Mírzá Muḥammad-Qulí, Faithful Brother of Bahá'u'lláh

A retelling based on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Memorials of the Faithful. Words in quotation marks are His, as rendered in the English translation.

In Memorials of the Faithful, 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes of Mírzá Muḥammad-Qulí, "a loyal brother of the Blessed Beauty," who "was known even from his childhood for nobility of soul." He was newly born when his father died, and so, the Master writes, "from the beginning to the end of his days, he spent his life in the sheltering arms of Bahá'u'lláh." He was brought up under Bahá'u'lláh's care in Persia and in 'Iráq.

In Bahá'u'lláh's presence it was he who passed around the tea, and "he waited upon his Brother at all times, by day and night. He was always silent."

He went with Bahá'u'lláh into exile. On the journey from 'Iráq to Constantinople it was his task to pitch the tents at each halting-place. "He served with the greatest diligence, and did not know the meaning of lethargy or fatigue." In Constantinople, and afterward in Adrianople, he continued "in one and the same invariable condition."

He was then exiled with Bahá'u'lláh to the fortress of 'Akká, condemned by order of the Sultán to be imprisoned for life. 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes: "But he accepted in the same spirit all that came his way--comfort and torment, hardship and respite, sickness and health; eloquently, he would return thanks to the Blessed Beauty for His bounties, uttering praise with a free heart and a face that shone like the sun." Each morning and evening he waited upon Bahá'u'lláh, "and mostly, he kept silent."

After the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, Mírzá Muḥammad-Qulí "remained firm in the Covenant," and gave himself to prayer. He gave wise advice to those who would listen, spoke of the days of the Blessed Beauty, and "grieved over the fact that he himself lived on." He kept to himself, "alone in his small refuge, burning with the fires of separation," growing weaker day by day until he passed away. His grave is at Naqíb, near Tiberias.

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