Mishkín-Qalam, Free of All Bonds

A retelling based on Memorials of the Faithful by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, His reminiscences of the early believers. Words in quotation marks are 'Abdu'l-Bahá's own, as preserved in that book.

Mishkín-Qalam's name means "musk-scented pen" or "jet black pen." 'Abdu'l-Bahá calls him "the leading calligrapher of Persia," a man "well known to all the great," who "enjoyed a special position among the court ministers of Tihrán." He was famed throughout Asia Minor, and "his pen was the wonder of all calligraphers, for he was adept at every calligraphic style."

He first heard of the Cause of God in Iṣfáhán, and set out to find Bahá'u'lláh. "He crossed the great distances, measured out the miles, climbing mountains, passing over deserts and over the sea, until at last he came to Adrianople." There he attained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh and became a believer. He spent some time near Him, writing out the Most Great Name, Yá Bahá'u'l-Abhá, "with marvelous skill, in many different forms," and sending the calligraphs everywhere.

He was then directed to go to Constantinople. At first the leading Persians and Turks there received him with honour and admired his art, but he began to teach the Faith openly. The Persian ambassador went to the Sultan's ministers and called him an agitator sent by Bahá'u'lláh to stir up trouble. 'Abdu'l-Bahá records what he was really doing: he "was occupied solely with his calligraphy and his worship of God," and "was a refuge to the hapless and a horn of plenty to the poor."

Spies were set around him, and false reports were carried to the Prime Minister. He was jailed and sent to Gallipoli, where he joined Bahá'u'lláh's company of exiles. From there the exiles were separated: Bahá'u'lláh and His family were sent to the prison of 'Akká, and Mishkín-Qalam to Cyprus. He was held prisoner in the citadel at Famagusta for some nine years.

When Cyprus passed out of Turkish hands he was freed, and he went to Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká. There he lived under Bahá'u'lláh's care, producing his calligraphs and sending them about. 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes that he "was at all times joyous of spirit, ashine with the love of God, like a candle burning its life away, and he was a consolation to all the believers."

After Bahá'u'lláh's ascension, when some turned against the Covenant, he "remained loyal, solidly established in the Covenant. He stood before the violators like a brandished sword." Later he travelled to India. When 'Abdu'l-Bahá learned that he was growing frail, He called him back to the Holy Land, where he was 'Abdu'l-Bahá's close companion.

'Abdu'l-Bahá writes of him: "For the love of God, he left all good things behind; he closed his eyes to success, he wanted neither comfort nor rest, he sought no wealth, he wished only to be free from the defilement of the world." He "was always smiling, effervescing; he was spirit personified, love embodied."

If he had not been in love with the Blessed Beauty, 'Abdu'l-Bahá says, "every worldly pleasure could have been his." His skill was "a substantial capital" wherever he went. "But he was hopelessly enamored of man's one true Love, and thus he was free of all those other bonds, and could float and soar in the spirit's endless sky."

This is a retelling. For the fuller account, see Memorials of the Faithful by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

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