The Dervish Who Became a Groom

A retelling based on Memorials of the Faithful by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Master's own reminiscences of the early believers. Words in quotation marks are His, as rendered into English.

In Memorials of the Faithful 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes of Darvísh Ṣidq-'Alí, one of those who left their homeland, came to Bahá'u'lláh and shared His imprisonment. He was a dervish, "a man who lived free and detached from friend and stranger alike." He came from the Súfí tradition and was a man of letters, and for some time he wore the dress of poverty, travelling the mystic path. The Master says that he "only searched for God, spoke of God, and followed the path of God." He had a fine gift for poetry.

"That free and independent soul discovered, in Baghdád, a trace of the untraceable Beloved." He came under the spell of Bahá'u'lláh. He was a quiet man, the Master writes, yet "his very limbs were like so many tongues crying out their message."

When Bahá'u'lláh and His companions were about to leave Baghdád, Ṣidq-'Alí "implored permission to go along as a groom." All day he walked beside the convoy, and at night he looked after the horses. Only after midnight would he lie down to rest, and then his bed was his cloak and his pillow a sun-dried brick. As he travelled he sang poems of love, which greatly pleased the friends. His name, Ṣidq, means truth, and the Master says that in him "the name bespoke the man." Then He adds: "In his high station, that of groom, he reigned like a king; indeed he gloried over the sovereigns of the earth."

The convoy went on to Constantinople, then to Adrianople, and finally to the prison of 'Akká, and Ṣidq-'Alí was with it throughout, "faithfully serving its Commander." In the barracks at 'Akká he wrote a poem in praise of Bahá'u'lláh.

While in the barracks, Bahá'u'lláh set apart a special night and dedicated it to Darvísh Ṣidq-'Alí. He wrote that every year on that night the dervishes should prepare a meeting place in a flower garden and gather there to make mention of God. He explained that "dervish" does not mean those who wander about, "spending their nights and days in fighting and folly," but "those who are completely severed from all but God, who cleave to His laws, are firm in His Faith, loyal to His Covenant, and constant in worship."

Ṣidq-'Alí spent the rest of his life serving the believers, faithful at the Holy Threshold, and he died not far from his Lord. His grave is in 'Akká.

This is a retelling. For the full account, see "Darvísh Ṣidq-'Alí" 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/