The Merchant Who Would Not Lie

A retelling for children of the account of Hájí ‘Alí-‘Askar-i-Tabrízí in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Memorials of the Faithful, as given in Bahá'í Chronicles.

‘Alí-‘Askar was a merchant from Tabríz, in Persia. The people of that city respected him for his honesty and his strong faith. He was one of the earliest believers, and he brought his whole household, his relatives and his friends to the Faith.

His enemies made life harder for him every day. At last he left his homeland and came with his family to Adrianople, where Bahá'u'lláh was then living in exile. There he had very little money, but he was content.

One day he took a small amount of merchandise from Adrianople to the town of Jum‘ih-Bázár to earn a living. It was worth very little, but thieves stole it. The Persian Consul heard about the theft and wrote to the government that the stolen goods were worth an enormous sum. Then the thieves were caught, and they turned out to have a good deal of money.

The Consul called ‘Alí-‘Askar in. He told him that the thieves were rich, and that at the trial he must say the loss was as great as the Consul had written. The two of them could both profit from it.

‘Alí-‘Askar answered that the goods had been worth very little, and that he would tell the court exactly what had happened. "Khán, how would I square it with God?" he said. "Let me be. I shall tell the truth and nothing but the truth."

The Consul was furious. He threatened to jail him, to banish him, and to hand him over to the police as an enemy of the state. ‘Alí-‘Askar only smiled. "I have given up my life for the truth," he said. "I have nothing else."

When the Consul saw that nothing would make him lie, he told him to leave the town, so that he could report that the owner of the goods had gone away. ‘Alí-‘Askar went back to Adrianople and said nothing about his loss. But the story got out, and people were astonished.

Later ‘Alí-‘Askar and his family were taken prisoner with the other exiles, and they went with Bahá'u'lláh to the prison-city of ‘Akká. He was held there for years, yet he thanked God constantly. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that the prison was a palace to him. Bahá'u'lláh often spoke of him with loving kindness and would say, "I am pleased with him." ‘Alí-‘Askar was usually the close companion of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and he died in the prison, still patient and thankful.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Hájí ‘Alí-‘Askar-i-Tabrízí".

editors, B. C.. *Bahá'í Chronicles*. https://bahaichronicles.org/haji-ali-askar-i-tabrizi/