In about 1848, four years after recognizing the Báb and
becoming His first believer, and receiving the title of Bábu’l-Báb (the Gate of
the Gate), Mulla Husayn left the city of Mashhad, in the province of Khurasan,
north-east of Tihran, where he had lived since 1844. Desiring to see his Lord
Who was imprisoned in the castle of Mah-Ku in the province of Adhirbayjan,
north-west of Tihran, he told his friends: “I have vowed to walk the whole
distance that separates me from my Beloved.” (a distance of about 900 miles). “I shall not relax in my resolve
until I shall have reached my destination.”
His friends offered to arrange for a more conventional and
comfortable mode of travel for this long and arduous journey, but Mulla Husayn
declined their help. Upon his insistence, he finally allowed one of his friends
to accompany him and to act as his servant throughout his pilgrimage to
Ádhirbayján. On his way to Tihran, Mulla Husayn was enthusiastically greeted by
the believers in the towns through which he passed. They too offered him the same
assistance and received from him the same reply.
When Mulla Husayn arrived in Tihran he was visited by many
believers. Nabil, the great Baha’i historian, recorded what he heard from
Áqáy-i-Kalím, Bahá’u’lláh’s faithful brother, about Mulla Husayn:
“When Mulla Husayn arrived at Tihran, I, together with a
large number of believers, went to visit him. He seemed to us the very
embodiment of constancy, of piety and virtue. He inspired us with his rectitude
of conduct and passionate loyalty. Such were the force of his character and the
ardour of his faith that we felt convinced that he, unaided and alone, would be
capable of achieving the triumph of the Faith of God.”
It was about the
first day of Naw-Rúz 1848 that Mulla Husayn reached the Castle of Mah-Ku. The
Báb received him warmly and affectionately embraced him. Taking him by the
hand, He conducted him to His chamber. He then summoned His friends into His
presence and celebrated in their company the feast of Naw-Rúz – the fourth Naw-Rúz
since His Declaration in Shiraz.
Mulla Husayn stayed with the Báb for nine days. During those
memorable days the Bab, one after the other, related to Mullá Husayn those
events which must needs transpire in the future, and bade him not to mention
them to anyone. “A few days after your
departure from this place,” the Báb informed him, “they will transfer Us to
another mountain. Ere you arrive at your destination, the news of Our departure
from Máh-Kú will have reached you.” As the Báb bade His last farewell to Mullá
Husayn, He addressed these words to him:
“You have walked on foot all the way from your native
province to this place. On foot you likewise must return until you reach your
destination; for your days of horsemanship are yet to come. You are destined to
exhibit such courage, such skill and heroism as shall eclipse the mightiest
deeds of the heroes of old. Your daring exploits will win the praise and admiration
of the dwellers in the eternal Kingdom. You should visit, on your way, the
believers of Khúy, of Urúmíyyih, of Marághih, of Milán, of Tabríz, of Zanján,
of Qazvín, and of Tihrán. To each you will convey the expression of My love and
tender affection. You will strive to inflame their hearts anew with the fire of
the love of the Beauty of God, and will endeavour to fortify their faith in His
Revelation. From Tihrán you should proceed to Mázindarán, where God’s hidden
treasure will be made manifest to you. You will be called upon to perform deeds
so great as will dwarf the mightiest achievements of the past. The nature of
your task will, in that place, be revealed to you, and strength and guidance
will be bestowed upon you that you may be fitted to render your service to His
Cause.”
On the morning of the ninth day after Naw-Rúz, Mullá Husayn
set forth, as bidden by his Master, on his journey to Mázindarán. Faithful to
the instructions he had received, stopped at every town and village that the
Báb had directed him to visit, gathered the faithful, conveyed to them the
love, the greetings, and the assurances of their beloved Master, quickened
afresh their zeal, and exhorted them to remain steadfast in His way. In Tihrán
he was again privileged to enter the presence of Bahá’u’lláh and to receive
from His hands that spiritual sustenance which enabled him, with such undaunted
courage, to brave the perils that so fiercely assailed the closing days of his
life.
From Tihrán Mullá Husayn proceeded to Mázindarán in eager
expectation of witnessing the revelation of the hidden treasure promised to him
by his Master. Quddús was at that time living in Barfurúsh in the home which
had originally belonged to his own father. He freely associated with all
classes of people, and by the gentleness of his character and the wide range of
his learning had won the affection and unqualified admiration of the
inhabitants of that town. Upon his arrival in that city, Mullá Husayn went
directly to the home of Quddús and was affectionately received by him. Quddús
himself waited upon his guest, and did his utmost to provide whatever seemed
necessary for his comfort. With his own hands he removed the dust, and washed
the blistered skin of his feet. He offered him the seat of honour in the company
of his assembled friends, and introduced, with extreme reverence, each of the
believers who had gathered to meet him.
On the night of his arrival, as soon as the believers who
had been invited to dinner to meet Mullá Husayn had returned to their homes,
the host, turning to his guest, enquired whether he would enlighten him more
particularly regarding his intimate experiences with the Báb in the castle of
Máh-Kú. “Many and diverse,” replied Mullá Husayn, “were the things which I
heard and witnessed in the course of my nine days’ association with Him. He
spoke to me of things relating both directly and indirectly to His Faith. He
gave me, however, no definite directions as to the course I should pursue for
the propagation of His Cause. All He told me was this: ‘On your way to Tihrán,
you should visit the believers in every town and village through which you
pass. From Tihrán you should proceed to Mázindarán, for there lies a hidden
treasure which shall be revealed to you, a treasure which will unveil to your
eyes the character of the task you are destined to perform.’ By His allusions I
could, however dimly, perceive the glory of His Revelation and was able to
discern the signs of the future ascendancy of His Cause. From His words I
gathered that I should eventually be called upon to sacrifice my unworthy self
in His path. For on previous occasions, whenever dismissing me from His
presence, the Báb would invariably assure me that I should again be summoned to
meet Him. This time, however, as He spoke to me His parting words, He gave me
no such promise, nor did He allude to the possibility of my ever meeting Him
again face to face in this world. ‘The Feast of Sacrifice,’ were His last words
to me, ‘is fast approaching. Arise and gird up the loin of endeavour, and let
nothing detain you from achieving your destiny. Having attained your
destination, prepare yourself to receive Us, for We too shall ere long follow
you.’”
Quddús enquired whether he had brought with him any of his
Master’s writings, and, on being informed that he had none with him, presented
his guest with the pages of a manuscript which he had in his possession, and
requested him to read certain of its passages. As soon as he had read a page of
that manuscript, his countenance underwent a sudden and complete change. His
features betrayed an undefinable expression of admiration and surprise. The
loftiness, the profundity—above all, the penetrating influence of the words he
had read, provoked intense agitation in his heart and called forth the utmost
praise from his lips. Laying down the manuscript, he said: “I can well realise
that the Author of these words has drawn His inspiration from that Fountainhead
which stands immeasurably superior to the sources whence the learning of men is
ordinarily derived. I hereby testify to my whole-hearted recognition of the
sublimity of these words and to my unquestioned acceptance of the truth which
they reveal.” From the silence which Quddús observed, as well as from the
expression which his countenance betokened, Mullá Husayn concluded that no one
else except his host could have penned those words. He instantly arose from his
seat and, standing with bowed head at the threshold of the door, reverently
declared:
“The hidden treasure of which the Báb has spoken, now lies
unveiled before my eyes. Its light has dispelled the gloom of perplexity and
doubt. Though my Master be now hidden amid the mountain fastnesses of
Ádhirbayján, the sign of His splendour and the revelation of His might stand
manifest before me. I have found in Mázindarán the reflection of His glory.”
(Adapted from ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, by Nabil, translated and
edited by Shoghi Effendi)
It’s truly amazing when one reflects on the station of Mulla
Husayn and the humility that he instantly showed towards Quddus upon
discovering the latter’s spiritual station. The Guardian has summarized the
awesome stations of Mulla Husayn and Quddus in ‘God Passes By’:
