The Second Who Believed

A retelling for children, based on the account of Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastamí in Bahá'í Chronicles.

When Mullá ‘Alí was a young man, he had a question that would not let him rest. It was the biggest question of all: had the great Promised One, whom people had been waiting for, finally come into the world?

He had a home in the town of Bastám. He had a wife and children there, and he loved them. But the question pulled at his heart so strongly that he left his home and traveled far, all the way to a city called Karbala, to study under a wise and famous teacher named Siyyid Kázim. He wanted to be ready. He wanted to be one of the very first to find the Promised One when He appeared.

Mullá ‘Alí studied for seven long years. His father and his family missed him terribly, and at last they came to bring him home. But once he was back in his old village, he could not settle down. The great question still burned inside him. So he packed up and returned to Karbala, to keep searching.

Then his teacher died — and he had never told his students plainly who the Promised One would be. He had only hinted that the day was very, very near. The students did not know what to do. So Mullá ‘Alí and some of the others went into a quiet mosque and stayed there for forty days, fasting and praying, asking God to show them the way. After that, they scattered in every direction to search.

Mullá ‘Alí made his way to a city called Shíráz. He did not know it yet, but another searcher named Mullá Husayn had already arrived there — and had found the One they were all seeking. That One was the Báb.

When Mullá ‘Alí understood that the great discovery had been made, he did not rush in. He did what he had always done when his heart needed an answer: he went apart by himself to fast and to pray for guidance. And during that quiet time, he was led to the Báb.

Imagine the joy of it. After all those years of traveling, studying, waiting, and wondering — the search was over. The Báb welcomed him and gave him a beautiful title: "the Second Who Believed." Mullá ‘Alí became one of only eighteen special followers, the first to recognize the Báb, who were called the Letters of the Living.

But finding the truth was only the beginning. The Báb soon sent His new followers out to share the good news with the world. To Mullá ‘Alí He gave a hard and important task: to travel to the great cities where the most respected religious teachers lived, and to announce that the long-awaited day had come.

The Báb knew this would not be easy. As Mullá ‘Alí set out, the Báb told him, "You are the first to leave the House of God, and to suffer for His sake."

And it was just as the Báb had said. In one city, Mullá ‘Alí carried the message to the most famous teacher of all — and the man rejected it at once and had him driven out. In the next city, many people listened, and their hearts caught fire with the good news. So many people grew excited that the powerful leaders became angry and afraid. They arrested Mullá ‘Alí and put him on trial.

Through all of it, Mullá ‘Alí never hid what he believed. Again and again, even before stern judges who had the power to punish him, he stood up and declared openly that he believed in the Báb's message. They sent him far from home, to hard and lonely places, hoping to silence him. They never could. His faith did not bend.

Mullá ‘Alí gave up his comfortable home, his family, and at last his very life, all for the truth he had searched so long to find. He was the first of the Báb's followers to die for his faith — the very first of so many brave souls who would come after him.

That is what it means to truly believe in something. It is not only being glad when you find it. It is staying faithful afterward, even when it is difficult, even when others are against you, even when it costs you dearly. Mullá ‘Alí spent his whole life looking for the Promised One — and once he found Him, nothing in the world could make him let go.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Mullá ‘Alíy-i-Bastamí".

editors, B. C.. *Bahá'í Chronicles*. https://bahaichronicles.org/mulla-ali-bastami/