The Bravest Morning

*A retelling for children, based on **The Dawn-Breakers**, Nabíl's account of the martyrdom of the Báb.*

1 / 21

This is a true story, and it is a sad one — but it is also one of the bravest stories you will ever hear. So hold it gently, the way you would hold something precious.

2 / 21

The Báb was only thirty years old in the summer long ago. For nearly three years He had been kept as a prisoner, moved from one faraway place to another. And in those same three years, more and more people across the land had come to love Him and to follow His teachings. That love spread so far and so fast that the powerful men who ruled the country grew afraid of it.

3 / 21

So the chief minister of the realm made a terrible decision. He ordered that the Báb be put to death. The morning was chosen. The Báb was brought to the city of Tabríz and kept under guard for the night.

4 / 21

Now here is the first thing you might not expect. On that last night, the people who were with Him did not see fear on the Báb's face. They saw joy — a joy brighter than any they had ever seen from Him before. He was not trembling. He was calm, and even glad, the way someone is glad who knows that everything they have lived for is true.

5 / 21

That night the Báb spoke with His helper about some last important things. And there was a young man named Anís who loved Him so much that he made an astonishing request. Anís asked if he might be allowed to die beside the Báb, rather than live in a world without Him. The Báb granted his wish.

6 / 21

In the morning, the two of them were brought out into the great square of the city. A crowd had gathered to watch. The Báb and Anís were tied up with ropes against a high wall — Anís below, and the Báb just above him.

7 / 21

Then the soldiers were lined up. Not a few soldiers — seven hundred and fifty of them, standing in three long rows. Each row would fire in its turn. It is hard to even imagine such a thing aimed at two people who had done no wrong.

8 / 21

The order was given. The guns roared all at once, and thick smoke rolled across the square so no one could see anything at all.

9 / 21

And then the smoke began to clear.

10 / 21

The crowd stared at the wall — and could not believe their eyes. The wall was empty. The ropes hung in pieces, cut clean through by the bullets. But the Báb and Anís were nowhere to be seen.

11 / 21

People gasped. Soldiers looked at one another in confusion. Where had the prisoners gone? Then someone noticed Anís, the young companion, still standing against the wall — alive, and completely unharmed. Not a single bullet had touched him. And the Báb was not in sight at all.

12 / 21

The soldiers rushed all through the barracks, searching everywhere. And where do you think they found Him? They found the Báb back in His own room, calmly finishing the very conversation that had been interrupted when they first called Him out to the square. He had been speaking with His helper about something important, and He had told them, quietly, that He still had one more thing to say.

13 / 21

Now that He had said it, He rose to His feet — unhurried, unafraid — and walked back out to the square with them. Once more He was tied against the wall.

14 / 21

But something had changed in the hearts of the soldiers. The first group of men had seen what happened with their own eyes, and they would not raise their guns again. They simply refused. So a second group of soldiers had to be marched in to take their place.

15 / 21

Before the end, the Báb spoke His last words to the watching city. He did not shout angry curses at the people who were hurting Him. Instead, like a gentle teacher whose students would not listen, He said:

16 / 21

> Had you believed in Me, O wayward generation, every one of you would > have followed.

17 / 21

And then the second group fired, and the Báb gave His life.

18 / 21

There is one more thing the story tells. The chief minister — the very man who had ordered all of this — did not stay powerful for long. Within a single year, he too came to a violent end. Nabíl, who wrote this story down, felt that this was no accident at all.

19 / 21

It is a hard ending, and it is right to feel sad about it. But think about the kind of bravery you have just read about. The Báb was never afraid, not for one moment. He stayed calm, and kind, and certain, all the way to the end — and even some of the soldiers could feel that there was something here far greater than themselves. Real courage is not loud and angry. Real courage is staying true to what you love, gently and without fear, no matter what.

20 / 21

*This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see ["The Volley That Severed the Ropes: The Martyrdom of the Báb"](/stories/db-bab-martyrdom-tabriz-firing-squad).*

21 / 21