Glimpsing Early Bahá'í Pilgrimages

...via Marsha Rule, of Sylvania, Ohio... as shared in the monthly Sylvania Baha'i newsletter she prepares

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Glimpsing Early Bahá'í Pilgrimages
by Annamarie Honnold

Pilgrimage Began in the Days of Bahá'u'llah

Centuries before the advent of Bahá'u'lláh, the Arabian Prophet uttered these words: "Blessed the man that hath visited 'Akka, and blessed he that hath visited the visitor of 'Akká."  Bahá'u'lláh confirmed these words -- words which could not be understood for centuries.  Muhammad said, too, that, "A month in 'Akká is better than a thousand years elsewhere."
           Bahá'í Holy Places at the World Centre
           The Universal House of Justice, p. 10

During Bahá'u'lláh's confinement in the Most Great Prison in 'Akká, visitors were not permitted.  "Several of the Bahá'ís of Irán came all the way on foot for the purpose of seeing their beloved Leader, but were refused admittance within the city walls.  They used to go to a place on the plain outside the third moat, from which they could see the windows of Bahá'u'lláh's quarters.  He would show Himself to them at one of the windows and after gazing on Him from afar, they would weep and return to their homes, fired with new zeal for sacrifice and service."
           Ibid, p. 6

Conditions changed after Bahá'u'lláh was permitted to leave the barracks.  While He was yet in 'Akká an Egyptian merchant, affluent and afire with God's latest message, desired to visit Him.  Abdel Kerim wrote for permission to go on pilgrimage.  He must have been greatly surprised when the reply arrived:  he might go on pilgrimage but only after all his debts were paid.

He had been in business for many years.  His caravans crossed the desert with precious cargo.  He had quite naturally been interested in expanding his business, but now his consuming interest was to, "owe no man anything."  It followed that when he received a payment, instead of investing it for further gain, he paid off a debt.  This continued for five years when at last he was debt-free.

His business shrank.  No longer did "love of wealth" consume him.  When all his debts were paid, he had only enough to keep his family going in his absence and to pay for deck passage on a ship bound for Haifa.

Formerly he would have traveled first-class.  Now he had neither bed nor warm stateroom.  Never mind!  He was going to see Bahá'u'lláh.  As he crossed the gangplank, his shawl slipped into the water.  The night would be chilly, but his heart was glad and he felt "alive with prayer."

Bahá'u'lláh informed His family that He was expecting an honored guest.  A carriage was sent to Haifa to pick up the merchant, but the attendant received no description of this very special guest.  As the passengers disembarked, he watched them very carefully -- surely he would recognize someone so distinguished.  But the passengers appeared quite ordinary and in due time he returned to 'Akká with word that Bahá'u'lláh's visitor had not arrived.

The merchant had expected to be met.  No money remained to hire a carriage.  Bitterly disappointed, he seated himself on a bench, feeling forlorn and destitute.

Bahá'u'lláh knew that His distinguished guest had arrived even though he had not been recognized.  This time He sent 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who recognized in the twilight "the distinguished figure huddled upon the bench."

Quickly, the Master introduced Himself and explained what had happened.  Then He asked him if he would like to go to 'Akká that very night or if he would prefer to wait until morning.  The merchant had already spent hours in prayer in preparation for his meeting with Bahá'u'lláh.  But he found that bitterness had now come into his heart because he had felt so forgotten and alone upon his arrival in Haifa.  He had even begun to wonder about the very station of Bahá'u'lláh.  For what had he given up his fortune?  He was in torment.

Now in the presence of this welcome and gentle Man doubts and suspicions ebbed out of his soul, but he felt the need of hours of prayer to feel ready spiritually to meet God's Emissary.

As the story is told, 'Abbás Effendi knew instinctively that His new friend would not wish to seek a hotel at His expense, so finding that he preferred to wait until morning for the journey to 'Akká, He unbuttoned the long cloak that enveloped Him, seated Himself beside the pilgrim, and wrapped both in its ample folds.  So they passed the night praying together, lost in that ecstasy of prayer that brings realization.

The next morning they proceeded toward the prison-city of 'Akká.  At long last the Egyptian appeared before Bahá'u'lláh with a glad heart, purified through five years of testing.

                The Oriental Rose, Mary Hanford Ford, pp. 94-99

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Three stories of martyrdom – one in the days of the Bab, another after the Declaration of Baha’u’llah, and a third early in the 20th Century

Three stories of martyrdom – one in the days of the Bab, another after the Declaration of Baha’u’llah, and a third early in the 20th Century

The first story indicates that Haji Nasir could not call himself a Babi unless he was prepared to die if the enemy rose up against him.4    He underwent a spiritual self-examination and decided he could call himself a Babi.  The enemy did arise against him several times.  He left his native city and later returned to it; he was imprisoned and released and later imprisoned again, and again, eventually dying of old age, unable to endure the rigours of prison life.  This is not a person seeking death, but only steadfast in his determination to teach the Cause of God.

Here is his story:
Haji Nasir was a well-known merchant and held in high esteem by his fellow citizens until he embraced the Bábí Faith. From that time onwards, he suffered persecutions and was bitterly opposed by the people. He recognized the divine origin of the Message of the Báb through Mulla Jalil-i-Urumi, one of the Letters of the Living.[1] It is reported that when Haji Nasir had acknowledged the authenticity of the claims of the Báb, Mulla Jalil warned him that a mere acknowledgement was not sufficient in this day, that he could not call himself a Bábí unless he were prepared to lay down his life willingly in the path of God, should the enemy rise up against him. He bade him go home and search his heart to see whether he had sufficient faith to remain steadfast in the face of tortures and martyrdom. If he did, he was a Bábí, and otherwise not. Haji Nasir responded to the words of Mulla Jalil by spending the whole night in prayer and meditation. At the hour of dawn, he felt possessed of such faith and detachment as to be ready to sacrifice his life in the path of his Beloved. Overnight, he became endowed with a new zeal and radiance which sustained him throughout his eventful life.

Soon the persecutions started; the first onslaught began when Haji Nasir became the target of attacks by a blood-thirsty mob in Qazvin. They plundered all his possessions and he was temporarily forced to leave his native city. When the situation calmed down he returned home. From there, in obedience to the call of the Báb, he proceeded to Khurasan. He was privileged to attend the conference of Badasht where, some historians have stated, he acted as a guard at the entrance of the garden which was reserved for Bahá'u'lláh's residence. From Badasht he proceeded to Mazindaran and was one of the defenders of the fortress of Shaykh Tabarsi.[1] As history records, hundreds of his fellow disciples were massacred in that upheaval, but the hand of divine power spared Haji Nasir's life and enabled him to render further services to the Cause of God.

He returned to Qazvin and engaged in his work once again, but soon another upheaval engulfed the believers. The attempt on the life of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh in 1852[1] unleashed a wave of persecution against the Bábís. Haji Nasir was arrested in Qazvin and put in prison. But after some time he was released. Another imprisonment he suffered was in Tihran, where he was chained and fettered. When released from his ordeal, he found that all his possessions were gone. It was through the help and co-operation of Shaykh Kazim-i-Samandar[2] that, in spite of much harassment by the enemy, Haji Nasir continued to earn a living, but he had to move his residence to the city of Rasht.

The crowning glory of his life was to attain the presence of Bahá'u'lláh in 'Akká. On this pilgrimage he was accompanied by the above-named Shaykh Kazim. Bahá'u'lláh showered His bounties upon him and assured him of His loving-kindness. He spent the latter part of his life in the city of Rasht and was engaged in teaching the Cause of God by day and night. The enemies once again cast him into prison. This time, because of old age, he could not endure the rigours of prison life and his soul, after so many years of toil and suffering, took its flight to the abode of the Beloved. He died a martyr's death in the prison of Rasht in the year 1300 A.H. (1888).

[1 See The Dawn-Breakers.]
[2 One of the Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh. We shall refer to him in more detail in vol. III.]
(Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha'u'llah v 2, p. 245-6)
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The second story, in a later period, makes it clear that there are different kinds of martyrdom:
“...Ibn-i-Asdaq often accompanied his father on his teaching tours throughout Persia. Thus he became imbued with the spirit of service to the Cause of Baha’u’llah and eventually developed a passionate love for Him, a love that knew no bounds. He was about thirty years of age when he sent a letter to the presence of Bahá'u'lláh and, among other things, begged Him to confer upon him a station wherein he might become completely detached from such realms as 'life and death', 'body and soul', 'existence and nothingness', 'reputation and honour'.

“The gist of everything Ibn-i-Asdaq requested in this letter was the attainment of the station of 'utter self-sacrifice'; a plea for martyrdom, a state in which the individual in his love for his Beloved will offer up everything he possesses. ...

“In response Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet to Ibn-i-Asdaq. This was in January 1880. In this Tablet... He states that service to the Cause is the greatest of all deeds, and that those who are the symbols of certitude ought to be engaged in teaching with the utmost wisdom. He further explains that martyrdom is not confined to the shedding of blood, as it is possible to live and yet be counted as a martyr in the sight of God. In this Tablet Baha’u’llah showers upon him His blessings, for he had offered up his all to his Lord.”
        Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baha’u’llah,  vol. 3, pp. 266  - - 7.
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The third story is that of the life of May Maxwell, the mother of Ruhiyyih Khanum, who died only a few weeks after pioneering to South America, and was declared a martyr by Shoghi Effendi.  (Her story can be read in the Baha’i World, Vol. VIII, pp. 631-642.)  There is no question that May Maxwell devoted her entire life, subsequent to learning of the Faith, to teaching and serving it.  ‘Abdu’l-Baha said of her: “May Maxwell is really a Baha’i...She breathed no breath and uttered no word save in service to the Cause of God.” (p. 638)

The words of the Guardian make very clear for us why she was named a martyr:

    And now as this year, so memorable in the annals of the Faith, was drawing to a close, there befell the American Baha'i community, through the dramatic and sudden death of May Maxwell, yet another loss, which viewed in retrospect will come to be regarded as a potent blessing conferred upon the campaign now being so diligently conducted by its members. 5 Laden with the fruits garnered through well-nigh half a century of toilsome service to the Cause she so greatly loved, heedless of the warnings of age and ill-health, and afire with the longing to worthily demonstrate her gratitude in her overwhelming awareness of the bounties of her Lord and Master, she set her face towards the southern outpost of the Faith in the New World, and laid down her life in such a spirit of consecration and self-sacrifice as has truly merited the crown of martyrdom.
(Shoghi Effendi:  Messages to America, Pages: 39-40)

From these words we can easily see that the sudden death and the entire life of May Maxwell, so gloriously dedicated to the service of the Faith, was a blessing not only for her but for all her co-workers labouring for the spread of the Faith.

Let us return now to the challenge: how do we share stories of the utterly amazing, unique, and inspiring history of our Faith?   Clearly, 20,000 martyrs were not believers who simply dedicated their lives to teaching the Faith.  They were believers who, refusing to deny their Faith and to cease from teaching, were killed.  They were no threat to anyone unless you consider, as a threat, belief in teachings revealed by the Bab and Baha’u’llah that all the Manifestations of God were created by the one and only God Who has created all humanity, loves all humanity,  and revealed His will to all of us progressively throughout the ages, and that, in this day and age, it is His will that we recognize our oneness and the oneness of religion, and live together in unity and peace.