Mulla Sadiq-i-Muqaddas, was an outstanding believer who was
entitled Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq (The name of God, the Most Truthful) by
Baha’u’llah. He was appointed posthumously a Hand of the Cause by ‘Abdu’l-Baha.
(Adapted from ‘Ministry of the Custodians’, and ‘The Revelation of Baha'u'llah,
vol. 4, by Adib Taherzadeh) Here is the sweet story of how he recognized the
Báb:
As soon as he [Mullá Sádiq-i-Muqaddas] learned of the
arrival of Mullá Husayn in Isfáhán, he hastened to meet him. He gives the
following account of his first interview, which took place at night in the home
of Mírzá Muhammad-‘Alíy-i-Nahrí:
“I asked Mullá Husayn to divulge the name of Him who claimed
to be the promised Manifestation. He replied: ‘To enquire about that name and
to divulge it are alike forbidden.’ ‘Would it, then, be possible,’ I asked,
‘for me, even as the Letters of the Living, to seek independently the grace of
the All-Merciful and, through prayer, to discover His identity?’ ‘The door of
His grace,’ he replied, ‘is never closed before the face of him who seeks to
find Him.’
I immediately retired from his presence, and requested his
host to allow me the privacy of a room in his house where, alone and
undisturbed, I could commune with God. In the midst of my contemplation, I
suddenly remembered the face of a Youth whom I had often observed while in
Karbilá, standing in an attitude of prayer, with His face bathed in tears at
the entrance of the shrine of the Imám Husayn. That same countenance now
reappeared before my eyes. In my vision I seemed to behold that same face,
those same features, expressive of such joy as I could never describe. He
smiled as He gazed at me. I went towards Him, ready to throw myself at His
feet. I was bending towards the ground, when, lo! that radiant figure vanished
from before me.
Overpowered with joy and gladness, I ran out to meet Mullá
Husayn, who with transport received me and assured me that I had, at last,
attained the object of my desire. He bade me, however, repress my feelings.
‘Declare not your vision to anyone,’ he urged me; ‘the time for it has not yet
arrived. You have reaped the fruit of your patient waiting in Isfáhán. You
should now proceed to Kirmán, and there acquaint Hájí Mírzá Karím Khán with
this Message. From that place you should travel to Shíráz and endeavour to
rouse the people of that city from their heedlessness. I hope to join you in
Shíráz and share with you the blessings of a joyous reunion with our Beloved.’”
- Nabil (‘The Dawn-Breakers’; translated and
edited by Shoghi Effendi)
