The Same Reason You Did

A retelling based on Memorials of the Faithful by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Short phrases in quotation marks are words preserved in that account.

In Baghdad, on the floor of the outer apartments reserved for the men, a scholar was kneeling humbly and reverently in the presence of Bahá'u'lláh. Two visitors came in: Hájí Mírzá Hasan-'Amú, a trusted associate of the mujtahids of Karbilá, and with him Zaynu'l-'Ábidín Khán, the Fakhru'd-Dawlih. When the Hájí saw who was kneeling there, and how, he was astonished.

"Sir," he murmured, "what are you doing in this place?"

The scholar answered, "I came here for the same reason you did."

The two visitors could not recover from their surprise, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá explains why. It was widely known that this man was unique among mujtahids and the most favoured disciple of the renowned Shaykh Murtadá.

His name was Áqá Muhammad-i-Qá'iní. He had studied in Najaf among Shaykh Murtadá's disciples and had become the leading member of that company. He excelled not only in theology but in the humanities, the philosophy of the Illuminati, the teachings of the mystics and the doctrines of the Shaykhí school. 'Abdu'l-Bahá calls him a universal man. Shaykh Murtadá was not in the habit of conferring the rank of mujtahid, but of all his disciples he gave it to this one alone. With praises showered upon him, Áqá Muhammad left Najaf and came to Baghdad, and there he met Bahá'u'lláh. Soon, 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes, he could rest neither day nor night. Later he would receive from Bahá'u'lláh the title by which he is remembered: Nabíl-i-Akbar.

He went back to Persia, to Khurásán. At first the Amír of Qá'in, Mír 'Álam Khán, showed him every courtesy and valued his company so highly that people felt the Amír was captivated by him. The rest honoured him accordingly, for "men follow the faith of their kings."

For a time he lived there esteemed and in high favour. But his love for God, 'Abdu'l-Bahá says, was past all concealing; it burst from his heart and consumed its coverings. He brought the light to the district of Qá'in and guided a great many people.

When he had become known far and wide, the clergy, envious, sent their accusations to Tihrán, and Násiri'd-Dín Sháh rose up in anger. The Amír, afraid of the Sháh, turned on him with all his might. The whole city was in an uproar, and the people, lashed to fury, turned against him. He withstood them all, until at last they drove him out.

He went to Tihrán, where he was a fugitive and homeless. Watchmen pursued him; guards asked after him in every street and alley. 'Abdu'l-Bahá describes him slipping past them "like the sigh of the oppressed," rising to the hills, or sinking into the valleys "like the tears of the wronged." He could no longer wear the turban that showed his rank. He put on a layman's hat instead, so that no one would recognize him and they would let him be.

In secret he went on teaching the Faith, always in danger and always on his guard, and he became a guiding lamp to many. From Tihrán he went to Bukhárá and 'Ishqábád, teaching in those regions as well. He could speak to every kind of seeker in its own terms: to the philosophers by their own principles, to the mystics in the language of inspiration and vision, to the Shaykhí leaders in the words of their founders, to the divines from the Qur'án and the traditions. He was a skilled physician too. "Like a candle, he was using up his life," 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes, and yet his joy and ardour grew with every passing day.

In Bukhárá he became penniless and beset by many troubles, and at last, far from his homeland, he died, "hastening away to the Kingdom where no poverty exists."

He had written a masterly essay proving the truth of the Cause. 'Abdu'l-Bahá notes that the friends did not have it in hand, and hopes it will yet come to light. Then He names the great clerics of that generation, Shaykh Murtadá among them, and says that all of them will disappear without a trace, leaving no name, no sign, no fruit, while Nabíl, because he stood firm, guided souls and served the Cause, will shine forever.

Near the close of the account 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes of him that "he passed by the world and its rewards; he closed his eyes to rank and wealth."

This is a retelling. For the fuller account, see Memorials of the Faithful by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1915). *Memorials of the Faithful*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust.