Altar and Chair

A retelling based on A Traveler's Narrative by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and The Dawn-Breakers by Nabíl. Words in quotation marks are as preserved in those accounts.

In the early days of the Báb's Cause there lived in Tihrán a Youth of the family of one of the ministers, of noble lineage and high connection. From childhood He had been known for His sagacity. He was not, however, of a race of doctors or a family of scholars, and He had had little instruction or education. Nor did He, 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes, "desire elevation to lofty ranks nor seek advancement to splendid but transient positions." He wore a kuláh on His head, His locks flowing over His shoulder, and no one imagined what would come from Him. A little further on, the narrative names Him as Bahá'u'lláh.

When the call of the Báb was noised abroad, He told His own relatives first, and the children and dependents of His household. After that He gave His days and nights to inviting friends and strangers alike. When He had laid the foundations in Tihrán He hastened to Mázindarán, and there He spoke in "assemblies, meetings, conferences, inns, mosques, and colleges." Rich and poor were drawn to Him, and so were learned doctors.

One day four "learned and accomplished scholars of the divines of Núr" sat in His company. By the time He had finished speaking, all four were entreating Him to accept them into His service. He had shown them, the narrative says, that they were in truth children at their first lessons, who must "read the alphabet from the beginning." Long conferences followed on "the Point and the Alif of the Absolute," and the doctors were astounded at what 'Abdu'l-Bahá calls the seething and roaring of the ocean of His utterance.

The report spread. The whole region of Núr was stirred, and the news reached the citizens of Barfurúsh.

The chief divine of Núr, Mullá Muhammad, was then at Qishlaq. When he heard what was happening, he chose two of the most distinguished doctors of his circle, men of wondrous eloquence and brilliant powers of demonstration, and sent them "to quench this fire." They were to overcome Him by argument, and either bring Him to repent or leave Him without hope for the success of His projects.

Here 'Abdu'l-Bahá breaks off to exclaim, "Glory be to God for His wondrous decrees!" When the two envoys entered His presence, saw the waves of His utterance and heard the force of His arguments, they "unfolded like the rose and were stirred like the multitude." Then, "abandoning altar and chair, pulpit and preferment, wealth and luxury, and evening and morning congregations," they gave themselves to furthering His purposes. They even invited the chief divine who had sent them to offer his own allegiance.

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Nabíl tells the same episode at greater length in The Dawn-Breakers. He writes that this was Bahá'u'lláh's first journey for the Cause of the Báb, made in 1844 to His ancestral home in Núr. In his account Mullá Muhammad, pressed by his own disciples, chose two of his eminent lieutenants, Mullá 'Abbás and Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim, both sons-in-law of the late mujtahid of Núr, and pledged himself to accept whatever conclusion they reached.

The two men followed Bahá'u'lláh to His winter resort and found Him revealing a commentary on the opening Súrih of the Qur'án. As they listened, Mullá 'Abbás rose from his seat, walked back, and stood beside the door. Trembling, his eyes full of tears, he said to his companion: "You behold my condition. I am powerless to question Bahá'u'lláh. The questions I had planned to ask Him have vanished suddenly from my memory." And he added: "Tell him from me that 'Abbás can never again return to him. He can no longer forsake this threshold."

Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim answered: "I have ceased to recognise my teacher. This very moment, I have vowed to God to dedicate the remaining days of my life to the service of Bahá'u'lláh, my true and only Master."

As the news spread, many in the district embraced His Cause. When some said that the triumph of the Faith would be complete if Mullá Muhammad joined them too, Bahá'u'lláh replied: "I am come to Núr solely for the purpose of proclaiming the Cause of God. I cherish no other intention. If I were told that at a distance of a hundred leagues a seeker yearned for the Truth and was unable to meet Me, I would, gladly and unhesitatingly, hasten to his abode, and would Myself satisfy his hunger."

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Later, when Bahá'u'lláh set out for Ámul and Sárí, He met Mullá Muhammad face to face at Qishlaq of Núr, and people gathered from every quarter to see how it would end. The divine was a man of universally acknowledged excellence, counted the most learned of his contemporaries. Before engaging in discussion, he turned to augury to learn whether he should debate at all. The omen was not favourable, so he excused himself and put the discussion off until some other time. "His incompetency and shortcoming thereby became known and suspected," the narrative says, and because of it many were confirmed in the new Faith.

Nabíl places this meeting at Sa'ádat-Ábád, a village not far distant. There Mullá Muhammad told Bahá'u'lláh that he undertook no action without first consulting the Qur'án. He opened the Book, closed it again without revealing the verse, and said only: "I have consulted the Book of God, and deem it inadvisable to proceed further with this matter." Bahá'u'lláh, "disinclined to cause him further embarrassment," rose and bade him a cordial farewell.

This is a retelling. For the fuller accounts, see A Traveler's Narrative and The Dawn-Breakers, chapter V.

'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1886). *A Traveler's Narrative*.