Memorial of His Eminence Kalím (Mírzá Músá)

In Memorials of the Faithful ‘Abdu’l-Bahá remembers His uncle Mírzá Músá, known as Áqáy-i-Kalím, the true brother of Bahá’u’lláh, who after their father’s death was brought up in Bahá’u’lláh’s own care.

The Master begins with Mírzá Músá’s devotion from infancy:

He drank in the love of God with his mother’s milk; when yet a suckling, he showed an extraordinary attachment to the Blessed Beauty.

Like a bright lamp, he shone out in that Household. He wished neither rank nor office, and had no worldly aims at all. His one supreme desire was to serve Bahá'u'lláh, and for this reason he was never separated from his Brother's presence.

When the Báb’s call was raised, Mírzá Músá began at once to serve the friends. He had, the Master writes, "an extraordinary attachment to me," and in Ṭihrán he occupied himself day and night with spreading the Faith.

He went with Bahá’u’lláh to ‘Iráq, lived in constant danger during the years of Bahá’u’lláh’s absence in Kurdistán, and was with Him again on the journeys to Constantinople and Adrianople.

In Adrianople he saw the first signs of rebellion in Mírzá Yaḥyá, half-brother to them both.

Day and night he tried to make him mend his ways, but all to no avail.

When all hope was gone, Áqáy-i-Kalím ended the relationship, reminding him how Bahá’u’lláh had trained them both, and how "He even guided your copy with His own blessed fingers." The words had no effect.

From Adrianople he went on with Bahá’u’lláh to the fortress of ‘Akká; his name was listed in the Sulṭán’s decree, and he was condemned to perpetual banishment.

'Abdu'l-Bahá also records an incident from the Baghdád period. The well-known Ílkhání, 'Alí-Qulí Khán, who had squandered a great fortune and was now destitute, came to Bahá'u'lláh, Who directed him to obtain from the Governor of Damascus a letter of recommendation to Constantinople. On his way, at Díyárbakr, the Ílkhání wrote a letter on behalf of two Armenian merchants bound for Baghdád, and addressed the envelope "To His Eminence Bahá'u'lláh, Leader of the Bábís." The merchants presented it to Bahá'u'lláh at the head of the bridge. When He entered the family apartments, Áqáy-i-Kalím was there to meet Him, and Bahá'u'lláh cried out, smiling and jubilant.

Kalím, Kalím! The fame of the Cause of God has reached as far as Díyárbakr!

Áqáy-i-Kalím spent his last years in the Most Great Prison at ‘Akká, serving Bahá’u’lláh and keeping company with the believers. He died, the Master records, "with lowliness and contrition." He was "a true brother to the Blessed Beauty; this is why he remained steadfast, under all conditions, to the very end."

A retelling based on Memorials of the Faithful by 'Abdu'l-Bahá (chapter "His Eminence Kalím (Mírzá Músá)"). For the fuller account, see the original.

'Abdu'l-Bahá. (1915). *Memorials of the Faithful*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust. https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/memorials-faithful/