The Dream of ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab

*A retelling for children, based on the **Bahá'í Chronicles** account, which quotes Nabíl's narrative **The Dawn-Breakers**, chapter 3.*

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In 1844, soon after He declared His mission, the Báb sent Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Basṭámí, one of His first disciples, on a journey from Shíráz to Iraq. He told him that his faith must be "immovable as the rock." Mullá ‘Alí set out at once.

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About a farsang (a few miles) outside Shíráz, a young man caught up with him. His name was ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab. With tears he begged Mullá ‘Alí to let him come on the journey, and he told him why.

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The night before, he had dreamed that a crier in the market-street of Shíráz was calling to the people: "Arise and seek him." In the dream, ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab left his shop and ran across the market, and there he saw Mullá ‘Alí himself, standing and handing out charters of liberty to the people.

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When he woke, he went back to his shop, deep in thought. Then Mullá ‘Alí walked past, talking with a man in a turban. ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab jumped up and followed. He found Mullá ‘Alí standing on the very spot he had seen in his dream, and he kept following him out through the city gate.

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Mullá ‘Alí tried to send him home. Coming with him, he said, would only bring trouble. He told the young man to return to Shíráz and be assured that he was counted among the people of salvation. But the more Mullá ‘Alí urged him to go back, the louder ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab wept. At last Mullá ‘Alí agreed to let him come.

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‘Abdu’l-Vahhab's father, Ḥájí ‘Abdu’l-Majíd, held a favoured place at the court of the sons of the governor of Fárs. When he heard that his son had left his shop and gone off after a stranger, he was furious. He took a club and hurried after them.

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When he reached them, he beat Mullá ‘Alí. Mullá ‘Alí answered calmly: "Stay your hand, O ‘Abdu’l-Majid, for the eye of God is observing you." He said that he was not responsible for what the son had done, and he told the father: "Verily, I say, you shall survive me, and will come to recognise my innocence. Great will then be your remorse, and deep your sorrow."

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The father would not listen. He went on beating Mullá ‘Alí until he was exhausted, and Mullá ‘Alí bore it in silence. Then the father took his son home. Nabíl records that this was the first suffering to come to a disciple of the Báb after He declared His mission.

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On the way back to Shíráz, the son told his father about the dream. Slowly the father came to regret what he had done. He saw that Mullá ‘Alí had been blameless, and the memory of his cruelty troubled him for years.

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Later the family moved from Shíráz to Baghdad, and then to Káẓimayn, where ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab set up his business. His father noticed that he seemed to be keeping a secret that had changed his life. In 1851 Bahá'u'lláh visited Káẓimayn, and ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab at once pledged his undying devotion to Him. A few years later ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab was martyred in Ṭihrán.

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Mullá ‘Alí's words came true. After Bahá'u'lláh had been exiled to Baghdad, He Himself taught the father the message of the new Day. Years later Ḥájí ‘Abdu’l-Majíd would tell this story with tears in his eyes. He said that Bahá'u'lláh, "with infinite loving-kindness and mercy," had washed away "with the waters of Divine forgiveness the stains of that cruel act."

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["Haji ‘Abdu’l-Vahhab"](/stories/bc-haji-8216-abdu-l-vahhab).*

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