Twelve Days in the Garden of Najíb Páshá
J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, (1923), George Allen & Unwin · Read original
When in Bahá'í history
Baghdád (today: Baghdad, Iraq)
From Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (J. E. Esslemont), with details from God Passes By (Shoghi Effendi).
In 1863 Bahá'u'lláh had lived in Baghdád for ten years. Esslemont writes:
After much negotiation, at the request of the Persian Government, an order was issued by the Turkish Government summoning Bahá'u'lláh to Constantinople. On receipt of this news His followers were in consternation. They besieged the house of their beloved Leader to such an extent that the family encamped in the Garden of Najíb Páshá outside the town for twelve days, while the caravan was being prepared for the long journey. It was during these twelve days (April 22 to May 3, 1863, i.e. nineteen years after the Báb's Declaration) that Bahá'u'lláh announced to several of His followers the glad tidings that He was the One Whose coming had been foretold by the Báb—the Chosen of God, the Promised One of all the Prophets.
The garden lay on the far bank of the Tigris. Shoghi Effendi records in God Passes By that Bahá'u'lláh crossed the river to it with His sons and His amanuensis, and that the muezzin had just raised the afternoon call to prayer when He entered it. His arrival there, Shoghi Effendi writes, marks the beginning of what has come to be recognized as the holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals.
Little is known of the Declaration itself. Nabíl, the chronicler, recorded that every day before dawn the gardeners picked the roses that lined the four avenues of the garden and heaped them in Bahá'u'lláh's tent, and that Bahá'u'lláh sent these roses with His companions to His friends in the city. From morning until evening He received the visitors who kept coming from Baghdád. Among them was the governor, Námiq Páshá, who expressed his regret at the banishment and offered his help. Bahá'u'lláh asked him to show kindness to His loved ones.
Esslemont describes those days:
During those days Bahá'u'lláh, instead of being sad or depressed, showed the greatest joy, dignity and power. His followers became happy and enthusiastic, and great crowds came to pay their respects to Him. All the notables of Baghdád, even the Governor himself, came to honor the departing prisoner.
The garden became known to Bahá'ís as the Garden of Riḍván, and the twelve days are commemorated every year in the twelve-day Festival of Riḍván, which begins in late April.
A retelling based on Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (J. E. Esslemont), with details from God Passes By. For the fuller account, see the originals.
Cite this story
Esslemont, J. E.. (1923). *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*. George Allen & Unwin. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19241/pg19241-images.html
This story shares quotes with 2 other stories
“During those days Bahá'u'lláh, instead of being sad or depressed,”
Also in
- The Family Joins Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden— J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
- Bahá'u'lláh Leaves the Garden of Riḍván— J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
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The Declaration in the Garden of Ridván
After much negotiation, at the request of the Persian Government, an order was issued by the Turkish Government summoning Bahá’u’lláh to Constantinople.
Bahá’u’lláh Leaves His House in Baghdad
On 22 April 1863 crowds of believers and admirers wept in the streets of Baghdad as Bahá'u'lláh left His house and was ferried across the river to the garden that His followers named the Garden of Riḍván.
The Roses of Riḍván
During Bahá'u'lláh's twelve days in the Garden of Riḍván in 1863, roses were heaped so high in His tent that the companions could not see one another across them, and at night He spoke of the sleepless nightingales.
The Garden Full of Roses
In a garden outside Baghdád, roses were piled so high in Bahá'u'lláh's tent that His friends could not see one another across them, and at night the nightingales sang until dawn.