Nabíl's Love for Bahá'u'lláh

A retelling for children, based on Memorials of the Faithful by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, from the chapter about Nabíl-i-Zarandí.

Nabíl's family lived in Zarand, in Persia. While he was still young he said goodbye to them and set out to teach the Faith. More than anything else, he loved Bahá'u'lláh.

He travelled to 'Iráq to find Bahá'u'lláh, but when he arrived, Bahá'u'lláh was not there. He had gone alone into the mountains of Kurdistán and was living in a cave, and no news of Him reached anyone. Nabíl went to the city of Karbilá and stayed there until Bahá'u'lláh came back to Baghdád. Then he hurried into His presence.

Nabíl was a gifted poet, and he wrote poems in praise of Bahá'u'lláh. When Bahá'u'lláh was sent away from Baghdád, Nabíl dressed as a wandering dervish and followed on foot until he caught up with Him. Later Bahá'u'lláh sent him back to Persia to visit the believers in its cities and villages and tell them all that had happened. After that he travelled from country to country, bringing everyone the news that God's new Messenger had come.

At last Nabíl reached 'Akká, where Bahá'u'lláh was a prisoner. In those days the gates were shut and the roads were closed. Nabíl came to the gate in disguise, but enemies of the Faith reported him to the authorities, and he was sent away.

So Nabíl went to Haifa and made his home in a cave on Mount Carmel. He lived there alone, praying and chanting night and day, waiting for the doors to open. When at last Bahá'u'lláh was able to leave the prison city, Nabíl hurried to Him with a joyful heart. After that he was allowed into His presence almost every day, and he kept on writing poems of praise.

This went on until Bahá'u'lláh passed away at Bahjí, near 'Akká, on the twenty-ninth of May, 1892. Bahá'ís remember that day each year as the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh.

'Abdu'l-Bahá tells us that when it happened, Nabíl sobbed and trembled and cried out to Heaven. In the old way of counting called abjad, each letter stands for a number. Nabíl found that the letters of the word shidád, "year of stress," add up to 309, and the year of the Ascension was the year 1309 in the Muslim calendar. So it became clear to him that Bahá'u'lláh had foretold what had now come to pass.

Still, Nabíl could not bear to be parted from Bahá'u'lláh. He was so full of grief that anyone who saw him was bewildered. Not long afterward he went into the sea and drowned.

'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote that Nabíl had spent his whole life, from his youth until he was old, serving and worshipping the Lord. He closed His memory of Nabíl with a prayer for him: "Upon him be abundant blessings; upon him be tender mercies."

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "The Year of Stress: Nabíl's Grief at the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh".

'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1915). *Memorials of the Faithful*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19279/pg19279-images.html