Two Brothers in the Prison of 'Akká

*A retelling for children, based on the account of Áqá Muhammad-Báqir and Áqá Muhammad-Ismá‘íl in **Bahá'í Chronicles**, which reproduces 'Abdu'l-Bahá's **Memorials of the Faithful**.*

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Muhammad-Báqir and Muhammad-Ismá‘íl were brothers from Persia. They left their homeland and went to Adrianople to be near Bahá'u'lláh, and later they came with Him to 'Akká. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who was a prisoner there with them, wrote down their story.

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They had another brother, Pahlaván Riḍá. He was a tradesman who had never been to school, yet after he became a believer he spoke so well about spiritual things that the people of Káshán were astonished. Until his last breath he helped everyone who was searching for the truth.

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When Bahá'u'lláh and His companions arrived in 'Akká as prisoners, the two brothers were among them. The authorities shut everyone inside the soldiers' barracks of the fortress and closed every way in and out. At that time the air of 'Akká was unhealthy, and every newcomer fell ill soon after arriving.

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Muhammad-Báqir and Muhammad-Ismá‘íl both came down with a violent illness. There was no doctor and no medicine. The two brothers died on the same night, in each other's arms. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that there was no one there who did not weep that night.

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In the morning the friends wanted to carry the bodies out for burial. The guards would not allow it. They said the prisoners were forbidden to leave the fortress; the guards would wash the brothers, wrap them and bury them themselves, but first they must be paid.

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The prisoners had no money. There was a prayer carpet that had been placed under Bahá'u'lláh's feet. He took it up and said, "Sell it. Give the money to the guards." The carpet was sold for 170 piasters, and the money was handed over.

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Even so, the guards did not wash the brothers or wrap them for burial. They dug one hole in the ground and put them in it as they were, in the clothes they had on. So the two brothers share a single grave in 'Akká. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that, just as their souls are together in the Abhá Kingdom, their bodies lie together under the earth, each holding the other in his close embrace.

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Bahá'u'lláh showered His blessings on these two brothers. In life they were surrounded by His care, and after their deaths He remembered them in His Tablets.

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["Áqá Muhammad-Báqir and Áqá Muhammad-Ismá‘íl, the Tailor"](/stories/bc-aqa-muhammad-baqir-and-aqa-muhammad-isma-il-the-tailor).*

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