The Vazír's Dream of the Ocean

A retelling based on The Dawn-Breakers, Nabíl's Narrative of the early days of the Faith (chapter V), which records the dream of Bahá'u'lláh's father and the interpretation given to it. Words in quotation marks are from that book.

Bahá'u'lláh's father was Mírzá ʻAbbás of Núr, known as Mírzá Buzurg, a Vazír, or minister, at the court of Persia. When Bahá'u'lláh was still a child, the Vazír had a dream.

He saw his Son swimming in a vast, limitless ocean. The Child's body shone upon the waters with a light that lit up the sea, and His long, jet-black hair spread out over the waves around His head. A multitude of fishes gathered round Him, each holding fast to the end of one hair, and they followed Him wherever He swam. However many there were, and however tightly they held on, not one hair came away from His head, and He was not hurt at all. He moved freely over the water, and they all followed Him.

The Vazír, greatly impressed by the dream, summoned a soothsayer who was well known in that region and asked him to interpret it. Nabíl writes that the man spoke "as if inspired by a premonition of the future glory of Bahá'u'lláh":

"The limitless ocean that you have seen in your dream, O Vazír, is none other than the world of being. Single-handed and alone, your son will achieve supreme ascendancy over it. Wherever He may please, He will proceed unhindered. No one will resist His march, no one will hinder His progress. The multitude of fishes signifies the turmoil which He will arouse amidst the peoples and kindreds of the earth. Around Him will they gather, and to Him will they cling. Assured of the unfailing protection of the Almighty, this tumult will never harm His person, nor will His loneliness upon the sea of life endanger His safety."

The soothsayer was later taken to see Bahá'u'lláh. He looked closely at His face and praised every feature of it; Nabíl records that "every expression in that face revealed to his eyes a sign of His concealed glory." His praise was so great that from that day the Vazír "became even more passionately devoted to his son." Nabíl compares him to Jacob, who wanted only to keep his beloved Joseph safe and to surround him with his protection.

This is a retelling. For the full account, see The Dawn-Breakers by Nabíl-i-Aʿẓam.

Nabíl-i-A'ẓam. (1932). *The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust. https://www.bahai.org/library/other-literature/historical/dawn-breakers/