Shaykh Murtadá's Refusal

A retelling based on A Traveler's Narrative by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, with details from God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi, Bahá'u'lláh's Lawḥ-i-Sulṭán (in The Summons of the Lord of Hosts), and Bahá'u'lláh, The King of Glory by H. M. Balyuzi. Words in quotation marks are from those accounts.

For eleven years and more Bahá'u'lláh lived in exile in 'Iráq. He did not keep out of sight. He was, 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes, "manifest and apparent amongst men." He associated with people of every party and discussed difficult theological questions with doctors and scholars. He pleased inhabitants and visitors alike by His kindness and courtesy, so much so that some suspected sorcery and took Him for an adept in the occult sciences. "Exile resulted in fame," 'Abdu'l-Bahá records.

Certain shaykhs at the shrine cities, who were in correspondence with the court in Ṭihrán, began secretly to attribute strange affinities to the exiles, imagining that this would win them favour and advancement. The consuls-general in Baghdád, who knew the truth, acted with moderation until Mírzá Buzurg Khán of Qazvín became consul-general. He was a man "devoid of foresight," and he became the confederate of those shaykhs and "girded up his loins stoutly to destroy and demolish." Every day he secretly wrote a dispatch to Ṭihrán; he made compacts with the shaykhs, and sent diplomatic notes to the Persian ambassador at Constantinople. But his accusations had "no basis or foundation," and they were all postponed and adjourned.

In Shoghi Effendi's account, the consul's partner in these schemes was Shaykh 'Abdu'l-Ḥusayn. He sent lengthy and almost daily reports to the Sháh's entourage, claiming that Bahá'u'lláh could muster "fully one hundred thousand men ready to take up arms at His bidding," until the Sháh gave him a mandate enjoining the Persian 'ulamás and officials to render him every assistance. The Shaykh forwarded it to the divines of Najaf and Karbilá.

At length the shaykhs held a meeting with the consul. They assembled a number of learned doctors and great divines at the mosque of the two Kázims, came to a unanimous agreement, and wrote to the divines of Karbilá and Najaf, summoning them all. "They came, some knowing, others not knowing." Their design, 'Abdu'l-Bahá states, was "a sudden and general attack." When they learned why they had been summoned, Shoghi Effendi writes, "they determined to declare a holy war against the colony of exiles."

Among those who came without knowing was Shaykh Murtadá, "the seal of seekers after truth," "the admitted chief of all." Shoghi Effendi describes him as "a man renowned for his tolerance, his wisdom, his undeviating justice, his piety and nobility of character." As soon as he was told what they intended, he said:

I am not properly acquainted with the essential character of this sect, nor with the secret tenets and hidden theological doctrines of this community; neither have I hitherto witnessed or perceived in their demeanor or conduct anything at variance with the Perspicuous Book which would lead me to pronounce them infidels. Therefore hold me excused in this matter, and let him who regards it as his duty take action.

Disregarding the protests of his colleagues, he left the gathering and went back to Najaf. Before going, he sent a messenger to Bahá'u'lláh to express his regret for what had happened and his wish for His protection.

Because he would not comply, the scheme "proved abortive, resulting, indeed, only in shame and disappointment," and the crowd of shaykhs, doctors and common folk that had come from Karbilá dispersed.

Balyuzi records that whenever anyone asked Shaykh Murtadá what to think of Bahá'u'lláh and the Bábís, he would answer, "Go and investigate for yourself." Two years later, as Bahá'u'lláh was about to leave Baghdád, one of the same divines came to Him and said, "We do not yet know what to do or say about you." Bahá'u'lláh told Nabíl of His reply: "We told him: for years Shaykh Murtada, when asked about Us, replied, this is a matter for investigation, not imitation; go and find out for yourself."

Bahá'u'lláh remembered the Shaykh in the Tablet He later addressed to Náṣiri'd-Dín Sháh: "Those doctors who have indeed drunk of the cup of renunciation have never interfered with this Servant. Thus, for example, Shaykh Murtadá--may God exalt his station and cause him to repose beneath the canopy of His grace!--showed forth kindness during Our sojourn in 'Iráq, and never spoke of this Cause otherwise than as God hath given leave." Shaykh Murtadá died in Najaf in 1864. At his death, Balyuzi writes, he is reported to have possessed "but seventeen tumans which exactly equalled his debts."

The pressure did not end there. From every quarter came false reports that the court of Persia intended to destroy the exiles and that they would shortly be handed over to Persia with bound hands. But they "passed the time in calmness and silence, without in any way altering their behavior and conduct." The consul then looked for ways to insult and humiliate them. Every day he found some pretext to stir up trouble, until the city came near to riot. After deliberating for nine months, a number of the exiles, "to stop further mischief," enrolled themselves as Ottoman subjects, and the consul stopped molesting them. In the end he was dismissed, and, overwhelmed with disaster, he "became penitent and sorry."

Through all those years in 'Iráq, 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes, the conduct of Bahá'u'lláh's followers was such that His fame and renown increased.

This is a retelling. For the fuller account, see A Traveler's Narrative by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi.

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