages enroute."
The king said he wished to protect the Báb from His enemies
in this manner. In reality, the Prime Minister had arranged the plan for an
entirely different reason. He preferred the Báb to remain in disguise and
hidden for fear of the influence that he might exercise upon the inhabitants of
the cities through which he passed. The captain of the escort was told,
"Beware lest anyone discover his identity or suspect the nature of your
mission. No one but you, and even the members of his escort, should be allowed
to recognize him. Should anyone question you concerning him, say that he is a
merchant whom you have been instructed to conduct to the capital, and of whose
identify you are completely ignorant."
Late one night, in accordance with the instructions of the
king, the Báb set out for Tihran. Enroute to the capital, the Báb's guards
discovered His identity in spite of the precautions, and became His supporters.
His alluring charm combined with a compelling dignity and loving kindness, won
them over and transformed them. In their
eagerness to serve and please Him, they told Him: "We are strictly
forbidden by the government to allow you to enter any village or house. We are
told to proceed by an unfrequented route directly to Tihran so that you shall
come in contact with no one. However, if it be your wish, we are ready to
ignore these instructions and escort you through the streets of every
town."
The Báb replied that He preferred to go by way of the
country, for the cities were unholy. The people paid tribute to the shrines
with their lips while with their acts they heaped dishonor upon them. Outwardly
they reverenced, but inwardly they disgraced.
The Prime Minister sent a message which intercepted the
party one day's journey from Tihran and commanded the guard not to take the Báb
to Tihran, but to the village of Kulayn instead, and to hold Him there until
further instructions. The Prime Minister was determined that the Báb should
never reach the capital.
The Prime Minister continually reminded the king of the
religious revolts that had taken place in the past in Mirman and Khurasan, and
warned him that the Báb was just such a dangerous threat to the peace of the
realm. The Prime Minister's influence
over the king was unlimited.
Comte de Gobineau, the French historian, wrote: "His
[the king's] disposition, naturally weak, had become very melancholy and, as he
craved love and could not find it in his family either with wives or children,
he had centered all his affection upon the aged Mulla [Haji Mirza Aqasi], his [former]
tutor. He made of him his only friend, his confidant, then his first and
all-powerful minister, even his god!" [2] The Journal Asiatique states
that the Prime Minister gained such power over the king that one could truly
say that the Prime Minister was the real sovereign. [3] P. M. Sykes in his A
history of Persia states, "Haji Mirza Aqasi, who had been its virtual
ruler for thirteen years was utterly ignorant of statesmanship ... yet too vain
to receive instruction ... brutal in his language; insolent in his demeanor;
indolent in his habits; he brought the exchequer to the verge of bankruptcy and
the country to the brink of revolution."
Haji Mirza Aqasi finally persuaded Muhammad Shah, to send
the Báb to a remote fortress called Mahku.
According to one historian, the king had been suffering from
illness for some time. The Báb had promised to heal him if He were permitted to
come to Tihran. Haji Mirza Aqasi feared that if the Báb should bring about such
a cure, the king would no longer be under his thumb. [4]
He induced the king to write to the Báb as follows:
"Much as we desire to meet you, we find ourselves unable, in view of our
immediate departure from our capital, to receive you befittingly in Tihran. We
have signified our desire that you be conducted to Mahku." [5]
The Báb had written earlier to the king asking for an
audience with him. He had requested permission to come to the capital so that
before the king and all the religious leaders of the land, He might present the
proofs of His Mission. He agreed to leave the decision of its truth or
falsehood entirely in the hands of the king. He said that He would accept the
judgement of the king as final; and in case of failure, was ready to sacrifice
His head. [6]
Both the Prime Minister and the king had originally welcomed
this letter. They were convinced that once the Báb was faced by the noted
religious leaders of the land, they could humiliate Him and divest Him of all
prestige. However, when they received
the news of His overwhelming victories in debate at Shiraz, and especially when
word came of the conversion of both Vahid and Manuchihr Khan to His Faith, they
were no longer eager, or even willing, to have Him at the capital.
When the king's message reached the Báb, telling Him of His
transfer to the prison of Mahku, He knew whose hand was behind the cruel order.
"You summoned Me from Isfahan to meet the doctors
[religious leaders] and for the attainment of a decisive settlement," He
wrote the Prime Minister. "What has happened now that this excellent
intention has been changed for Mahku and Tabriz?" [7]
In these words, the Báb foreshadowed the suffering He was to
face in the northern city of Tabriz where He would be summoned from prison,
once to be beaten and a second time to be slain.
Thus the king broke his promise to meet the Báb, and the
Royal party including the young son of the king, Prince Farhad Mirza, left with
the Shah and the Prime Minister for a lovely park in the neighborhood of
Tihran. While there the prince approached the Prime Minister and asked him, "Haji,
why have you sent the Báb to Mahku?" The Prime Minister replied, "You
are still too young to understand certain things, but know this: had he come to
Tihran, you and I would not at this moment be walking free from care in this
cool shade."
The historical document Journal Asiatique records: "As
the order of the Prime Minister, Haji Mirza Aqasi, became generally known ...
from Isfahan to Tihran everyone spoke of the iniquity of the clergy and of the
government towards the Báb; everywhere the people muttered and exclaimed
against such an injustice."
The Báb was ordered to proceed first to Tabriz. He refused
to accept the funds provided by the government for the expense of the journey. All
of the allowances that were given by the Prime Minister, the Báb bestowed upon the
poor. For His own needs He used the money which He had earned as a merchant.
Rigid orders were given to avoid entering any of the towns
on the journey to Tabriz. When the party at last approached the gate of the
city, the leader of the escort, Muhammad Big, approached the Báb.
"The journey from Isfahan," he said, "has been
long and arduous. I feel I have failed to do my duty toward you, and have
failed to serve you as I should have. I
can only ask for your pardon and forgiveness."
"Be assured I account you as a member of My fold,"
the Báb told him. "They who embrace My Cause will bless and glorify you,
and will extol your conduct and exalt your name." The rest of the guards
followed the example of their chief, and with tears in their eyes, bade the Báb
a last affectionate farewell. Reluctantly, they delivered Him to the soldiers
of the governor of Tabriz.
(William Sears, ‘Release the Sun’)
[1] A. L. M. Nicolas, Siyyid `Ali-Muhammad dit le Bab, p.
242.
[2] Comte de Gobineau, Les Religions et les Philosophies
dans l'Asie Centrale, pp. 131-132.
[3] Journal Asiatique, 1866, tome 7, pp.367-368.
[4] Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 232, footnote (Haji Mu'niu's-Saltanih's
narrative, p. 129).
[5] Ibid., pp. 230-231.
[6] Comte de Gobineau, Les Religions et les Philosophies
dans l'Asie Centrale, p. 124.
[7] A Traveller's Narrative, p. 16.
