Bahá'u'lláh's Journey to Núr

A retelling based on The Dawn-Breakers by Nabíl-i-Aʿẓam (chapter V, "Bahá'u'lláh's Journey to Mázindarán") and God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi (chapter V). Words in quotation marks are quoted from those books.

In 1844 some pages of the Báb's writings, carried at the direction of Mullá Ḥusayn, reached Mírzá Ḥusayn-ʿAlí of Núr, Bahá'u'lláh, in Tihrán. He was then twenty-six. Shoghi Effendi writes that they "instantly won His enthusiastic allegiance," and Nabíl records that the first journey He made to promote the new Revelation was to His ancestral home in Núr, in the province of Mázindarán.

Shoghi Effendi describes Bahá'u'lláh in these years as "Afire from the very beginning with an uncontrollable enthusiasm for the Cause He had espoused; conspicuously fearless in His advocacy of the rights of the downtrodden; in the full bloom of youth; immensely resourceful; matchless in His eloquence." He was wealthy and highly placed, "and yet contemptuous of all earthly pomp, rewards, vanities and possessions."

When He reached Núr, a large number of the officials and notables of the district called on Him. Because of His position, they wanted news of the Sháh, his ministers and the affairs of the government. Nabíl writes that Bahá'u'lláh answered them "with extreme indifference" and spoke instead of the new Revelation. His hearers "felt powerless to challenge the soundness of His arguments." In the words of God Passes By, He "won to its support a large number of the officials and notables of Núr, not excluding His own associates and relatives."

Only His uncle ʿAzíz opposed Him. When others wanted to silence and harm the man, Bahá'u'lláh intervened on his behalf and told them to leave him in the hands of God. ʿAzíz then appealed to the mujtahid of Núr, Mullá Muḥammad, to resist Bahá'u'lláh. The mujtahid's own disciples urged him to go to Bahá'u'lláh and learn about the new Revelation, but he gave them an evasive answer. At last he sent two trusted lieutenants, Mullá ʿAbbás and Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim, to visit Bahá'u'lláh and determine the true character of His Message, and he pledged himself to accept whatever conclusion they reached.

The two men found Bahá'u'lláh at His winter residence, revealing a commentary on the opening Súrih of the Qur'án. As they listened, Mullá ʿAbbás rose, walked back to the door and stood there. "You behold my condition," he told his companion. "I am powerless to question Bahá'u'lláh. The questions I had planned to ask Him have vanished suddenly from my memory." He left his companion free to continue the enquiry or to go back alone to their teacher: "Tell him from me that ʿAbbás can never again return to him. He can no longer forsake this threshold." Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim replied: "I have ceased to recognise my teacher. This very moment, I have vowed to God to dedicate the remaining days of my life to the service of Bahá'u'lláh, my true and only Master."

News that the mujtahid's chosen envoys had become believers spread quickly through the district. Religious dignitaries, government officials, traders and peasants came to Bahá'u'lláh's residence, and a considerable number of them accepted His Cause. Some of the most distinguished told Him that if Mullá Muḥammad were to join them as well, the triumph of the Faith would be assured. Bahá'u'lláh answered: "I am come to Núr solely for the purpose of proclaiming the Cause of God. I cherish no other intention. If I were told that at a distance of a hundred leagues a seeker yearned for the Truth and was unable to meet Me, I would, gladly and unhesitatingly, hasten to his abode, and would Myself satisfy his hunger." He then went to the mujtahid's village to deliver the Message to him in person.

This is a retelling. For the full account, see The Dawn-Breakers, chapter V, and God Passes By, chapter V.

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/