2 At the suggestion of my
friend Mr A. A. Bevan of Trinity College I have ventured to read
[~~~] for [~~~].
[page 301]
the belief of the Unity.' He said, 'What aileth these that they weep?' They
answered, 'A child hath been born unto them, and they know not in what
faith he will be taken away.' He said, 'When a male child is born unto you,
tell me what you do?' They said, 'We fast for a month in thankfulness to
God.' He said, 'And if a girl be born unto you?' They answered, 'We fast
two months in thankfulness to God, because Moses hath told us that
resignation on account of a female child hath a greater reward than
resignation on account of a male child.' He said, 'Do ye commit adultery?'
They said, 'Doth any one do this thing whom the heaven stoneth not with
pebbles from above, and whom the earth swalloweth not from beneath?' He
said, 'Do ye take usury?' They answered, 'He alone taketh usury who
believeth not in the provision of God.' He said, 'Do ye sicken?' They said,
'We sin not, neither do we sicken; thy people are afflicted with sickness
only as an atonement for their sins.' He said, 'Have ye wild beasts and
reptiles?' They answered, 'Yes; they pass us by and we pass them by, and
they hurt us not.' Then the Prophet proposed unto them his Law; and they
asked, 'How shall we do as regards the Pilgrimage, for between us and it is
a great distance?' Then the Prophet prayed, 'and,' saith Ibn 'Abbás,
'the earth was rolled up for them so that those of them who would perform
the Pilgrimage might do so with [the rest of] mankind. And
when' (saith he) 'it was morning, the Prophet told this [to]
such as were present of his people, amongst whom was Abú Bekr (may
God be satisfied with him). And he said, "Verily it is well with the people
of Moses, and God (Exalted is He) knew what was in their hearts, and
revealed 'Of those whom We have created is a nation who are guided in
truth and thereby act with equity.'" [Kur'án vii,
180.] And Abú Bekr fasted for a month and set at liberty a
slave, because God had not preferred the Church of Moses to the Church of
Muhammad (may God look favourably upon him and grant him peace).'"
Such are the cities of Jábulká and
Jábulsá - the Muslim 'Land of Cocagne' - wherein, according
to the Shi'ite belief, the Imám Mahdí dwells.
3. Huseyn ibn Rúh. has
been already mentioned in
[page 302]
this note as one of the vicars or 'Gates' of the Imám Mahdí.
The following note concerning him occurs on p. 439 of Baron Mac Guckin de
Slane's translation of Ibn Khallikán's Biographical
Dictionary (London, 1842):- "Abû'l-Kâsim al-Husain Ibn Ruth
was a holy shaikh and one of the doors leading to the Sâhib
az Zamân (the lord of the time, or last grand Imâm,
according to the Shiîte doctrine; see Druzes, introd. p. 65).
He was chosen by Abû Jaafar Muhammad Ibn Othmân al-Omari as his
lieutenant, and when the latter classed the Shiîtes according to
their degrees (of initiation), Abû'l-Kâsim was
authorized to enter into his presence the first of them all. - He then went
to see Ibn as-Shalmaghâni" [see supra, Note D, p.
229], "and gained over so many proselytes, that the vizirs,
ex-vizirs, and other persons of high rank rode (publicly) to visit
him. He continued to be treated with the greatest deference till
Hâmid Ibn Abbâs became vizir (to al-Muktadir) and
ordered him to be arrested. He remained in prison for five years, but was
liberated immediately after the deposition of al-Muktadir, A.H. 317 (A.D.
929). From that time till his death, which took place A.H. 326 (A.D.
937-8), he never ceased to be highly respected, but at the moment in which
his influence had attained its utmost pitch, and his plans were ripe for
execution, God preserved (the Khalifat) from his evil designs. He
had been accused of inviting the Karmats by letter to lay siege to Baghdad,
but he defended himself with great ability, presence of mind, and learning.
He was a benefactor to the Shîites, and held a very high rank among
them. - (Ad-Dahabi's Târîkh-al-Islâm, No. 646,
in anno.)"
4. Ibn Mihriyár. Of this
person, I can find mention only in two works of Shi'ite theology, viz.
the 'Tenets of the Shi'ites' (~~~), and the
'Garden of the Shi'ites' (~~~), in each of which his
name is written differently. In the first he is called
[~~~], and in the second [~~~].
In both works
[page 303]
he is mentioned amongst those who, during the period of the "Minor
Occultation," obtained access to, or corresponded with, the
Imám; and in both he is described as a native of Ahwáz. What
"tradition" of his is specially referred to in the text, I am unable to
say.
5. The Guardians and the Helpers.
These constitute two grades of a spiritual hierarchy whereof the
members are called generically "Men of the Unseen World"
(~~~), and at the head of which is the "Pole"
(~~~). Al-Jorjání in his Definitiones
(ed. Flügel, p. 266) describes the "Guardians" or
"Overseers" (~~~) as follows:- "They are those who
have discovered the Inward Name so that they look into the hearts of men
and discern secret thoughts, because for them veils are withdrawn from the
faces of mysteries. And they are of three kinds:- Superior Souls, which are
embodiments of [Divine] commands; Inferior Souls, which are
mundane; and Intermediate Souls, which are human essences. And in each one
of them God (Exalted is He) hath a trust deposited which compriseth
mysteries divine and mundane. And they are [in number] three
hundred." Concerning the "Helpers" (~~~) he says (p.
259):- "They are forty, and they are engaged in bearing the burdens of
creatures, generally such accidents as human strength cannot cope with. And
this [they do] by reason of their abundant natural pity and
mercy, neither do they desist [therefrom] save for the sake
of another, for no increase of advancement is [possible] to
them save by this channel." What is meant by the "flight" of these is, as I
suppose, described in a passage of the
'Aká'idu'sh-Shí'a of which this is a
translation:- "And amongst them" [i.e. the signs of the Return of
the Imám] "are the Men of the Unseen, who are thirty
or forty persons who in a week traverse the whole surface of the earth,
spending each day in a different region. Every Friday they appear before
His Holiness [the Imám Mahdí] for the Friday
prayers......Then, when it is morning,
[page 304]
they traverse the earth in the twinkling of any eye and appear before His
Holiness, or else come riding upon a cloud and stand in attendance on
Him."
6. The Conquest of the East and West
which will be effected by the Imám Mahdí on his appearance,
of which it is one of the signs, needs no detailed notice.
7. The Ass of Antichrist. Concerning
Antichrist (Dajjál), and the ass on which he is mounted, the
'Aká'idu'sh-Shí'a has the following passage:-
"The forty-sixth of the signs of the appearance [of the
Imám Mahdí] is the coming forth of Antichrist. And
the name of that accursed one is Sá'id ibn Sayd. The
traditions concerning him are various. Some imply that he has existed from
the time of Adam until now, as it is related in a tradition that the
Apostle of God went to one of the houses in Medína wherein was a
babbling madman with his mother. The Prophet pointed him out to his
companions and said, 'O people, God hath not sent any prophet without
filling his church with the fear of Antichrist, whom he has respited and
left until your time. And this man shall come forth with a mountain of
bread and a river of water; and he will appear in a time of famine. Most of
his followers will be Jews, women, Arabs, and nomads. He will enter into
all quarters and regions of the earth save Mecca and its two mountains, and
Medína and its two mountains. And whenever be comes forth he will
claim to be God, although he is one-eyed and God is not one-eyed.' And in
some traditions it hath come down that he was born in the time of His
Holiness [the Prophet]; that he had a beard and spoke when
he was born; that the Prophet went to his house; that he claimed the rank
of a prophet and said 'I am one sent of God'; that then His Holiness
[the Prophet] commanded an angel which was in the form of a
great bird to carry him away and cast him into a well situated in one of
the Jewish villages near Sajistán or Isfahán; and that he is
chained [there] till such time as he shall receive
permission to come forth. And he has an ass whereof each step covers a mile
(three miles being equal to one parasang), and on the body of his ass are
white spots
[page 305]
like a leopard. Now the characteristics of Antichrist are these:- his right
eye is crushed; his left eye is in his forehead, and glitters as though it
were the morning star, and in it is a piece of blood, so that it seems to
be pervaded with blood; between his two eyes it is written that he is a
misbeliever, so that everyone, whether learned or unlearned, can read it;
he is a skilled magician, who, by his magic, descends into the oceans; with
him travels the sun; before his face is a mountain of smoke, and behind his
back is a white mountain, and through [his] magic it seemeth
in men's eyes that they are two mountains of water and bread, though in
truth it is not so, but a mere juggle; he traverseth all oceans, and over
whatsoever ocean or water he passeth it sinketh down and cometh forth no
more till the Day of Judgement; before him Satan dances, and the devils
cause him and his ass to appear pleasing in men's eyes, and this is a
mischief for the proving of mankind. And he crieth out so that the dwellers
in the East and in the West, whether of jinn or of mankind, hear his
voice, and he saith, 'O my friends, I am that God who created and fashioned
the members and parts of the world; I am that God who predestined the
affairs of [His] servants and guided and directed mankind; I
am your Supreme Lord.' And most of his followers are women, Jews, bastards,
and musicians. But when he cometh to 'Akaba-i-Afík,
which is a mountain in Syria, His Highness the Ká'im shall
slay him at the third hour on Friday, and shall cleanse the world of the
filth and foulness of that Accursed One." Many other wonderful qualities
are attributed to the ass of Antichrist, as, for instance, that the
distance between its ears is a full mile, that each of its hairs gives
forth ravishing strains of music, and the like, of which things the further
enumeration appears to be unprofitable and unnecessary.
8. The appearance of Sofyán. In
enumerating the signs which shall usher in the return of the Imám
Mahdí, the 'Aká'idu'sh-Shí'a first
mentions the appearance of Sofyán in these words:- "His name is
'Othmán the son of 'Ataba of the children of Yazíd ibn
Mu'áwiya ibn Abí Sofyán. He is a thick-set man with an
ill countenance, a face
[page 306]
pitted with small-pox, a large head, and blue eyes. He has never rendered
service to God, nor seen Mecca or Medína, and his eyes seem to
squint. He will appear during the month of Rajab from the direction of
Mecca in a desert devoid of water and grass, and will send his army, which
will cause much ruin and act right foully, westward and towards Baghdad. He
will destroy the region of Najaf the Most Noble, and will plunder
Medína for three days. He will sojourn in Kúfa, and will
proclaim, 'Whosoever shall bring the head of one of 'Alí's
sectaries, to him will I give a thousand gold pieces.' Then men will yield
one another into the hand of that Accursed One, for all the chiefs of that
time are base-born. And the time of his empire shall be eight months, and
in his hands are five cities:- Damascus, Homs,
Falastín, Ardín, and Falzín. The decline of his
dominion corresponds with the appearance of the triumph of the Truth, and a
great number of his army shall sink down in Beydá, which is the name
of a place near Medína." A few pages further on in the same work the
following passage occurs:- "At that time [i.e. at the time when the
bearded woman Sa'ída and the crusader Mazíd shall
appear] a man shall come forth from the direction of Mecca whose
name is Sofyán ibn Harb. Perhaps he may be that same
Sofyán who has been previously mentioned, whose dominion endureth
eight months and continueth until the empire of the Ká'im of
the race of Muhammad doth appear. And perhaps Harb may be his
father and 'Ataba his grandfather."
NOTE P.
THE EXECUTION OF MULLÁ MUHAMMAD 'ALÍ OF
BÁRFURÚSH.
When, in the summer of A.D. 1849, the remnant
of the brave defenders of Sheykh Tabarsí, beguiled by the
treacherous promises of Prince Mahdi-Kulí Mirzá,
evacuated the fortress which they had held so long and so gallantly, and
yeilded themselves up to the besiegers, they were at first received with an
apparent friendliness and
[page 307]
even respect which served to lull them into a false security and to render
easy the perfidious massacre wherein all but a few of them perished on the
morrow of their surrender.
From this massacre some of the
Bábí chiefs were reserved to grace the Prince's triumphal
entry in Bárfurúsh. Amongst these the
Táríkh-i-Jadíd mentions the following:-
Mullá Muhammad 'Alí of Bárfurúsh, called
by the Bábís "His Excellency the Most Holy"
(Jenáb-i-Kuddús); Áká
Mírzá Muhammad Hasan, the brother of
Mullá Huseyn of Bushraweyh; Mullá Muhammad
Sádik. of Khurásán; Hájí
Mírzá Muhammad Hasan of Khurásán;
Sheykh Ni'matu 'llah of Ámul; Hájí Nasír
of Kazvín; Mullá Yúsuf of Ardabíl; and
Áká Seyyid 'Abdu'l-'Azím of
Khúy.
Jenáb-i-Kuddús (for the
sake of brevity I shall make use of the title in preference of the name of
him who is the subject of this note) requested the Prince to send him to
Teherán there to undergo judgement before the Sháh. The
Prince was at first disposed to grant this request, thinking, perhaps, that
to bring so notable a captive into the Royal Presence might serve to
obliterate in some measure the record of those repeated failures to which
his unparalleled incapacity had given rise. But when the
Sa'ídu'l-'Ulamá heard of this plan, and saw a possibility of
his hated foe escaping from his clutches, he went at once to the Prince,
and strongly represented to him the danger of allowing one so eloquent and
so plausible to plead his cause before the King. These arguments were,
according to the Táríkh-i-Jadíd (from which
these particulars are taken), backed up by an offer to pay the Prince a sum
of 400 (or, as others say, of 1000) túmáns on
condition that Jenáb-i-Kuddús should be surrendered
unconditionally into his hands. To this arrangement the Prince, whether
moved by the arguments or the túmáns of the
Sa'ídu'l-'Ulamá, eventually consented, and
Jenáb-i-Kuddús was delivered over to his inveterate
enemy.
The execution took place in the
meydán, or public square, of Bárfurúsh. The
Sa'ídu'l-'Ulamá first cut off the ears of
Jenáb-i-Kuddús and tortured him in other ways, and
then killed him with the blow of an axe. One of the
[page 308]
Sa'ídu'l-'Ulamá's disciples then severed the head from the
lifeless body, and others poured naphtha over the corpse and set fire to
it. The fire, however, as the Bábís relate (for
Subh-i-Ezel corroborates the
Tárikh-i-Jadíd in this particular), refused to burn
the holy remains; and so the Sa'ídu'l-'Ulamá gave orders that
the body should be cut in pieces, and these pieces case far and wide. This
was done, but, as Hájí Mírzá Jání
relates, certain Bábís not known as such to their
fellow-townsmen came at night, collected the scattered fragments, and
buried them in an old ruined madrasa or college hard by. By this
madrasa, as the Bábí historian relates, had
Jenáb-i-Kuddús once passed in the company of a friend
with whom he was conversing on the transitoriness of this world, and to it
he had pointed to illustrate his words, saying, "This college, for
instance, was once frequented, and is now deserted and neglected; a little
while hence they will bury here some great man, and many will come to visit
his grave, and again it will be frequented and thronged with
people."
Jenáb-i-Kuddús is said
to have foretold his death and the manner thereof to several other persons,
including his wife and her mother; and Subh-i-Ezel told me
that he had seen at Teherán a letter in his handwriting, taken from
his pocket when he was buried, wherein the date and manner of his death
were clearly set forth; also that he had previously to the siege of Sheykh
Tabarsí written a letter to Mullá Huseyn of
Bushraweyh wherein the following sentence occurred:-
[one line of Persian/Arabic text]
"It is as though I had buried myself in the
earth with seventy righteous men." This letter Subh-i-Ezel
had copied at Baghdad.
As for the Sa'ídu'l-'Ulamá, he
did not escape the Divine vengeance; for, as the
Tárikh-i-Jadíd relates, all the vital heat seemed to
be withdrawn from his body, and even in the midst of summer he used to
suffer so severely from cold that when he went to the mosque two
chafing-dishes full of burning charcoal were carried with him and
[page 309]
placed on either side of him. Yet, in spite of these and the thick skin
cloak which he wore, he could hardly remain long enough to perform his
prayers, and used to hasten back as soon as he was able to his house,
where, enveloped in wraps and covered with quilts, he would sit shivering
over his kursí1.
Concerning the writings of
Jenáb-i-Kuddús, see note 1 at the foot of p. 30
supra.
1 The kursí -
much used by the Persians during winter - is, roughly speaking, like a
large table with very short legs. A chafing-dish containing ignited
charcoal is placed beneath it, as are also the legs of those who sit around
it. With a good supply of quilts, pillows, and amusing books, it affords
the means of passing a cold winter's day very comfortably.
NOTE Q.
KURRATU'L-'AYN.
The appearance of such a woman as
Kurratu'l-'Ayn is in any country and any age a rare phenomenon, but
in such a country as Persia it is a prodigy - nay, almost a miracle. Alike
in virtue of her marvellous beauty, her rare intellectual gifts, her fervid
eloquence, her fearless devotion, and her glorious martyrdom, she stands
forth incomparable and immortal amidst her countrywomen. Had the
Bábí religion no other claim to greatness, this were
sufficient - that it produced a heroine like Kurratu'l-'Ayn.
In this note I do not propose to repeat facts
with which everyone who has studied the subject is acquainted, neither
shall I attempt to re-tell a tale which has been already set forth by
Gobineau in language far more eloquent than I can command. My purpose is
merely to add such new particulars as I have been able to glean from the
Tárikh-i-Jadíd and from oral tradition. Before
proceeding to do this, I wish once more to call attention to the graceful
poem by Marie von Najmájer whereof Kurratu'l-'Ayn is the
heroine (see supra p. 207).
[page 310]
The following table, taken in conjunction
with the remarks on pp. 197-198, supra, will sufficiently serve to
indicate Kurratu'l-'Ayn's family relationships:-
Muhammad el-Burghani el-Kazvini.
|
____________________________________________
| | |
Haji Mulla Muham- Haji Mulla Muham- Haji Mulla 'Ali,
mad Taki, called by mad Salih. who embraced
the Shi'ites Shahid-i | the Babi doc
-Thalith ('The Third | trines.
Martyr'). |
| |
Mulla Muhmmad. = Kurratu'l-'Ayn.
The following particulars are derived from
the Táríkh-i-Jadíd. During the life of
Hájí Seyyid Kázim of Resht
Kurratu'l-'Ayn visited Kerbelá, where she became acquainted
not only with Seyyid Kázim himself, but with many of his
chief followers, including Mullá Huseyn of Bushraweyh. When,
on the death of Seyyid Kázim, Mullá Huseyn set
out for Shíráz, Kurratu'l-'Ayn wrote a letter to him
begging that should he succeed in finding the spiritual guide whom they
were expecting (see pp. 239-240 supra) he would at once inform her.
This letter Mullá Huseyn on his conversion placed in the
hands of the Báb, who, recognizing the rare qualities and
attainments of which it gave evidence, included its writer amongst the
eighteen "Letters of the Living" (~~~) who composed the "First Unity" of
the Bábí hierarchy.
Kurratu'l-'Ayn continued for some time
at Kerbelá, where, seated behind a curtain, she used to lecture and
preach to the disciples of the late Seyyid Kázim. The
governor, becoming aware of this, wished to arrest her, but she hastily
quitted Kerbelá without a passport and went to Baghdad, where she
proceeded directly to the house of the chief Muftí, before
whom she defended her creed and her conduct with great ability. The
question whether she should be allowed to continue her teaching was
submitted first to the Páshá of Baghdad and then to the
central government, the result being that she was ordered to leave
[page 311]
Turkish territory. During her journey from Baghdad to
Kirmánsháh and Hamadán she continued to preach, and
made several converts to the Bábí faith, amongst these being
Sheykh Sálih. the Arab, Sheykh Táhir,
Mullá Ibrahím of Mahallát, and Sheykh
Sultán the Arab. Certain of the Bábís, however,
were at first disposed to regard her efforts with disapproval, and some of
these even wrote to the Báb asking whether it was seemly for a woman
to preach publicly to men. In reply the Báb not only sanctioned her
preaching and applauded her zeal, but bestowed on her the title of
Jenáb-i-Táhira ("Her Excellency the Pure"),
whereupon those who had been disposed to censure her expressed contrition
and penitence, and her high position in the Bábí church
became uncontested.
From Hamadán Kurratu'l-'Ayn
intended to go to Teherán, hoping, it is said, to be able to convert
Muhammad Sháh himself; but her father Hájí
Mullá Muhammad Sálih, being apprized of
this plan, sent servants to intercept her and bring her home to
Kazvín. Perhaps it was on her return thither that she was
married to her cousin Mullá Muhammad the son of
Hájí Mullá Muhammad Takí, but of
the date when this marriage was contracted I can find no indication. At all
events the marriage must have been a most unhappy one, for Mullá
Muhammad seems fully to have shared his father's hatred of the
Sheykhís and Bábís, and finally Kurratu'l-'Ayn
refused to live with him any longer.
The position of Kurratu'l-'Ayn,
sufficiently irksome and even precarious already, was rendered perilous in
the highest degree by the death of her uncle at the hands of certain
Bábís (see p. 198 supra). Some have hinted that
Kurratu'l-'Ayn was privy to this assassination, but of this there is
absolutely no proof, and we may be sure that, had there been any evidence
of her complicity, the Musulmáns would not have failed to make use
of it to rid themselves of one who was well known to be amongst the most
zealous supporters of the Báb. As it was, she was brought before the
governor of Kazvín, charged by her husband with complicity in
the murder of his father, and acquitted. Several of the Bábís
were arrested and tortured, until finally one - Mírzá
Sálih. of Shíráz, according to the
[page 312]
Táríkh-i-Jadíd, Sálih.
Táhir according to Subh-i-Ezel - confessed that
he, alone and unabetted, had compassed the death of the murdered
mujtahid, in proof of which he described in detail how the murder
had been committed, and where the blood-stained knife with which the deed
was done might be found. This Sálih. was sent to
Teherán with several others suspected of complicity, but he
succeeded in making his escape, fettered as he was, to
Mázandarán, where he was subsequently killed at Sheykh
Tabarsí. As to the others arrested,
Táríkh-i-Jadíd and Subh-i-Ezel
are not completely in accord. Both agree, however, that Sheykh
Sálih. the Arab and Mullá Ibrahím of
Mahallát (who, as we have already seen were amongst the first
proselytes gained by Kurratu'l-'Ayn) were of their number. The first
of these was killed at Teherán; the second was taken back to
Kazvín, where, in company with another (Sheykh
Táhir according to the
Táríkh-i-Jadíd, Hájí
Muhammad 'Alí according to Subh-i-Ezel), he was
cruelly done to death by the populace. These were the first
Bábís who were put todeath in Persia. The
Táríkh-i-Jadíd adds the name of another - an
old man called Hájí Asadu'lláh - who died of cold and
fatigue during his conveyance to Teherán.
Although Kurratu'l-'Ayn had been
acquitted of all share in her uncle's death, it was clearly impossible for
her to remain in Kazvín any longer, even had she desired to
do so, which scarcely seems probable. She accordingly set out by way of
Teherán for Khurásán, and was present at the
celebrated meeting of the Bábí chiefs at Badasht (see
Gobineau, pp. 180-184). From Badasht she turned back with Mullá
Muhammad 'Alí of Bárfurúsh and his party
towards Mázandarán. At this point the narrative of the
Táríkh-i-Jadíd breaks off, neither is it, in
spite of the author's promise, again renewed; while all other written
histories are equally silent as to what befel Kurratu'l-'Ayn from
the time that she separated from Mullá Muhammad 'Alí
and his followers to the time when she was brought captive to
Teherán and placed in the custody of Mahmúd
Khán the Kalántar. From Subh-i-Ezel,
however, I learned the following particulars. After separating from the
Bábís who went to form the garrison of Sheykh
Tabarsí, Kurratu'l-
[page 313]
'Ayn went to Núr, where she remained unmolested till the final
suppression of the Mázandarán insurrection. She was then
delivered up to the government authorities by the people of Núr and
sent to Teherán. On her arrival there she was brought before
Násiru'd-Din Sháh, who, on seeing her, said:-
[one line of Persian/Arabic text]
"I like her looks: leave her, and let her be."
She was accordingly placed under the custody
of Mahmúd Khán the Kalántar, and in his
house she remained till her execution in August A.D. 1852. Her imprisonment
was not very rigorous, and she was occasionally seen by different
Bábís under various pretexts. Her life, indeed, was in no
jeopardy till the disastrous attempt on the Sháh's life by certain
Bábís (see Note T infra and pp. 49-50 supra)
made the mere profession of the Bábí faith a crime deserving
not death only, but the most horrible tortures, and gave rise to that reign
of terror which has been so vividly described by Gobineau (pp. 301-303),
Lady Sheil (pp. 273-282), Polak (pp. 352-353), and Ussher (pp. 627-629).
Even then Kurratu'l-'Ayn might, by abjuring her faith, have escaped
death, and exchanged glorious martyrdom and immortal fame for a few brief
years of life; but this her noble spirit scorned to do. That she met the
cruel fate reserved for her with "superhuman fortitude" is a fact to which
Dr Polak, who actually witnessed her execution, testifies in the following
words:- "Ich war Zeuge von der Hinrichtung der Kurret el ayn, die vom
Kriegsminister und seinen Adjutanten vollzogen wurde; die sch\'f6ne Frau
erduldete den langsamen Tod mit übermenschlicher St\'e4rke." In what
manner death was inflicted I have not been able to learn. Gobineau says
that she was burned, but that the executioner first strangled her;
Subh-i-Ezel says that the accounts of her death are various,
one being that she was strangled with the bowstring in the
Bágh-i-Íl-Khání; some with whom I conversed in
Persia stated that she was killed in the
Bágh-i-Lálé-zár; others that she was cast into
a dry well in the garden of the palace called
Nigáristán,
[page 314]
which well was then filled up with stones. However this may be, we have it
on Polak's authority that her death was painful and lingering, and that she
met it as a heroine should do.
I was anxious to discover from
Subh-i-Ezel whether it was true, as has often been alleged,
that Kurratu'l-'Ayn discarded the veil. His reply, so far as I can
remember, was as follows:- "It is not true that she laid aside the veil.
Sometimes, when carried away by her eloquence, she would allow it to slip
down off her face, but she would always replace it after a few
moments."
Kurratu'l-'Ayn's fame as a poetess is
great, but during my sojourn in Persia I only succeeded in obtaining three
of the poems attributed to her, viz. two short but very beautiful
ghazals and a long masnaví. Of one of these
ghazals I published the Persian text with a translation into English
verse in my second paper on the Bábís in the J. R. A.
S. for 1889 (pp. 936-937 and 991). I now give the second, which, though
its authorship is more disputed, certainly savours strongly of
Bábí doctrines and modes of expression.
[half a page of Persian/Arabic text]
[page 315]
[half a page of Persian/Arabic text]
(TRANSLATION.)
"The effulgence of thy face flashed forth and the rays of thy visage arose
on high;
Why lags the word 'Am I not your Lord?' 'Yea, that thou art'
let us make reply1
'Am I not's' appeal from thy drum to greet what 'Yeas' do the
drums of devotion beat;
At the gate of my heart I behold the feet and the tents of the host of
calamity2.
1 i.e. "Why do you
hesitate to lay claim to a divine nature? Were you to do so, all of us
would admit your claim." See Kur'án vii. 171, and B. ii., pp.
917-918 and note.
2 The following lines from a poem
attributed to Nabíl express a similar idea:-
[two lines of Persian/Arabic text]
"If one should choose my path to go I will cry to him that he well may know
That none shall escape from grief and woe who is once afflicted with love
for me."
[page 316]
That fair moon's love for me, I trow, is enough, for he laughed at the
hail of woe,
And exulting cried as he sank below, 'The Martyr of Kerbelá am
I.'1
When he heard my death-wail drear, for me he prepared, and arranged my gear
for me,
He advanced to lament at my bier for me, and o'er me wept right bitterly.
What harm if thou with the fire of amaze should'st set my Sinai-heart
ablaze.
Which thou first mad'st fast in a hundred ways but to shake and shatter so
ruthlessly?2
To convene the guests to his feast of love all night from the angel-host
above
Peals forth this summons ineffable 'Hail, sorrow-stricken community!'
Can a scale of the fish of amaze like thee aspire to sing of Being's Sea?
Sit still like Táhira, hearkening to what the monster of 'No'
doth cry3."
1 i.e. Imám
Huseyn, with whom the Báb repeatedly declares himself to be
identical in essence.
2 i.e. "You first
strengthened my heart with knowledge, and inspired it with zeal and
enthusiasm; then you crushed and subdued it with love. Were it not well if
you would now kindle on it, as on Mount Sinai, that fire whence comes the
cry ~~~ 'Verily I am God'?" Cf. Kur'án xxviii. 30, and vii.
139.
3 i.e. "How can you, who are
but as a scale on some little fish which swims wonderingly in the vast
expanses of the sea, speak fittingly of the Ocean of Being? Sit still then,
as I, Kurratu'l-'Ayn (Jenáb-i-Táhira),
do, and listen to the roar of the monster, whale, crocodile, or Leviathan
which continually cries ~~~ 'There is no God but me'." Some versions of
this poem have ~~~ "Sit still like a parrot" &c. at the beginning of the
second hemistich of this couplet.
[page 317]
NOTE R.
ON THE BÁBÍ SYSTEM OF FORMING DERIVATIVES.
One of the peculiarities of style especially
affected by the Báb is the employment of all theoretically possible
derivatives of roots, whether sanctioned by usage or not. The number of
these derivative forms in Arabic is great, but of course no single root is
susceptible to all the modifications which they represent. Custom and
authority, as well as the intrinsic meaning of each root, limit the number
of actual derivatives employed in any given case to a fractional part of
those theoretically possible. It would appear that the Báb believed
some special talismanic virtue to reside in each possible form of every
Attribute of God. Thus in the Persian Beyán
(Váhid, viii., ch. 2), he says:
[six lines of Persian/Arabic text, with seven
footnotes]
[page 318]
"The quintessence of this chapter is this,
that inasmuch as the degrees of Unity are fulfilled in seven letters, which
are the Letters of Affirmation, therefore it hath been ordained that,
according to the Mystery of the Truth, none shall inherit from the dead
save seven persons, even as one can invoke God by every Attribute in seven
degrees of that Attribute, as Unissimus, Unator, Unicus, Unus, Unatus,
Unificiens, Unificatus1."
The 'Book of Names' (~~~), of which,
according to Subh-i-Ezel's assertion, the extracts from a
Bábí MS. published by Dorn in the Bulletin de
l'Académie Impériale de St Pétersbourg for
December 22nd, 1864, form part, appears to consist in great measure of
these permutations2.
With regard to the derivatives formed as
described in the text from the root Behá (~~~), the following
passage, occurring in a MS. presented to me by Subh-i-Ezel
and called by him ~~~ "the Five States" or "Grades" (because
it contains specimens of each of the five styles into which the Báb
divides his writings, concerning which see infra, Note U) may serve
to give us some idea of what the letter in question must have been like. No
attempt has been made to translate what is hardly capable of
translation.
[four lines of Persian/Arabic text]
1 I trust that I may be
pardoned the use of such words. Only in this way can one convey some idea
of the original to the European reader unacquainted with Arabic.
2 See p. 202 supra.
[page 319]
[seven lines of Persian/Arabic text]
This short extract, containing over a dozen
derivatives of the root in question, not more than half of which, if so
many, could be supported by previous authority, will suffice to give an
idea of this style of composition.
NOTE S.
THE BÁB'S LAST NIGHT ON EARTH.
The account of the Báb's condemnation
and execution contained in the Táríkh-i-Jadíd
agrees in the main with the narratives of Gobineau and Kazem-Beg, but adds
some curious particulars concerning what passed in the prison on the eve of
the martyrdom. Of this passage I here give a translation.
"They imprisoned him who was athirst for the
draught of martyrdom [i.e. the Báb] for three days
[after sentence of death was passed], along with
Áká Seyyid Huseyn [of Yezd] the
amanuensis, and Áká Seyyid Hasan, which
twain
[page 320]
were brothers wont to pass their time for the most part in the Báb's
presence.
"Now before this event the Báb had,
for the completion of the proof, graciously sent by means of
Áká Seyyid Ahmad of Tabríz known as 'the
scribe'1 Mírzá Muhammad
'Alí of Tabríz, and two other persons, sundry epistles
containing exhortations, admonitions, and declarations of his truth to the
doctors of Tabríz. At the time when these epistles were delivered
one of the doctors had desired to show contempt and disrespect towards the
blessed epistle. These forerunners of the field of courage put forward the
foot of bravery to prevent this, and, their dispute ending in strife, were
incarcerated in the prison of His Highness Prince Hamzé
Mírzá; where, as is currently reported, two of them would
seem to have been poisoned, though, according to one account, the Prince
released them unknown to the doctors. But Mírzá
Muhammad 'Alí was incarcerated till such time as the
Báb was brought to the prison, and there obtained the honour of
meeting him.
"On the very eve of the day whereon they
martyred that gem of created essences [i.e. the Báb]
he said to his companions, 'Tomorrow they will martyr me with boundless
shame and dishonour. Let one of you now arise and slay me, so that I may
not have to suffer all this dishonour and humiliation from the adversaries;
for it is far pleasanter for me to be slain by the hand of friends than by
the hands of enemies.' His companions, with expressions of sorrow and
grief, sought to excuse themselves, save Mírzá
Muhammad 'Alí, who at once made as though he would obey the
command. His comrades, however, anxiously seized his hand, crying, 'Such
boldness and rashness is not the characteristic of true service.' 'This act
of mine,' replied
1 The author appears to
have confounded this Áká Seyyid Ahmad of
Tabríz (who, according to Subh-i-Ezel's statement,
disappeared altogether and broke off all communications with the
Bábís after his escape from Tabríz) with Mullá
'Abdu'l-Karím of Kazvín, who was commonly known
amongst the Bábís by the name of Mírzá
Ahmad-i-Kátib ('the Scribe'). There seems to be no
doubt that they were quite distinct persons, and that the title
Kátib is wrongly applied to the Ahmad here spoken of.
Cf. note 2 on p. 41 supra.
[page 321]
he, 'is not due to boldness, but rather to an excessive obedience, being
[undertaken] in conformity with his command. After carrying
out the order of His Highness [the Báb], I will
assuredly pour out my own life also at his feet.' His Highness [the
Báb] smiled, and, applauding his faithful devotion and
sincere belief, said, 'Tomorrow, when they ask of you, renounce
[me] and conceal your belief, for thus is the command of God
now laid upon you, especially on Áká Seyyid
Huseyn, with whom are the gems of
knowledge1, which he must convey to the people of
God and the seekers after the way of true guidance.' The
[Báb's other] companions agreed, but
Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí fell at the feet of His
Highness [the Báb] and began to entreat and implore,
thus praying with utmost self-abasement:- 'Deprive not this thy faithful
servant of the blessing of thy presence, and graciously grant to this
worthless dust and mote permission to lay down his life.' How much soever
His Highness [the Báb] would have prevented him, he
continued to pray, crave, and entreat, until [the
Báb], through the exceeding kindness of his disposition,
consented.
"Now when a little while had elapsed after
the rising of the sun, they brought them without cloak
['abá] or coat
[kabá], and having
[only] their vests on their breasts and their nightcaps on
their heads, to the governor's palace, where it was decreed that they
should be shot. Áká Seyyid Huseyn the
amanuensis and Áká Seyyid Hasan his brother
renounced [the Báb] as they had been commanded, and
were released, and Áká Seyyid Huseyn bestowed
the gems of knowledge treasured in his bosom upon such as sought for them
and were worthy of them, and, according to his instructions, conveyed and
carried certain secrets of the religion to those who were entitled to
receive them. He [subsequently] attained to the rank of
martyrdom in Teherán." (Here follows the account of the execution of
the Báb and Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí, which,
as it agrees substantially with that given in the present work and in other
published accounts, I omit.)
1 i.e. the
Báb's last words, behests, and directions.
[page 322]
According to Subh-i-Ezel, the
Báb signified his acceptance of Mírzá Muhammad
'Alí's request that he might share in the glorious martyrdom of his
Master in these words:-
[one line of Persian/Arabic text]
"Verily Muhammad 'Alí [shall be] with us in
Paradise."
If these words be authentic (and there is no
reason for doubting that they are) they offer a most striking analogy to
one of the last utterances of Jesus Christ (Luke xxiii. 43).
Whether the narrative of the
Táríkh-i-Jadíd be altogether worthy of credence
or not, there seems no reason to doubt that Seyyid Huseyn recanted,
not, as Kazem-Beg asserts (i. pp. 375-377), from a craven dread of death,
but in accordance with the command of his master, the object of this
command being the preservation of the last words and writings of the
Báb. When we consider how rare was the fear of death and torture
amongst the Bábís, and how readily Seyyid Huseyn
himself met his fate two years later (cf. Gobineau, pp. 300-301), it seems
most improbable that he of all the Bábís, he, the chosen
companion, amanuensis, and intimate friend of the Báb, should
exhibit so craven a fear. Amongst the Bábís, at least, no
stigma of even a temporary and bitterly repented failure of courage, such
as is supposed by Gobineau, lies on the memory of Seyyid Huseyn. It
is at least certain that he continued to correspond with Suleymán
Khán and the other Bábí chiefs after the Báb's
execution. Some of these letters, wherein he alludes to Tabríz as
~~~ ('the Place of the Blow') and ~~~ ('the Place of Martyrdom'), were
shewn to me by Subh-i-Ezel. From these letters and
Subh-i-Ezel's statements it would appear that Seyyid
Huseyn was kept in custody for at any rate some considerable portion
of the two years by which he survived his master.
Of the touching and beautiful letter written
by Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí from his prison to his
elder brother the text will be found at p. 992 and the translation at p.
938 of my second paper on the Bábís in the J. R.
A.S.for 1889.
[page 323]
NOTE T.
THE ATTEMPT ON THE SHÁH'S LIFE AND THE MASSACRE OF
TEHERÁN.
The attempted assassination of
Násiru'd-Din Sháh on Sunday August 15th, 1852, though
very lightly touched on in the present work, is so fully described by the
two Musulmán historians, Lady Sheil, Gobineau, Polak, Kazem-Beg and
others, that I shall confine myself here to reproducing the substance of
what was told me about this event by the nephew of one of the three
Bábís actually engaged in the plot. This account naturally
exhibits the Sháh's behaviour in a less heroic light than do the
Musulmán chroniclers Sipihr and
Rizá-Kulí Khán. I give it only for what
it is worth, thinking that here, as elsewhere, the truth my lie between the
two extremes.
According to this account, then, the
Bábí conspirators were originally seven in number, but four
of them drew back at the last moment from the projected enterprise. The
three who actually made the attempt were Mullá
Fathu'lláh of Kum, Sádik. of Zanján, and
Mírzá Muhammad of
Níríz1. These three approached the
Sháh as he was riding out to the chase somewhat in advance of his
retinue from the Palace of Niyávarán. The Sháh,
supposing that they had some petition to prefer, allowed them to draw near
without suspicion. When within a short distance of him one of the three
Bábís (apparently the Nírízí) drew a
pistol from his pocket and fired at the Sháh. Mullá
1 According to
Násikhu't-Tawáríkh the conspirators were
originally twelve in number. Of these, the names of four only -
Sádik of Zanján, Mírzá
'Abdu'l-Wahháb of Shíráz, Mullá
Fathu'-lláh of Kum, and Muhammad
Bákir of Najafábád - are given. It is
subsequently stated that all save three drew back at the last, and that of
these three one was "a man of Níríz" (presumably the same
Mírzá Muhammad mentioned above). Lady Sheil (op.
cit., p. 274) says that four Bábís took part in the
attack.
[page 324]
Fathu'-lláh of Kum then threw himself upon the King
and dragged him from his horse on to the ground, meaning to cut his
throat1. The Sháh, having almost fainted
with terror, was already incapable of offering any further resistance, when
a farrásh (still living, and, thanks to the service rendered
by him on that day, in the enjoyment of a good pension) came up, struck the
would-be assassin in the mouth, and cut down one of the other two
conspirators. A moment after, one of the mustawfís arrived on
the spot and threw himself as a shield on the Shah's body. The Sháh,
imagining that it was another assassin, cried out, "Why do you wish to kill
me? What harm have I done?" "It is I," answered the mustawfí,
"all danger is past. Fear not." All danger was in fact over. As soon as it
was evident that the attempt had failed and that the Sháh still
lived, other retainers, who had at first hung
back2, hastened forward to bear a part in the
seizure of the two surviving assassins (for Sádik. of
Zanján had already been killed). The two captives, on being
interrogated, declared that they were Bábís, and that they
had made the attempt with a view to avenging the blood of their Master. In
spite of their frank confession, it was at first believed that the object
of the attempt was political, and that it had been instigated by some rival
claimant to the throne. Sádik. of Zanján, who was
killed on the spot, was described by Subh-i-Ezel as a youth
of short stature with very small eyes. He was the servant of Mullá
Sheykh 'Alí ('Jenáb-i-'Azím') from whom
he is said to have received the pistol with which he was armed. According
to Subh-i-Ezel he alone fired at and wounded the Sháh,
but the Násikhu't-Tawáríkh states that each of
the three assassins discharged his pistol.
With regard to the Sháh's behaviour,
it may not be altogether uninstructive to compare with the above account
the following passage from the
Násikhu't-Tawáríkh:- "The dust of perturbation
settled not on the skirt of the
1 According to Gobineau (p.
282) the conspirators did not succeed in unhorsing the King. See also p.
289 of the same work. Lady Sheil, however, (op. cit., p. 274) says
that the Sháh was dragged to the ground.
2 Cf. Polak's Persien, vol.
i. p. 352.
[page 325]
patience and self-control of the King, whose elemental material God the
Creator had leavened with the liver of the lion, the heart of
Ardashír, the ardour of Shápúr, and the majesty of
Tímúr; nor did the pellucid stream of his mind become
troubled by the foulness and filth of these events. Neither did he urge his
horse to leap aside, nor did he utter a word indicative of alarm or
consternation. He kept his place on his poplar-wood saddle like some
mountain of massive rocks, and, notwithstanding that wound, turned not
aside in any direction, and carried not his hand to his hurt, so that those
present in his escort knew not that any hurt had befallen the king or that
he had suffered any wound."
Ká'ání of
Shíráz, the most famous and the most talented of modern
Persian poets, has two kasídas in celebration
of the Sháh's escape from this danger. These will be found
respectively at p. 26 and p. 254 of the edition of his works published at
Teherán in A. H. 1302 (A.D. 1884). Although they add no new facts to
the sum of our knowledge, they agree with the authorities already cited in
stating that the attempt took place at the end of the month of
Shawwál, and that those actually concerned therein were three in
number. Thus in the first kasída
Ká'ání says:-
[four lines of Persian/Arabic text]
"At the end of Shawwál the King rode forth to hunt,
Heaven by his reins and the sun beside his stirrup,
When suddenly three persons sprang forth from ambush, and swiftly hurled
Fiery darts towards the King, the Lord of [men's]
necks."
[page 326]
So in the second
kasída he says:-
[six lines of Persian/Arabic text]
"Henceforth keep the end of Shawwál as a festival every year;
Invite the servants of the King from every quarter.
Ho, say, 'Come, O beloved! Go, O anchorite! Give, O treasurer!'
Ho, say, 'Give, O cup-bearer! Play, O harper! Sing, O minstrel!'
Name it 'the Feast of Sacrifice of the King,' and, like
sheep1
Cut off the heads of enemies in the path of the victorious King."
Between the attempt on the Sháh's life
and the fearful vengeance wherewith it was visited on the
Bábís a whole month appears to have elapsed, for the
executions are stated by the Násikhu't-Tawáríkh
to have taken place on Wednesday the salkh (i.e. the last
day) of Zi'l-Ka'da A.H. 1268 (September 15th, A.D.
1852). It must not be supposed, however, that this month was idly spent by
the government officials. Messengers were at once despatched
1 The custom of shewing
honour to a great man returning home from a journey by decapitating a sheep
and throwing the bleeding head across his path is still maintained in
Persia.
[page 327]
to all parts of the kingdom to publish the failure of the plot and the
safety of the Sháh. The police of Teherán, instructed to make
a diligent search for members of the obnoxious
sect1, succeeded in surprising a gathering of a
dozen Bábís in the house of Hájí
Suleymán Khán2 the son of
Yahyá Khán of Tabríz, and other arrests soon
raised the total number of captives to nearly forty. Some few of these were
able to prove their innocence in a manner which satisfied even their
judges, little disposed as they were towards acquittals. Amongst these the
Násikhu't-Tawáríkhmentions five, to wit:-
Mírzá Huseyn 'Alí of Núr
[Behá'u'lláh]; Mírzá
Suleymán-Kulí; Mírzá
Mahmúd, nephew of the above; Áká
'Abdu'lláh, the son of Áká Muhammad
Ja'far; and Mírzá Jawád of Khurásán; all
of whom were committed to prison pending further investigations.
The majority of those arrested, however, were
condemned to death; and, according to the list given in the
Násikhu't-Tawáríkh, twenty-eight of them
expiated their faith with their lives. I say 'their faith' advisedly, for
some of those doomed to death, such as Kurratu'l-'Ayn and
Áká Seyyid Huseyn of Yezd, had long been in
strict confinement, and could not by any possibility have been concerned in
the conspiracy. Others, such as Mullá Huseyn of
Khurásán, were convicted solely on the evidence of
Bábí writings found on their persons or in their houses. When
a verdict of 'Not Guilty' bids fair to jeopardize the judge's reputation
for loyalty, if not to place him in actual peril, acquittals in such a
country as Persia are hard to win.
Weak as the evidence of criminality was in
many cases, there could be little hope of averting the impending butchery;
for so audacious an attempt demanded a commensurate revenge calculated to
strike terror into the hearts of all. Efforts were nevertheless made by
some of the European representatives at the Persian court to induce the
Sháh to content himself with the execution of the condemned without
subjecting them to the tortures which there was but too much reason to
apprehend would be
1 Cf. Gobineau, p. 284 et
seq.
2
Násikhu't-Tawáríkh
[page 328]
superadded to the death-penalty1. These efforts
were fruitless. The Sháh's alarm and anger, far from diminishing,
were constantly stimulated by the representations of his ministers, who
succeeded in convincing him of the existence of a wide-spread disaffection
which could only be checked by the most stringent
measures2. Nor was this sense of dread confined
to the King: it reacted on those who had inspired it, until, in Gobineau's
words, "On ne savait plus sur quel terrain on se trouvait, et, faute de
réalités qu'on ne saisissait pas, qui fuyaient devant toutes
les recherches, on voyait errer autour de soi une multitude de
fantômes. L'épouvante devint générale au camp du
roi....En face, on avait une quarantaine de captifs muets; mais par
derrière, savait-on ce qui
s'agitait?"3
Then, because of this great fear, was devised
that devilish scheme whereby all classes of society should be made to share
in the bloodshed of that fatal day. It was suggested that if the
responsibility for the doom of the captives rested solely on the
Sháh, the Prime Minister, or the ordinary administrators of the law,
these would become thereafter targets for the vengeance of the
Bábís. If, on the other hand, a partition of the prisoners
were made amongst the different classes; if a representative body of each
of these classes were made responsible for the execution of one or more
Bábís; and if it were further signified to the persons thus
forced to act the part of executioners that the Sháh would be able
to estimate their loyalty to himself by the manner in which they disposed
of their victims4, then all classes, being
equally partakers in the blood of the slain, would be equally exposed to
the retaliation of the survivors, from whom they would be therefore
effectually and permanently alienated, while at the same time the
Sháh himself would avoid incurring the odium of the massacre. Such
were the "Machiavellian means"5 adopted for the
extirpation of the supposed conspirators.
Of the victims of that day the
Násikhu't-Tawáríkh
1 Lady Sheil's Glimpses of
Life and Manners in Persia, p. 276.
2 Polak's Persien, vol. I. p.
352.
3 Gobineau, p. 290.
4 Gobineau, p. 292
5 Polak's Persien, vol. I. p.
352.
[page 329]
gives a complete list, which I here append. This list I read over to
Subh-i-Ezel. The comments thereon made by him are added in
square brackets.
(1) Mullá Sheykh 'Alí
("Jenáb-i-'Azím") was killed by the
'Ulamá.
(2) Seyyid Hasan
Khurásání was hacked in pieces by the Princes.
(3) Mullá
Zeynu'l-'Ábidín of Yezd was killed by the
Mustawfís. [The
Mustawfí'ul-memálik (Secretary of State), unwilling to
shed blood, shut his eyes and fired his gun in the air, while another
Mustawfí named Ibrahím of Núr only touched the
prisoner with his penknife, leaving the bloody work to others less
scrupulous. Mullá Zeynu'l-'Ábidín had succeeded once
in escaping from his pursuers at Kum by throwing a handful of dust
in their eyes]
(4) Mullá Huseyn of
Khurásán was killed by the
Nizámu'l-Mulk, Mírzá Sa'íd
Khán, and the employés of the Foreign Office. [He had
held no communication with Hájí Suleymán Khán
or the other chief Bábís at Teherán, where he had but
recently rented a house. A fragment of Bábí writing found in
his house was the sole ground whereon he was convicted.]
(5) Mírzá 'Abdu
'l-Wahháb of Shíráz ['a youth of good
understanding'] was killed by Ja'far-Kuli Khán the
Prime Minister's brother, and his sons Mírzá 'Alí
Khán, Músá Khán, and
Zú'l-Fikár Khán.
(6) Mullá Fathu'lláh of
Kum, the son of Mullá 'Alí
Sahháf, who had fired the shot which
wounded the King, was killed by Hájí 'Alí Khán
the Hájibu'd-Dawla and his farráshes.
Several incisions were made in his body, and in these lighted candles
were inserted. After he had been tortured in this fashion for some time,
the Hájibu'd-Dawla shot him in the back, and he was then
hacked in pieces by the farráshes with knives. His execution
took place at Niyávarán. [Subh-i-Ezel
confirmed the fact that he suffered torture by lighted candles inserted in
wounds inflicted on his body, but asserted that he, together with
Hájí Suleymán Khán, was sawn in
two.]
(7) Sheykh 'Abbás of Teherán
was killed by the Kháns and nobles. [According to
Subh-i-Ezel, however, he was suffered to escape
privily.]
[page 330]
(8) Muhammad Bákir of
Najafábád (near Isfahán), who had, on his own
confession, taken an active part in the insurrections of
Mázandarán and Zanján, was killed by the
písh-khidmats (pages in waiting).
(9) Muhammad Takí of
Shíráz was delivered over to the
Mír-ákhúr (Master of the Horse) and the
attendants of the Royal Stables. These first nailed iron horse-shoes on his
feet, and then, in the words of the Musulmán historian, "broke up
his head and body with clubs and nails."
(10) Muhammad of
Najafábád was killed by the
Eshik-ákásí-báshí, the
Járchí-báshí, the
Nasakchí-báshí, and their
attendants.
(11) Mírzá Muhammad of
Níríz, who had fought for the Bábí cause at
Níríz, Sheykh Tabarsí, and
Zanján1, was killed by Mírzá
Muhammad Khán the Sar-kishík (captain of the
guard) and the Yúz-báshís (centurions).
(12) Muhammad 'Alí of
Najafábád was delivered over to the artillerymen. They first
plucked out his eyes, and then blew him from the mouth of a gun.
(13) Áká Seyyid
Huseyn of Yezd (see preceding note, pp. 319-322) was killed by
'Azíz Khán Ajúdán-báshí,
and the brigadier-generals, colonels, captains, and other officers.
(14) Áká Mahdí of
Káshán (see note 1 on p. 46 supra) was slain by the
farráshes.
(15) Mírzá Nabí of
Damávand [a youth about twenty-one years of age] was
sent to the College (Dáru'l-funún) of Teherán,
by the professors and students of which he was torn to pieces.
(16) Mírzá Rafí' of
Núr [a relation of Subh-i-Ezel's, aged about
fifty years, and noted for his skill in calligraphy] was killed by
the cavalry.
(17) Mírzá
Mahmúd of Kazvín was hewn in pieces with
daggers and knives by the men of the camel-artillery
(zambúrakchíyán).
(18) Huseyn of Mílán,
called by the Bábís "Abú 'Abdi'lláh," was slain
by the soldiers with spears. [According
1 As the risings at
Zanján and Níríz were almost simultaneous, though the
former was not suppressed for two months after the termination of the
latter, it would appear very improbable that any one person could have
taken an active part in both.
[page 331]
to Subh-i-Ezel, Huseyn of Mílán acted
most discreditably, being at once the most turbulent and eager for mischief
and the most pusillanimous of those who professed to follow the Báb.
When he came to Teherán from Tabríz, he took up his abode in
the house of Hájí Suleymán Khán. While resident
there, he began to advance various claims to spiritual authority, first
declaring himself to be a reincarnation of the Imám Huseyn,
and then "He Whom God shall manifest," whose coming the Báb had
foretold. A considerable number of persons became his disciples, and,
encouraged by this success, he seems to have meditated some act of
violence, which was, however, discovered and frustrated by
Subh-i-Ezel. He had a brother named Ja'far, who gave himself
out as "King of Baghdad." Huseyn of Mílán, when
arrested, would have saved himself by recanting and disclaiming all
fellowship with the Bábís, but, while he was under
examination, a child came in, and mockingly greeted him with the words
"Es-selámu 'aleykum, yá Imám Huseyn"
("Peace be upon you, O Imám Huseyn!"). This sufficed to
secure his conviction. It is worth noting that three other
persons1 besides Huseyn of
Mílán advanced vain claims to supreme authority in the
Bábí church, to wit, Mírzá Asadu'llah of
Tabríz surnamed Deyyan (see Gobineau, pp. 277-278); Seyyid
Huseyn of Hindiyán near Muhammara, who gathered round
him about forty disciples, and who, though not recognised or accredited by
the Bábí chiefs, continued to send greetings to them while
they were in exile at Baghdad; and Sheykh Isma'íl, believed to be
still alive, who subsequently withdrew the claim which he had
advanced.]
(19) Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím of
Kazvín (called by the Bábís
"Mírzá Ahmad-i-Kátib"; see note 2 on p.
41 supra) was killed by the artillerymen.
(20) Lutf-'Alí of
Shíráz was put to death by the royal footmen.
(21) Najaf of Khamsa was delivered over to
the people of the city, who "with sticks and stones crimsoned the earth
with his blood."
1 But see Note W
infra, where, on the authority of the Ezelí controversial
work called Hasht Bihisht, other pretenders are
mentioned.
[page 332]
(22) Hájí Mírzá
Jání of Káshán, the merchant, was delivered
over to Áká Mahdí the chief of the merchants
(Maliku't-tujjár), and the other merchants and shop-keepers
of the city, "each of whom inflicted a wound on him until he perished."
[According to Subh-i-Ezel, Hájí
Mírzá Jání took refuge in the sanctuary of
Sháh 'Abdu'l-'Azím, which is situated about four miles
south of Teherán. The sanctuary was, however, not respected in his
case, and he was dragged forth. In compensation for this violation of the
holy place the Sháh plated or replated the roof of the shrine with
gold. Of Hájí Mírzá Jání's death
Subh-i-Ezel gave a different version, according to which he
was strangled with the bowstring. After he was let down, being supposed to
be dead, he half raised himself, opened his eyes, gazed at his
executioners, and then fell back dead. He had three brothers, two of whom
were also Bábís. Of these two, one, Hájí
Mírzá Ismá'íl, died in Teherán. The
other, Hájí Mírzá Ahmad, was killed in
Baghdad by certain Behá'ís1, he
being one of those who refused to transfer their allegiance from
Subh-i-Ezel to Behá. The
Táríkh-i-Jadíd makes frequent mention of
Hájí Mírzá Jání, and repeatedly
quotes from a history of the Bábí movement which he
wrote.]
(23) Hasan of Khamsa was slain by
Nasru'lláh Khán the superintendent of the royal
kitchen and his myrmidons.
(24) Muhammad Bákir of
Kuhpáyé was slain by the Kájár
chiefs with their swords.
(25) The body of Sádik. of
Zanján, who was slain, as above narrated, while attacking the
Sháh, was cut into several pieces, which were suspended from the
different gates of Teherán.
(26) Hájí Suleymán
Khán, the son of Yahyá Khán of Tabríz,
and -
(27) Kásim of
Níríz, who regarded himself as the successor of Seyyid
Yahyá of Dáráb, were, by command of
Áká Hasan the deputy-chief of the
farráshes, wounded in many parts of their bodies, and in
these wounds lighted candles were inserted. The two unfortunate men were
thus paraded through the streets and bazaars of the city to
1 See Note W
infra.
[page 333]
the sound of minstrelsy, while dust and ashes were hurled upon them by the
spectators. After being made to traverse a great distance in this fashion,
they were led out of the city, and sawn asunder into four quarters outside
the Sháh 'Abdu'l-'Azím gate by the
farráshes of the gaol. Their mangled remains were then
attached to the city gates. [Vámbéry (Wanderungen
und Erlebnisse in Persien, Pest, 1867, p. 299) gives a quite different
account of Suleymán Khán's martyrdom, which runs as follows:-
"Suleiman Chan, ein wohl-beleibter Mann, hatte zuerst vier Schnitte in die
Brust bekommen, in welche brennende Kerzen gesteckt wurden und man
führte ihn so lange im Bazar herum, bis das Wachs der Kerzen von den
Flammen verzehrt war und der Docht sich später am herausfliessenden
Fett des Delinquenten nähren musste. Darauf wurde ihm glühende
schwere Hufeisen auf die nackten Fusssohlen angeschlagen und aufs Neue
wurde er herum geführt, bis man ihm endlich alle Zähne vom Munde
herausriss und in der Form eines Halbmondes auf den Schädel einschlug.
Da starb er erst." The extraordinary heroism with which Suleymán
Khán bore these frightful tortures is notorious, and I have
repeatedly heard it related how he ceased not during the long agony which
he endured to testify his joy that he should be accounted worthy to suffer
martyrdom for his Master's cause. He even sang and recited verses of
poetry, amongst them the following:-
[two lines of Persian/Arabic text]
"I have returned! I have returned! I have come by the way of
Shíráz!
I have come with winsome airs and graces! Such is the lover's madness!"
"Why do you not dance," asked the
executioners mockingly, "since you find death so pleasant?" "Dance!" cried
Suleymán Khán-
[page 334]
[two lines of Persian/Arabic text]
"'In one hand the wine-cup, in one hand the tresses of the Friend -
Such a dance in the midst of the market-place is my desire!'"]
(28) Last by not least amongst the victims of
that fatal day was the beautiful and accomplished Kurratu'l-'Ayn,
who had been imprisoned for two or three years previously in the house of
Mahmúd Khán the Kalántar. Concerning her
life and death, see Note Q, supra.
Gobineau (pp. 301-302) and
Vámbéry (op cit., pp. 299-300) both assert that
amongst the martyrs of that day were women and children, who rivalled the
men in the fortitude wherewith they met death; but of this assertion
(except as regards Kurratu'l-'Ayn) I have been unable to obtain any
corroborative evidence from Musulmán or Bábí
tradition. The crimes and cruelties which that day beheld are black enough
without going beyond even the Muhammadan chronicles, and one would be
reluctant to add to them, unless compelled to do so by convincing evidence.
The wife of Hájí Suleymán Khán would appear
from Subh-i-Ezel's account to have been in imminent peril,
but by eating flies she induced so violent an attack of vomiting that her
gaolers, believing her to be stricken with a mortal sickness, released her.
Two women related to Subh-i-Ezel were arrested and imprisoned
for a while in the house of Mahmúd Khán the
Kalántar, but were subsequently sent back to their homes at
Núr. A large reward was offered for the apprehension of
Subh-i-Ezel (then residing at Núr), who actually
conversed for some time with one of those sent out to arrest him without
being recognized.
[page 335]
NOTE U.
WRITINGS OF THE BÁB AND SUBH-I-EZEL.
On October 11th, 1889, I received a letter
from Captain Young (dated September 30th) enclosing a letter and sundry
other documents from Subh-i-Ezel. Amongst these documents was
a list of some of the writings of the Báb and
Subh-i-Ezel written out by the latter. Although this list
does not profess to be complete, comprising only such works as were carried
by the Bábí exiles to Baghdad, and although, in the absence
of detailed information about the works enumerated therein, it is incapable
of affording much help in the identification of Bábí MSS., I
here append a translation of it, in the hope that it may serve in some
measure to throw light on the very imperfectly explored bibliography of the
sect. Explanatory notes of my own are added in square brackets.
[WRITINGS OF THE BÁB.]
"What was collected of the books of the
Beyán of the remnant left from Persia, which was taken away in
Baghdad, carried off by the relations of this humble one [i.e.
Subh-i-Ezel].
[1] Commentary on the
Kur'án in the style of the Kur'án,
complete, 1 vol.
[2] Answers and
Commentaries ~~~, 1 vol.
[3] Commentary on the
Kur'án in the fashion of the verses of the
Kur'án, complete, 1 vol.
[4] The Five Grades
~~~, 1 vol. [A MS. of this work was forwarded to me by
Subh-i-Ezel with the letter above referred to. It comprises
395 pages of 14 lines each, and contains selections of pieces in each of
the "five
[page 336]
grades" or "styles" employed by the Báb, the nature of which will be
briefly discussed at the end of this note.]
[5] Verses ~~~, 2
vols.
[6] The Book of
Recompense ~~~, 2 vols. [A small fragment of this work,
transcribed by Subh-i-Ezel, is in my possession. One
peculiarity thereof is the occurrence of groups of verses differing from
one another only in one or two words. By combining the first letters of the
divergent words or clauses proper names are formed, so that the book would
appear to be in part a cabbalistic register of the names of believers. In
the following specimen, which will render the nature of this procedure more
clear, the catch-words are indicated by a line drawn over them:-
[ten lines of Persian/Arabic text]
[page 337]
[nine lines of Persian/Arabic text]
By combining the first letters of the
catch-words in the above extract (after discarding the definite article, in
cases where this is prefixed) we get the name ~~~ Hájí
'Abdu'l-Muttalib. Similarly the verses immediately succeeding
these give the name ~~~ Hájí Muhammad
Mahdí.]
[7] Supplications and
Visitations~~~, 1 vol. [In my second article on the
Bábís in the J. R. A. S. for 1889, I described one of
these "Visitations" under the name Ziyárat-námé
(pp. 894-902, 1000), and attempted to prove its identity with Gobineau's
"Journal du P\'e8lerinage" and with a Bábí MS. described by
Mirza Kazem-Beg (ii, pp. 498-502). At that time I was not aware that the
Báb had composed more than one work
[page 338]
of this character. I subsequently enquired of Subh-i-Ezel as
to the authenticity of this work. In reply he wrote as follows:- "The 'Book
of Visitation' (Kitáb-i-ziyárat) which you alluded to
is from His Highness the Point (i.e. the Báb), and was after the
'Manifestation,' as its contents testify. He wrote many 'Visitations': it
is not limited to one. But there is also a 'Book of Visitations' by myself.
That is in another style, but there is in this land but a small portion
thereof." Some of these 'Visitations' are included in the MS. of the 'Five
Grades' mentioned above, amongst them being one designed for the use of
pilgrims visiting the graves of the martyrs who fell at Sheykh
Tabarsí. This, according to Subh-i-Ezel, was
also composed by the Báb.]
[8] Prayers (~~~), 1
vol.
[9] Various Grades
(~~~), unbound, 1 [vol.].
[10] Writings of the
Scribe [probably Áká Seyyid Huseyn
of Yezd or Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím of
Kazvín] comprising what was revealed at
Shíráz and Isfahán and during the journey of the
Pilgrimage [to Mecca], 3 vols.
[11] The Best of
Stories (~~~), 1 vol. [This work, better known as the
'Commentary of the Súra of Joseph,' is so called in allusion to
Kur'án xii, 3, where the history of Joseph is thus
characterized. Specimens of it have been published by Baron Rosen in vol. i
of the Collections Scientifiques de l'Institut des Langues
Orientales (St Petersburg, 1877), pp. 179-191. Some description of it,
based on the extracts published by Baron Rosen, is given at pp. 904-909 of
my second article on the Bábís. See also p. 3 supra,
and note 3 thereon.]
[12] The Book of Names
(~~~), comprising 361 Names, amongst which is the Name 'Musakkin'
('the Calmer'), incomplete, 2 vols. [The extracts from a
Bábí MS. in the St Petersburg collection published by Dorn in
the Bulletin de l'Académie Impériale de St
Pétersbourg of Dec. 22nd, 1864, were pronounced by
Subh-i-Ezel, to whose inspection I submitted them, to belong
to this work.]
[page 339]
[13] Writings of the
deceased Áká Seyyid Huseyn [of
Yezd], original copy, 2 vols.
[14] Various Grades
(~~~), 1 vol.
[15] The Book of
Figures (~~~), 1 vol. [See note 1 on p. 42 supra, Mirza
Kazem-Beg, ii, p. 498, and Gobineau, p. 498, note 1.]
[16] Sundry (~~~), 1
vol.
[17] Things appertaining
to Jenáb-i-Sheykh-i-'Azím [Mullá
Sheykh 'Alí, see Note T, p. 329 supra], 3 vols.,
together with his effects.
[18] Copies and originals
of writings (~~~), tied up together in four bundles.
[19] Beyán, 1
vol. [Concerning the application of this name see
below.]
[20] Prayers (~~~), 1
vol.
[21] Prayers and
Visitations (~~~), 1 vol.
[22] The Best of
Stories [see No. 11 supra], and another
Beyán which is missing (~~~), 2 [vols.].
[23] The Five Grades
[see No. 4 supra], 1 vol.
[24] Sundry (~~~).
[25] Another Book, 1
vol.
"Besides what was destroyed in Persia, some
of which never reached [my] hand, and what went to foreign
lands and was therefore ignored in [making out the catalogue
of] the trust. What was promulgated [by the
Báb] at first in Shíráz and other places
[included] the Book of seven hundred Súras
(~~~); the Book of the Proof (~~~, sic); the Book of the two
Sanctu-
[page 340]
uaries (~~~); the [Book of] Justice (~~~);
the Prayer of the two alifs (or, of the two thousand, ~~~);
Epistles of the earlier period of the dispensation (~~~), each of
which was sent to a different destination; the Commentary on the
'Bismi'lláh' (~~~); and the Commentary on
[Súra ciii of the Kur'án beginning]
'Wa'l-'asr' (see supra, p. 11).
"As to what appertained to [i.e. was
composed by] the 'Name of the Last' (~~~) [by which title,
as Subh-i-Ezel explained elsewhere, Mullá
Muhammad 'Alí of Bárfurúsh, called by the
Bábís Jenáb-i-Kuddús, is
intended], but little remained in [my] hands. All
the rest passed into the hands of strangers. Amongst other things the
Commentary on [the opening chapter of the
Kur'án entitled 'Al-]Hamd,'
[the eloquence of] which was beyond the power of man, was
entirely destroyed, and no copy remained in [my]
possession."
[WRITINGS OF SUBH-I-EZEL.]
"What appertaineth to this humble one
[i.e. Subh-i-Ezel], apart from that whereof
the existence in Persia is unknown [i.e. besides what may exist
in Persia unknown to me].
[1] The Book of Light
(~~~), 1 vol. [See Gobineau, pp. 312-313; B. ii. pp. 939-942; and M.
C. Huart's Note sur trois ouvrages Bâbis in the Journal
Asiatique for 1887 (série viii, tome x, pp. 133-144). M. Huart
identified the first of the three works which he described with the Book
of Light mentioned by Gobineau, but did not fail to observe the
discrepancy in size between the "assez gros in-folio" of the latter writer
and the small volume which was the subject of his own description. The
solution of the difficulty appears to be that there are two separate works
bearing the same name, both composed by
[page 341]
Subh-i-Ezel. I forwarded an abstract of M. Huart's
description of the supposed Book of Light to
Subh-i-Ezel, who replied as follows:- "The Book of
Light is by this humble one [i.e. by myself], but there
are two Lights, a first and a second. If it be the second, it will
be worthy of attentive perusal, and will be a voluminous work. Some of the
names of the súras which you wrote are from the Book of
Light, provided that there be not therein interpolations of enemies,
such as my relatives have effected in some cases, inserting their own
calumnies in certain epistles; though to him who hath knowledge of God this
will be apparent." The Book of Light mentioned in this list is, as I
ascertained during my sojourn at Famagusta, the larger of the two works
bearing this name.]
[2] The Highest Heaven
(~~~), 1 vol. [Of this work Subh-i-Ezel mentioned two
copies, one in Persia, and one (the same here mentioned) in the hands of
the Behá'ís at Acre.]
[3] Miscellaneous
(~~~), 1 vol.
[4] The Wakeful,
&c (~~~), 1 vol. [A copy extant in Persia.]
[5] Writings of the
Scribe (~~~), 2 vols. [By "the Scribe," as subsequently
explained by Subh-i-Ezel, Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím
of Kazvín is intended. See note 2 on p. 41
supra.]
[6] Tracts, &c., of
[the nature of] Visitations (~~~), 1 large
vol.
[7] Another book,
miscellaneous, 1 vol.
[8] Commentary on the
Kasída, and other miscellaneous writings (~~~),
unbound, 1 vol.
[9] [Book of]
Light, unbound, 1 vol. [The same as No. 1
supra.]
[10] Verses (~~~), 1
vol.
"Besides what may exist unknown [to
me] in other
[page 342]
lands, and entirely apart from [what exists in] the prison
of this land. All these books and epistles have disappeared, save what have
remained in other countries and the few which remain in this land."
In the letter accompanying this list
Subh-i-Ezel wrote as follows concerning the fate of the
Báb's works generally and of those above enumerated in
particular:-
"As to what you asked concerning the
existence of certain epistles, it is even as you have heard, leaving out of
account that which from first to last passed into the hands of strangers,
whereof no copy was preserved. At the time of the martyrdom [of the
Báb] at Tabríz, as they wrote from thence, many of
the original writings passed into the hands of persons belonging to the
country of your Excellency or to Russia, amongst these being even autograph
writings of His Highness the Point [i.e. the Báb].
Search is necessary, for to read the originals is difficult. If this humble
one be applied to, copies thereof will be sent. What I myself arranged and
copied out while at Baghdad, and what was commanded to be collected of
previous and subsequent [writings] until the Day of
Martyrdom [of the Báb], was nigh upon thirty volumes
of bound books. I myself wrote them with my own hand, and up to the present
time I have written many. The originals and copies of these, together with
what was in the writing of others, sundry other [books]
written in proof of this religion by certain learned
friends1, and what I myself wrote and compiled,
amounted to numerous volumes, as [recorded in] the list
thereof [which] I have sent. For some years all of these
were in a certain place in the hands of a friend as a trust. Afterwards
they were deposited in another place2.
1 In answer to a question as
to the nature and authorship of the works here alluded to,
Subh-i-Ezel informed me that the Báb declared it to be
a meritorious action for each of his followers who was competent thereunto
to compose a treatise in defence of the Faith. Many such treatises were
accordingly composed by the more learned Bábís, amongst them
being one by Jenáb-i-'Azím (Mullá Sheykh
'Alí), and one called ~~~ ('The seven hundred') by
Jenáb-i-Táhira (Kurratu'l-'Ayn)
2 One of these depositaries, as
I subsequently learned from [footnote goes onto page
343] Subh-i-Ezel, was Áká
Seyyid Jawád, who died lately at Kirmán. The other was a
certain merchant of great wealth whom I cannot more particularly
designate.
[page 343]
Eventually I entrusted them to my own relatives1,
[in whose keeping] they were preserved for a while; for,
inasmuch as the friends of this recluse [i.e. myself] had
attained unto martyrdom through the equity and justice of the
oppressors of the age, who consider themselves as seekers after truth and
just men, there was no resource but that this humble one [i.e.
myself] should make his relatives his trustees. So did this humble
one; and whatever [was mine] of books and epistles was
[deposited] in their house. The vicissitudes of the world so
fell out that these also unsheathed the sword of hatred and wrought what
they would. They cruelly put to the sword the remnant of
[my] friends who stood firm2, and,
making strenuous efforts, got into their hands such of the books of His
Highness the Point as were obtainable, with the idea of destroying them,
and [thereby] rendering their own works more attractive.
They also carried off my trust [i.e. the books above referred to
committed to their care], and fell not short in anything which can
be effected by foes."
As to the meaning of the word
Beyán, Subh-i-Ezel writes in another passage of
the same letter as follows:- "But in the Beyán different
grades (~~~) are observed. The first grade is like [i.e. in
the style of] previous [sacred] books; the
second [is] of the nature of supplications and
prayers (~~~); the third [is] the grade of homilies
(~~~), wherein he had regard to clearness and eloquence; the fourth
[comprises] scientific treatises (~~~), commentaries, and
answers to en-
1 By his 'relatives'
Subh-i-Ezel means his half-brother Behá'u'llah and
those of his kindred who followed him. I never heard
Subh-i-Ezel allude to Behá'u'llah and his followers by
name. When he spoke of them at all (which he did but rarely) it was as his
'relatives,' the 'people at Acre,' or the
'Mírzá'ís'
2 See Note W
infra.
[page 344]
quirers; the fifth [comprises what is written] in the
Persian language, which is [in substance] identical with the
aforementioned grades, 'for that all this is watered with one
water'."
This statement of what is meant by the term
Beyán is (with the exception of some slight differences in
the arrangement of the 'grades') fully corroborated by the Persian
Beyán, which, at the beginning of Váhid iii,
ch17, has the following passage:-
[six lines of Persian/Arabic text]
"The substance of this chapter is this, that
all the writings of the Point [i.e. the Báb] are
named Beyán. But this name is, in its primary nature,
peculiar to verses [i.e. verses written in Arabic in the
style of the Kur'án]; then it is uttered in its
secondary nature in regard to supplications; then in its tertiary
nature in regard to commentaries; then in its quaternary nature in
regard to scientific treatises; then in its quinary nature it
is used in regard to Persian words [i.e. writings and
discourses]. But properly speaking this name [of
Beyán] is peculiar to verses, and [is
applicable] to nought else."
Again in Váhid vi, ch. 1, the
following passage occurs:-
[one line of Persian/Arabic text]
[page 345]
[seven lines of Persian/Arabic text, with one
footnote]
"The name Beyán is, in its
primary nature, applied to verses alone, for they are the chiefest
proof and greatest argument, which point not save unto God alone. But in
its secondary nature it is applied to supplications; in its tertiary
[nature] to commentaries; in its quaternary
[nature] to scientific treatises; and in its quinary
[nature] to Persian words. But all
[these] are mentioned in the shadow of [i.e. as
subsidiary or subordinate to] verses, for, although that
mysterious eloquence which is apparent in the first [grade]
is also observable [or, if we adopt B's reading,
latent] in the last, yet, since all cannot understand, they
[i.e. the lower grades] are not mentioned [as a
proof]."
From all this it follows that, although the
book generally known as the Persian Beyán is a definite work
of limited extent, we can no longer employ the term Arabic
Beyán in an equally definite sense. As Subh-i-Ezel
states in another letter, as a rule only those books which were composed by
the Báb during the earlier part of his mission received special
names, while at a later date all that he 'uttered' or 'revealed' was named
collectively Beyán ('Utterance' or 'Revelation'). Some of
these 'utterances' (such as the
[page 346]
'verses' recited by the Báb before his judges at Tabríz,
concerning which see Gobineau, pp. 261-262) can hardly have been preserved
at all, much less were all ever collected into a single work, though,
according to Subh-i-Ezel, a selection in nineteen volumes was
compiled, or ordered to be compiled, during the Báb's lifetime.
Gobineau, with his usual acumen, appears to have clearly apprehended this
peculiar and elastic use of the term Beyán, for he says (p. 311):-
"Le mot Biyyan, une fois employé par le Bâb, lui parut
convenir tr\'e8s-bien pour désigner la sph\'e8re d'idées dans
laquelle sa pensée se mouvait, et il le donna d\'e8s lors pour titre \'e0
tout ce qu'il composa." When, therefore, he speaks of "a Beyán
written in Persian, which is not the commentary on the first Beyán
written in Arabic," and of "a third Beyán, likewise composed by the
first Báb," he apparently intends merely to signalize certain
specially noteworthy parts of that almost limitless mass of religious
literature emanating from the Báb which is known collectively as the
Beyán.
From what has been said it is evident that
the short list of the Báb's works which I gave at the end of my
second article on the Bábís in the J. R. A. S. for
1889 (pp. 1000-1002) requires much alteration both in the way of correction
and extension. The sum total of the Báb's writings would appear,
both from the Persian Beyán and from the
Táríkh-i-Jadíd, to have been enormous; and,
though much of this mass of literature perished, much is still preserved in
Persia and elsewhere in the East. Quite recently I received from
Subh-i-Ezel MS