Bahá'u'lláh, the King of Kings

This story is about a boy Who grew to be the latest Prophet of God. He came to the world as promised by God to Abraham, to Moses and to Jesus; also, to Muhammad, Krishna and Buddha.

We all know that a king is someone who is in charge of a whole country, much like a father who looks after members of his family. Today, in most countries, we have democracies. A democracy is governed by all its people instead of by a king. But in the nineteenth century kings were so strong in many countries that they did as they pleased, without thinking about what would be good for the people in their land. This story will tell about Ḥusayn-'Alí, later called, Bahá'u'lláh, Someone God sent to tell the kings and rulers of the world how they should behave toward the people.

As Ḥusayn-'Alí was growing up, everyone knew He was no ordinary child. When He was a boy of thirteen, He used to talk with the wise and learned men who visited His father's house. They had studied religion for many years and although He had not gone to school, He was able to understand what they were talking about and even explained difficult questions to them.

What surprised the learned men as much as Ḥusayn-'Alí's knowledge was His politeness. He was always mild and courteous and His father's friends wanted to keep on talking to Him.

Ḥusayn-'Alí's father was one of the ministers to the King of Persia and was very rich. In those days the government did not take care of people who were too old or sick to work and so the people had to depend on the kindness of people like Ḥusayn-'Alí and His father. Anyone in need knew that he could find a friend in Ḥusayn-'Alí.

Though most people thought serving the king was the best way to get wealth and honor, Ḥusayn-'Alí was not interested in trying to get a high position in the government. Instead, He preferred to take long walks in the country, watch the grasses dance in the breeze, listen to the singing of the birds, breathe the perfume of the flowers, and think His own thoughts.

When Bahá'u'lláh (Ḥusayn-'Alí) was twenty-two years old, His father died. The government asked Bahá'u'lláh to take His father's job but He declined the request. Then the prime minister said: "Leave Him to Himself. Such a position is unworthy of Him. He has some higher aim in view. I cannot understand Him, but I am convinced that He is destined for some lofty career. His thoughts are not like ours. Let Him alone."

So Bahá'u'lláh lived as He always had and waited for a very important letter to come. This was a letter announcing that the Báb was the new Manifestation of God. The Báb sent His first believer, Mullá Ḥusayn, to take the letter to Tihrán, the capital city. There he would find the Person to Whom he should deliver it. Mullá Ḥusayn told the people that he met in Tihrán about the teachings of the Báb. One night he was talking in his room with a young student who came from the same province as Bahá'u'lláh. Mullá Ḥusayn began to ask questions about Bahá'u'lláh.

"What is His occupation?" - "He cheers the disconsolate and feeds the hungry."

"What of His rank and position?" - "He has none apart from befriending the poor and the stranger."

"What is His name?" - "Ḥusayn-'Alí."

"How does He spend His time?" - "He roams the woods and delights in the beauties of the countryside."

Mullá Ḥusayn knew this was the Person he had been looking for and had the student take the letter to Bahá'u'lláh.

When Bahá'u'lláh got the letter, He knew the words in it had come from God. Right away He began to teach the new religion in that part of Persia, winning many people's hearts.

One of Bahá'u'lláh's uncles did not understand how people could respond so warmly and eagerly. He decided that Bahá'u'lláh must be a magician—perhaps He charmed people by putting something in their tea!

Like the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh was put in prison for teaching the new religion. But Bahá'u'lláh was not killed for it as the Báb was. The Muslim religious leaders did not know that Bahá'u'lláh would be the One to lead and guide the Bábís after the Báb was martyred. And they certainly did not know that Bahá'u'lláh was the new Manifestation of God Whom the Báb promised would come soon and bring teachings to unite the whole world. If the Muslim clergy had known these things about Bahá'u'lláh, they would probably have had Him killed too. Instead, Bahá'u'lláh was weighted down with heavy chains and kept for four months underground in a dark and filthy dungeon. Then He was sent away from Persia.

Bahá'u'lláh had heard the voice of God while He was in prison and had learned that He was to be God's Messenger to mankind. But He did not proclaim His Message right away. Instead, He waited for ten years in Baghdad, helping restore the faith of the few Bábís who had not been killed. He taught them never to fight again, even if the king's army attacked them, and He helped them get over the habit of quarreling among themselves.

Bahá'u'lláh was so disheartened by the behavior of certain Bábís and their disunity when He first came to Baghdad that He went into the wilderness for two years, leaving them to their mischief. Under His leadership, when He came back, the Bábís became strong in their faith and were known for the purity of their conduct.

Persian members of the Muslim clergy in Baghdad became jealous of Bahá'u'lláh's great influence, and the King of Persia asked the Sultan of Turkey to move Bahá'u'lláh still farther from Persia.

Now was the time for Bahá'u'lláh to tell the Bábís that He was the Promised One. Before leaving Baghdad He spent twelve days talking with them in a garden outside the city. The Bábís called it the Garden of Riḍván (meaning Paradise). "Every day," one remembered, "ere the hour of dawn, the gardeners would pick the roses which lined the four avenues of the garden, and would pile them in the center of the floor of His blessed tent. So great would be the heap that when His companions gathered to drink their morning tea in His presence, they would be unable to see each other across it."

Bahá'u'lláh declared His mission to His followers in this Garden of Riḍván. In the years of exile ahead of Him, He would tell it to the rest of mankind in letters to the kings and rulers and religious leaders of the world.

(by Barbara Casterline; Child's Way Magazine, March-April, 1971)

Source: Barbara Casterline, Child's Way magazine, March–April 1971, via Baha'i Stories for Children (https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2019/10/bahaullah-king-of-kings.html). Checked against The Dawn-Breakers, ch. 6, pp. 104–107 and note 9 (quoting 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era), and pp. 113–114 (His uncle 'Azíz); Riḍván account of Nabíl as quoted in Balyuzi, Bahá'u'lláh, The King of Glory, p. 174.

Various. *Baha'i Stories for Children*. https://bahaistoriesforchildren.blogspot.com/2019/10/bahaullah-king-of-kings.html