The King and the Beloved of Martyrs

Mirza Muhammad-Hasan, King of Martyrs Death: 1879 Place of Birth: Isfahan, Iran Location of Death: Isfahan, Iran

Mirza Muhammad-Husayn, Beloved of Martyrs Death: 1879 Place of Birth: Isfahan, Iran Location of Death: Isfahan, Iran

Mirza Muhammad-Husayn and Mirza Muhammad-Hasan were given the titles Beloved of Martyrs and King of Martyrs by Bahá’u’lláh.

Mirza Muhammad-Husayn (Beloved of Martyrs) was the older brother by two years, and Mirza Muhammad-Hasan (King of Martyrs) is also numbered among the Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh. They also had a younger brother, Mirza Isma’il. They were from Isfahan, wealthy and were successful tradesmen.

Their father, Mirza Ibrahim, was a friend of the Imam-Jum’ih of Isfahan and managed all his affairs. While the Báb was in Isfahan, Mirza Ibrahim invited Him to his home one night. Mirza Ibrahim was not a believer at this time.

The banquet spread for the Báb that night was one of unsurpassed magnificence; it was said that neither the officials nor the notables of the city had offered a feast like it. The King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs, lads of nine and eleven respectively, served at that banquet and received special attention from the Báb. During the dinner their father turned to the Báb and said, “My brother, Mirza Muhammad-Ali, has no child. I beg You to intercede in his behalf and to grant his heart’s desire.” The Báb took a portion of the food with which He had been served, placed it with His own hands on a platter and handed it to His host, asking him to take it to Mirza Muhammad-Ali and his wife. “Let them both partake of this,” He said; “their wish will be fulfilled.” She later gave birth to Munirih Khanum, who married ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

The brothers were very successful and acted in concert with the relatives of the Báb (the Afnáns), whose trade stretched from Hong Kong to the Caucasus. The brothers were kind, selfless, and honest. They often fed the poor. They were very charitable.

Mirza Muhammad-Hasan (King of Martyrs) married Fatimih Begum, the daughter of Shamsu’d-Duha. For years the brothers managed the affairs of Mir Muhammad-Husayn, the Imam-Jum’ih of Isfahan, who came to owe them a large sum. Rather than pay it, he joined with Shaykh Muhammad-Baqir, an influential Islamic leader, and together they found a way to destroy the brothers and have them thrown into jail on the grounds that they were Bahá’ís.

After much back and forth, the order for their execution was given, and on 17 March 1879 these two brothers pleaded with one another to be first to be executed. The younger brother, the King of Martyrs, was the first to be beheaded, followed immediately by the Beloved of Martyrs. Their feet were tied with ropes and they were dragged through the streets, and later Mirza Isma’il, their younger brother, secretly buried them.

Bahá’u’lláh gave them their names and wrote many Tablets over the loss of these two brothers. The Lawh-i-Burhan (Tablet of the Proof) was addressed to Shaykh Muhammad-Baqir, whom Bahá’u’lláh denounced as the Wolf; in it He calls Mir Muhammad-Husayn, the Imam-Jum’ih, the She-Serpent. These two, along with the Governor of Isfahan, were the three main conspirators against the brothers. The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf was addressed to the son of Shaykh Muhammad-Baqir.

Sources: The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 208–209 (the banquet); Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, vol. 2, pp. 203–204, and vol. 4, pp. 73–80; H. M. Balyuzi, Eminent Bahá’ís in the Time of Bahá’u’lláh, pp. 33–40 and 261; Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh, introductory note to the Lawh-i-Burhan; Memorials of the Faithful, “The Consort of the King of Martyrs”. Compiled by Bahá'í Chronicles (https://bahaichronicles.org/mirza-muhammad-husayn-and-mirza-muhammad-hasan/).

editors, B. C.. *Bahá'í Chronicles*. https://bahaichronicles.org/mirza-muhammad-husayn-and-mirza-muhammad-hasan/