Two Friends Who Each Wanted to Be First

*A retelling for children, based on **Bahá'í Chronicles**, "Haji Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Kirmani and Siyyid Murtada."*

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Long ago, a man named Haji Muhammad-Taqi packed his bag and set out from his home city of Kirman. He was going on a long pilgrimage — a holy journey to a faraway place called Karbila, the kind of trip people saved up for and dreamed about for years.

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But on the way, in the city of Shiraz, something happened that he had never planned for. There he met the uncle of the Báb, and he learned about the new Faith the Báb had brought. The words went straight to his heart. By the time he left Shiraz, Haji Muhammad-Taqi was no longer only a pilgrim — he had become a believer.

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More than anything, he now wanted to be near the Báb. He asked if he could go along to visit Him. But the answer was wise and patient: first finish the pilgrimage you set out to make, and then wait — wait for word about when it would be safe to come. So Haji Muhammad-Taqi waited, the way you wait for something you want with your whole heart, trusting that the right time would come.

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In the autumn, he began traveling toward the city of Tehran. And here is one of the lovely things about this story: he did not travel alone for long. In the city of Baghdad he met up with a friend. As the two of them journeyed on together, side by side, the friend listened, and wondered, and believed — and he, too, became a follower of the Báb. That is how faith often spreads: not with shouting, but quietly, between friends on a long road.

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Now, this is a story from a hard time. In those days, there were powerful people who did not want this new Faith to grow, and they treated the believers with great cruelty. Being a follower of the Báb took enormous courage, because it could cost a person everything.

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A day came when Haji Muhammad-Taqi had to show exactly how brave he was. He was not afraid. His dearest friend in the Faith had already given his life, and Haji Muhammad-Taqi did not want to live on without him. So instead of shrinking back from those who meant to harm him, he stepped *toward* them. He was not begging to be spared. He was ready.

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And then came the most surprising moment of all.

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Standing nearby was another believer, a respected merchant named Siyyid Murtada, who had come from the city of Zanjan. When he saw Haji Muhammad-Taqi step forward, he did not hang back to save himself. He did the opposite. He rushed ahead of the others, throwing himself forward, asking that *he* be allowed to go first.

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Think about how unusual that is. Most people, in a frightening moment, try to be last. These two believers were so full of faith that each one wanted to be *first* — first to give everything for what he loved. It was almost as if they were not afraid at all, only eager, the way you might race a friend to be first in line for something wonderful.

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Siyyid Murtada had a brave family, too. He remembered, out loud, his own brother, who had been a believer and had stood and struggled bravely beside the great hero Mullá Ḥusayn. With his family's courage behind him and his faith shining out of him, Siyyid Murtada spoke with such strength that the people watching were amazed. They had never seen anyone hold onto his beliefs so tightly, so unshakably, even in the very hardest moment a person can face.

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Both men gave their lives that day, faithful to the end. Together with others, they are remembered and honored as the Seven Martyrs of Tehran — Haji Muhammad-Taqi the fifth of them, and Siyyid Murtada the sixth.

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We do not usually have to be brave in such a frightening way. But their story still teaches us something we can carry every day. Real faith is not only about what we *say* we believe; it is about what we are willing to *do* for it — and how steadily we hold on when things are hard. These two friends loved their Faith more than they feared anything else. And so, when the hardest moment came, each one ran to be first.

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*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["Haji Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Kirmani and Siyyid Murtada"](/stories/bc-haji-muhammad-taqiy-i-kirmani-and-siyyid-murtada).*

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