The Believer Who Stayed in Baghdád

A retelling based on Memorials of the Faithful by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Master's own tributes to early believers. The narrative is in our own words; passages in quotation marks are His words as rendered into English.

On the twelfth day of Riḍván, 1863, Bahá'u'lláh left Baghdád for Constantinople with His family and a band of companions. Other believers stayed behind in the city. In Memorials of the Faithful, 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes about one of them, Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá Baghdádí.

He was the son of a well-known scholar, Shaykh Muḥammad-i-Shibl, and had been guided to the Faith by his father from childhood. The Master recalls a time of strong opposition when the friends were "terrified, and off in some corner hiding their belief." Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá, He says, "boldly went about his business, and like a man, faced up to every tyrant. The one individual who, in the year seventy, was famed in 'Iráq for his love of Bahá'u'lláh, was this honored person." A few others in and around Baghdád "had crept away into nooks and crannies," but the hostile, because of his physical strength and his courage, were afraid to attack him.

After Bahá'u'lláh returned from Kurdistán, Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá's standing grew further. "Whenever leave was granted, he would attend upon Bahá'u'lláh, and would hear from His lips expressions of favor and grace."

Then came the departure. 'Abdu'l-Bahá writes: "He was the leader, among all the friends in 'Iráq, and after the great separation, when the convoy of the Beloved left for Constantinople, he remained loyal and staunch, and withstood the foe. He girded himself for service and openly, publicly, observed by all, taught the Faith."

When Bahá'u'lláh's declaration that He was "He Whom God Shall Manifest" became widely known, Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá, who had believed in Him before it, cried out: "Verily, we believe!" From then on he "rested neither day nor night." After Bahá'u'lláh had been sent to the Most Great Prison, and the friends in Baghdád had been arrested and sent to Mosul, "he did not falter, but continued to stand his ground."

Years later he set out alone for 'Akká, longing to see Bahá'u'lláh. He arrived during the period of extreme restrictions and was admitted to His presence. He asked to live somewhere near 'Akká and was allowed to settle in Beirut, where he looked after the pilgrims as they came and went. The Master calls him "an excellent servitor, a generous and kindly host." After the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá "remained loyal to the Covenant." He later moved from Beirut to Iskandarún, and it was there that he passed away.

This is a retelling. For the full account, see "Muḥammad-Muṣṭafá Baghdádí" 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/