Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín, Scribe of the Tablets

*A retelling based on **The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh**, Volume 1, by Adib Taherzadeh, with details from 'Abdu'l-Bahá's **Memorials of the Faithful** and H. M. Balyuzi's **Eminent Bahá'ís in the Time of Bahá'u'lláh**. It is told in our own words; words in quotation marks are quoted from those books.*

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'Abdu'l-Bahá begins His memorial of this believer with the words: "This distinguished man was one of the greatest of all the Báb's companions and all the loved ones of Bahá'u'lláh."

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His name was Mullá Zaynu'l-'Ábidín, and he was a mujtahid, a doctor of Islamic law, in Najaf-Ábád near Iṣfahán. 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes that he was "the leader and spiritual exemplar of the entire population of Najaf-Ábád," and that "when he passed judgment, it took effect; for he was known to all as the standard, and the authority of last resort."

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When he declared his faith in the Báb, the people who had revered him turned against him. He was "mocked, cursed and tormented," and he went on teaching. After the attempt on the Sháh's life in 1852 his presence in Najaf-Ábád became a danger to the other believers, and he went to 'Iráq. Bahá'u'lláh was then in Kurdistán, and Zaynu'l-'Ábidín found no gatherings and almost no one to meet. He spent some time in Karbilá copying the Writings, and then went home.

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He later met Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád, after His return from Kurdistán, and received Tablets from Him. Taherzadeh writes that "his soul was transformed." When Bahá'u'lláh declared His mission he accepted it at once, taught it in Persia, and travelled to Adrianople to attain His presence. Bahá'u'lláh gave him the name Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín, "the ornament of them that are nigh unto God."

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In 1870 the believers in Baghdád were rounded up and exiled to Mosul, and Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín became the leader of the community there. Tablets sent from 'Akká to Persia passed through Mosul, and he copied them, so that each person to whom a Tablet was addressed could keep a copy. In 1885 Bahá'u'lláh gave him permission to come to 'Akká. He lived in the Khán-i-'Avámid, went on transcribing Tablets, and was often in Bahá'u'lláh's company. 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalls him "taking down the Bahá'í Scriptures with faultless care."

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Taherzadeh writes that he "was meticulous in transcribing the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and took great pains to ensure that they were correctly recorded." He adds: "Any Tablet in the handwriting of Zaynu'l-Muqarrabin is considered accurate." Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín left many volumes, in his own fine hand, containing most of Bahá'u'lláh's important Tablets, and Bahá'í publications in Persian and Arabic have been authenticated by comparison with them.

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Because he was trained in Islamic law, Bahá'u'lláh allowed him to ask questions about how the laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas should be applied. Bahá'u'lláh's answers make up the book known as *Questions and Answers*. He was also known for a sense of humour that cheered the believers.

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After Bahá'u'lláh passed away in 1892, Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín remained faithful to the Covenant and was a close companion of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, though his grief was so great that "as the days passed by, he wasted away." He died in 1903.

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*This is a retelling. For the full accounts, see **The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh**, Volume 1, by Adib Taherzadeh, and "Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín" in **Memorials of the Faithful** by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.*

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