The Weaver Who Lived to Teach

A retelling for children, based on Bahá'í Chronicles, "Haji Muhammad Tihir Malmiri," which reproduces Habib Taherzadeh's tribute to Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ṭáhir-i-Málmírí in The Bahá'í World, volume XII.

Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ṭáhir of Málmír lived in Yazd, in Persia. He earned a modest living, mostly as a hand weaver, and he was never rich.

He gave his life to teaching the Faith. He could recite almost half of the Qur'án by heart, as well as hundreds of Muslim traditions, and he knew the Bible and the books of other religions well. He could talk about religion for hours without tiring himself or his listeners, moving easily from light, funny remarks to serious ones. Almost every evening he went to fireside meetings that often lasted past midnight. When he came home early, he would stay up into the small hours, walking in the courtyard of his small house in prayer, or reading and writing.

Several times, people who wanted to kill him came to his meetings pretending to be seekers, with weapons in their pockets. After meeting him they gave up their plans, and a couple of them later became Bahá'ís.

He wrote many books. One of them is a history of the martyrs of Yazd.

In 1878 he went to 'Akká and stayed there about nine months. In the presence of Bahá'u'lláh, Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ṭáhir was so overcome that he seldom dared to look at His face or to say a word. He later wrote in his memoirs: "Whenever I came into the presence of the Blessed Beauty if there were anything I wanted to ask, I would say it by way of the heart and He would answer me invariably."

Once he begged Bahá'u'lláh to let him give his life as a martyr. Bahá'u'lláh answered at once: "You shall live long to teach the Cause." He lived to be a hundred years old, and he spent those years teaching and serving. Early in 1914 he made a second pilgrimage to the Holy Land and spent four months with 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

Soon after 1900, many Bahá'ís were killed in Yazd, and three of his own children were among them. 'Abdu'l-Bahá then asked him to look after the families the martyrs had left behind. For several years he organized help for the poor, comforted those who grieved, cared for the sick, and brought up and taught the children. Whenever he managed to get some grain or other food for his own family, no one was allowed to touch it until he had set aside a good share for the poor of the town and for the widows and orphans of the martyrs. Everyone was welcome at his home and his table.

Towards the end of his life he was put in chains and imprisoned together with the other members of the Spiritual Assembly of Yazd, and he accepted this joyfully. He died peacefully at home on 4 June 1953. In his will he left everything he owned to the Faith.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Haji Muhammad Tihir Malmiri".

editors, B. C.. *Bahá'í Chronicles*. https://bahaichronicles.org/haji-muhammad-tihir-malmiri/