Haji Muhammad-Tahir-i-Malmiri, who was a historian, a teacher
of wide repute and the father of Adib Taherzadeh, attained the presence of
Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká. He writes in his memoirs:
Whenever I came into the presence of the Blessed Beauty, if
there were anything I wanted to ask, I would say it by the way of the heart,
and He would invariably answer me. This is because, in His presence, the tongue
was powerless to utter one word. I always sat in His presence spellbound,
oblivious of my own self. One of the questions I wanted to ask concerned the
station of the Holy Imams. [1] I wanted to know whether they were equal or, as
I thought, some of them were exalted above others. For about six months I
wanted to ask this question, but every time I attained His presence I forgot to
think of it in my heart.
One day, as I was going to the Mansion to attain His
presence, I kept on continuously reminding myself about this question so that I
might remember to communicate it through the heart to Bahá'u'lláh. Even as I
was climbing the steps of the Mansion I was thinking of it. Suddenly I heard
the voice of Bahá'u'lláh greeting me saying 'Marhaba' (Welcome). I looked up
and saw Him standing at the top of the stairs. I forgot everything! He went to
His room, invited me in, and told me to be seated. I sat by the door. He then
paced up and down and revealed a Tablet [2] in my name. The Tablet was in
Persian and halfway through it he said, 'The Imams all came from God, spoke of
God and all returned to Him.' [3] This answered my question and I realized that
their station was equal. [4]
In another instance, Haji Muhammad-Tahir writes:
In my heart I often begged the Blessed Beauty to enable me
to lay down my life as a martyr in His path. Every time that I turned to Him in
my heart with this plea, he would smile at me and reveal to me the signs of His
pleasure and bounties ... until one day when these thoughts entered my mind, he
turned to me and said, 'You must live to serve the Cause...'[4]
(Adib Taherzadeh, ‘The Revelation of Baha'u'llah, vol. 3’ -
'Akka, The Early Years - 1868-77)
[1] 'Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammad, was according to
Bahá'í belief the legitimate successor of Muhammad, and the first Imam. Ten of
his descendants succeeded him and are known as the holy Imams. The Qá'im is
believed by Shí'ah Islam to be the return of the twelfth Imam.
[2] This Tablet was not recorded and therefore no copy
exists.
[3] These are not the exact words of Bahá'u'lláh.
[4] Unpublished memoirs.
