Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá, a Blazing Light

*A retelling drawn from 'Abdu'l-Bahá's memorial of Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá Baghdádí in **Memorials of the Faithful**. Phrases in quotation marks are 'Abdu'l-Bahá's own words in that book.*

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'Abdu'l-Bahá begins His memorial with the words "Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá was a blazing light." He was the son of the well-known scholar Shaykh Muḥammad-i-Shibl and lived in 'Iráq. From his earliest youth, 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes, he was "clearly unique and beyond compare; wise, brave, deserving in every way, he was known far and wide." Guided by his father, he had come to believe, and "regardless of the consequences, had cried aloud: 'The earth hath shone out with the light of her Lord!'"

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This was a dangerous time to be known as a believer in 'Iráq. "The opposition was powerful, the penalty obvious," 'Abdu'l-Bahá recalls, "the friends, every one of them, terrified, and off in some corner hiding their belief." Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá did not hide. "The one individual who, in the year seventy, was famed in 'Iráq for his love of Bahá'u'lláh, was this honored person." Others in Baghdád "had crept away into nooks and crannies," but he "would boldly, proudly come and go like a man, and the hostile, because of his physical strength and his courage, were afraid to attack him."

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After Bahá'u'lláh returned from Kurdistán, Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá attended upon Him whenever leave was granted, "and would hear from His lips expressions of favor and grace." 'Abdu'l-Bahá calls him "the leader, among all the friends in 'Iráq." When Bahá'u'lláh and His companions left Baghdád for Constantinople, he stayed behind, "loyal and staunch." "He girded himself for service and openly, publicly, observed by all, taught the Faith." When Bahá'u'lláh's declaration became known, he was among those who had already believed, and he cried out, "Verily, we believe!"

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Bahá'u'lláh was sent on to the Most Great Prison in 'Akká, and the believers in Baghdád were arrested and sent away to Mosul. Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá stood his ground for a long time. Then, the Master writes, "with his yearning for Bahá'u'lláh, the tumult in his heart was such that he set out alone for the Most Great Prison." He arrived during the period of the strictest confinement and was admitted to Bahá'u'lláh's presence. He asked to be allowed to live somewhere near 'Akká and was permitted to settle in Beirut.

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In Beirut he looked after the pilgrims coming and going. "He was an excellent servitor, a generous and kindly host, and he sacrificed himself to see to their affairs as they passed through. For all this he became known everywhere."

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After the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, "Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá remained loyal to the Covenant. He stood so firm against the waverers that they dared not draw a breath." 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes that "not one of the violators so much as dared pass through the street where he lived," and that he was "the very embodiment of: 'The blame of the blamer shall not deflect him from the path of God, and the terrible might of the reviler shall not shake him.'"

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He went on serving as before, helping the travellers to the Holy Land. Later he moved from Beirut to Iskandarún and spent some time there, until, "drawn as if by a magnet to the Lord, detached from all save Him, rejoicing in His glad tidings, holding fast to the cord that none can sever — he ascended on the wings of the spirit to his Exalted Companion."

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'Abdu'l-Bahá ends the memorial with a prayer for him: "May God lift him up to the highest Heaven, to the fellowship of glory."

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*This is a retelling. For the full account, see "Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá Baghdádí" in **Memorials of the Faithful** by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.*

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