The Learning of Ṭáhirih

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

'Abdu'l-Bahá opens His account of Ṭáhirih with these words: "A woman chaste and holy, a sign and token of surpassing beauty, a burning brand of the love of God, a lamp of His bestowal, was Jináb-i-Ṭáhirih." She was the daughter of Ḥájí Mullá Ṣáliḥ, a mujtahid of Qazvín, and her uncle, Mullá Taqí, led the prayers in the city's cathedral mosque.

"When she was still a child her father selected a teacher for her and she studied various branches of knowledge and the arts, achieving remarkable ability in literary pursuits." Her learning was such, 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes, that her father often said with regret: "Would that she had been a boy, for he would have shed illumination upon my household, and would have succeeded me!"

Visiting her cousin Mullá Javád, she found in his library some writings of Shaykh Aḥmad-i-Aḥsá'í and asked to borrow them. He objected that her father was an enemy of Shaykh Aḥmad and Siyyid Káẓim and would be furious. She answered: "For a long time now, I have thirsted after this; I have yearned for these explanations, these inner truths. Give me whatever you have of these books. Never mind if it angers my father."

For some time she argued with her father about the Resurrection, the Day of Judgment and the Advent of the Promised One. "Lacking arguments, her father would resort to curses and abuse." She stopped debating with him and began a secret correspondence with Siyyid Káẓim about difficult questions of theology. It was he who gave her the name Qurratu'l-'Ayn, "Solace of the Eyes."

She set out for Karbilá hoping to meet Siyyid Káẓim, but he died ten days before she arrived. His followers were waiting and praying for the Promised One, and Ṭáhirih was among them, fasting by day and keeping vigil at night. One night she dreamed of a young Siyyid in a black cloak and green turban, standing in the air and reciting verses. She memorized one verse and wrote it in her notebook when she woke. Later, reading the Báb's first book, "The Best of Stories," she came upon that same verse. "Instantly offering thanks, she fell to her knees and bowed her forehead to the ground, convinced that the Báb's message was truth."

"She at once began to teach." She translated and explained "The Best of Stories," wrote in Persian and Arabic, and composed odes and lyrics. The clergy of Karbilá complained to the Governor, and she was attacked and made to suffer. When the authorities came looking for her they first attacked her companion Shamsu'd-Ḍuḥá, mistaking her for Ṭáhirih. They let her go once Ṭáhirih had sent the Governor a message: "I am at your disposal. Do not harm any other."

After three months under guard she went on to Baghdád, where so many people came to see her that she had to move to another quarter of the city. "She thus became celebrated throughout the city and there was a great uproar." She wrote to the divines of Káẓimayn and "presented them with unanswerable proofs." The Governor eventually placed her in the house of Ibn-i-Álúsí, the muftí of Baghdád, and there she stayed for about three months. "Ibn-i-Álúsí would engage her in learned dialogues, questions would be asked and answers given, and he would not deny what she had to say."

This is a retelling. For the full account, see "Ṭáhirih" in 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/