Memorial of Áqá Muḥammad-Báqir and Áqá Muḥammad-Ismá'íl, the Tailor

In the chapter of *Memorials of the Faithful* devoted to Áqá Muḥammad-Báqir and Áqá Muḥammad-Ismá'íl, the Tailor, 'Abdu'l-Bahá tells the story of two brothers whose lives ended together in the early days of the prison at 'Akká.

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They were brothers of the late Pahlaván Riḍá, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá first recalls him. He was a tradesman, to outward seeming untutored and without learning, who became so eloquent after accepting the Faith that the people of Káshán were astounded. In Káshán he asked Ḥájí Muḥammad-Karím Khán whether he was the "Fourth Pillar" of the Shaykhí teaching. With political and military leaders present, the Ḥájí denied that he had ever made such a claim.

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A few days later Pahlaván Riḍá came back, said he had read the Ḥájí's book, which taught that one must know the Fourth Pillar, and asked to be shown him. The Ḥájí angrily described the Fourth Pillar as a visible man with a turban, an 'abá and a cane. Pahlaván Riḍá smiled and, "meaning no discourtesy," pointed out the contradiction in his teaching. The Ḥájí said he was busy and asked to be excused.

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The two brothers left Persia and emigrated to Adrianople, hastening to the loving-kindness of Bahá'u'lláh. When the exiles were sent on to 'Akká, they were taken captive with the rest and shut in the fortress.

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'Abdu'l-Bahá describes those first days. The prisoners were held inside the fortress in the soldiers' barracks, and every exit was closed. The air of 'Akká was then poisonous, and every stranger fell ill soon after arriving. Muḥammad-Báqir and Muḥammad-Ismá'íl came down with a violent ailment; there was neither doctor nor medicine to be had; and they died on the same night, wrapped in each other's arms. "There was none there but wept that night."

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In the morning the friends wished to carry the bodies away. The guards refused: the prisoners could not leave the fortress; the guards would wash, shroud and bury the bodies themselves, but first they must be paid. The prisoners had no money. There was a prayer carpet which had been placed under the feet of Bahá'u'lláh. He took it up and said, "Sell it. Give the money to the guards." It was sold for 170 piasters, and the sum was handed over.

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But the two were never washed nor wrapped in winding sheets. The guards simply dug a hole and put them in, in the clothes they had on. The Master writes:

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> So that even now, their two graves are one, and just as their > souls are joined in the Abhá Realm, their bodies are together > here, under the earth, each holding the other in his close > embrace.

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"The Blessed Beauty showered His blessings on these two brothers," 'Abdu'l-Bahá adds. In life they were encompassed by His grace; in death they were memorialized in His Tablets. Their grave is in 'Akká.

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*A retelling based on **Memorials of the Faithful** by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. For the fuller account, see the original.*

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