The Family Joins Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden
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)
A retelling based on Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era by J. E. Esslemont, with details from God Passes By (Shoghi Effendi), A Flame of Fire (A. Q. Faizi) and The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh (Adib Taherzadeh).
At the request of the Persian Government, the Ottoman Government ordered Bahá'u'lláh to leave Baghdád for Constantinople. Esslemont writes that on hearing the news His followers "were in consternation" and besieged His house, and that He spent the twelve days before the journey in the Garden of Najíb Páshá outside the town while the caravan was prepared. Bahá'ís remember that garden as the Garden of Riḍván.
According to God Passes By, Bahá'u'lláh was ferried across the Tigris with His amanuensis and His sons, among them 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He entered the garden on April 22, 1863, just after the afternoon call to prayer had been raised. Aḥmad of Yazd, to whom the Tablet of Aḥmad was later revealed, was then living close to Bahá'u'lláh's house in Baghdád. He later recalled, in an account recorded by A. Q. Faizi, that on that same day the river overflowed, and that only on the ninth day was it possible for His family to join Him in the garden.
Of the twelve days Bahá'u'lláh spent there, three are Holy Days. Adib Taherzadeh describes them as "the first day on which He declared Himself, the ninth day when all His family joined Him and rejoiced at His Declaration, and the twelfth day when He left that garden."
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.
A retelling based on Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era. For the fuller account, see the original.
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
- Twelve Days in the Garden of Najíb Páshá— 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
“showed the greatest joy, dignity and power. His followers became”
Also in
- Bahá'u'lláh Leaves the Garden of Riḍván— J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
“happy and enthusiastic, and great crowds came to pay their respects”
Also in
- Bahá'u'lláh Leaves the Garden of Riḍván— J. E. Esslemont, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era
Record yourself reading this story
Recording stays on this device only. Nothing is uploaded.
Related stories
The Family Reunited in the Garden
Bahá'u'lláh crossed the Tigris to the Garden of Riḍván on 22 April 1863 with three of His sons. The river overflowed that day, and the rest of His family joined Him only on the ninth day, 30 April.
The Swollen River and the Ninth Day
Bahá'u'lláh entered the Garden of Riḍván on 22 April 1863. That same day the Tigris overflowed, and the rest of His family could not join Him until the ninth day, which Bahá'ís now keep as a Holy Day.
The Greatest Holy Leaf Crosses to the Garden
In April 1863 Bahíyyih Khánum, then in her teens, helped the household prepare for exile while Bahá'u'lláh stayed in the Garden of Riḍván. The Tigris overflowed, and only on the ninth day could the family join Him there.
The Tigris in Flood at Riḍván
On 22 April 1863 Bahá'u'lláh was ferried across the Tigris to the Garden of Riḍván. That same day the river overflowed, and His family could not join Him there until the ninth day.