Mullá Ṣádiq's Vision in Iṣfahán

Mullá Ṣádiq-i-Muqaddas was an outstanding believer who was entitled Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq (The Name of God, the Most Truthful) by Bahá’u’lláh. After his passing, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá referred to him as having the station of a Hand of the Cause. (Adapted from ‘Ministry of the Custodians’, and ‘The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh’, vol. 4, by Adib Taherzadeh) Here is the sweet story of how he recognized the Báb:

As soon as he [Mullá Ṣádiq-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.’”

• Nabíl (‘The Dawn-Breakers’; translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi)

Source: The Dawn-Breakers (Nabíl-i-A‘ẓam, tr. Shoghi Effendi), ch. IV, pp. 100–101; via the Baha'i Stories Blog (https://bahaistories.blogspot.com/2019/10/how-mulla-sadiq-i-muqaddas-recognized.html).

Various. *Baha'i Stories Blog*. https://bahaistories.blogspot.com/2019/10/how-mulla-sadiq-i-muqaddas-recognized.html