Varqa's two children 'Azi'zu'llah and Ruhu'llah who accom-

panied him to 'Akka also had the honour of attaining the presence

of Baha'u'llah several times. Contact with the Supreme Manifes-

tation of God left an abiding impression on their souls. Though

young in age they both became charged with the spirit of faith.

Ruhu'llah in particular flourished spiritually in those holy

surroundings. He may be regarded as one of the spiritual

prodigies which the hand of God has raised up in this

Dispensation. Although He was only about eight years old when

He came into the presence of Baha'u'llah, his understanding of

the Faith was very profound.

To cite one example: One day Baha'u'llah asked Ruhu'llah,

'What did you do today?'

He replied, 1 was having lessons from [a certain teacher].'

Baha'u'llah asked, 'What subject were you learning?'

'Concerning the return [of the prophets]', said Ruhu'llah.

'Will you explain what this means?' Baha'u'llah demanded.

He replied: 'By return is meant the return of realities and

qualities. '

Bahaullah, questioning him further, said: These are exactly

the words of your teacher and you are repeating them like a

parrot. Tell me in your own words your own understanding of the

subject. '

It is like cutting a flower from a plant this year,' answered

Ruhu'llah. 'Next year's flower will look exactly like this one, but

it is not the same.'

The Blessed Beauty praised the child for his intelligent answer

and often called him Jinab-i-Muballigh (His honour, the Baha'i

teacher).

On another occasion Baha'u'llah asked Ruhu'llah how he spent

his time at home. He answered, 'We teach the Faith and tell the

people that the "Promised One" has come.' Baha'u'llah, obviously

enjoying this conversation, then asked him what he would do if it

were found that the Message of the Bab was not authentic and the

true Promised One appeared. 1 would try to teach him the

Faith,' was his prompt reply.

Varqa had four sons. We have already mentioned the first two.

The third son was Valiyy'u'llah, who lived longest and

distinguished himself as an outstanding servant of the Faith. He

was Trustee of the Huququilah,* appointed by Shoghi Efiendi,

the Guardian of the Faith. Later in I95' Shoghi Effendi

appointed him as one of the Hands of the Cause of God. He

passed away in 1955-

The fourth son, Badf'u'llah, died at a young age. All four were

the recipients as children of Tablets revealed by Bahau'llah in

their honour and in each case He has abundantly favoured them

with His bounties and blessings.

After the ascension of Bahau'llah, Varqa, together with the

same two children, went on pilgrimage to the presence of

'Abdu'l-Baha. As in the past, 'Abdu'l-Baha and His sister the

Greatest Holy Leaf showed admiration and love for Ruhu'llah,

and both enjoyed talking to him.

One day the Greatest Holy Leaf noticed that Ruhu'llah and his

older brother 'Azizu'llah were playing in the garden. She called

them in and they sat in her presence. Also present were Mfrza

Badi'u'llah and Mirza Diya'u'llah, the two sons ofBaha'u'llah who

later joined hands with Mirza Muhammad-'Alf,+ the Arch-

breaker of the Covenant of Bahau'llah. The Greatest Holy Leaf,

often referred to as 'Khanum', asked them what they said to

people when teaching the Faith.

'We tell them', Ruhu'llah answered, 'that God has manifested

Himself.'

Surprised at this remark, Khanum told them that surely they

could not say such a thing straight away to people!

'We don't tell this to everybody,' responded Ruhu'llah, 'we

only say it to those who have the capacity to hear such a

statement.'

'How would you know such people?' asked Khanum.

'We look into their eyes and then know whether we can give

them the Message,' replied Ruhu'llah.

Khanum laughed heartily and then beckoned Ruhu'llah to

come close and look into her eyes to find out whether she had the

capacity for hearing such words. In obedience to her request

Ruhu'llah sat down opposite the Greatest Holy Leaf, looked

intently into her eyes and then said, 'You already believe in these

words. '

Then it was the turn of the two sons ofBaha'u'llah. Ruhu'llah

went close to them, looked searchingly into their eyes and sadly

said to Khanum, 'They are not worth looking into!'

Truly, Ruhu'llah was no ordinary child. He was an inspired

being and acted as a spiritual giant. At a young age he wrote

beautiful poetry which clearly demonstrates how deep was his

love for Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha, how vast his knowledge of

the Faith and how profound his understanding of the real purpose

of life. He used to speak about the Faith in gatherings of divines

and men of learning with such eloquence and knowledge, and

produce such irrefutable proofs of the truth of the Faith that

many were confounded after hearing him. His answers were

profound yet simple and very compelling.

There are some delightful stories related to this indefatigable

child-teacher of the Cause of God. To cite an example: Although

only twelve years of age, Ruhu'llah attended with his father

several meetings in Zanjan at which the divines of the city were

present. The Governor of Zanjan, 'Ala'u'd-Dawlih, had especially

arranged these meetings in order that Varqa might confront the

divines in defence of his Faith. Haji Mirza Haydar-'Alf has

written about this in his celebrated book of reminiscences, the

Bihjatu's-Sudur:

Varqa . . . was prepared to prove, by the power of divine

assistance, the authenticity of this most great Revelation

which is promised in all the heavenly Books, and to establish

the validity of the basic principles, laws both spiritual and

physical, and even secondary matters in the Faith using the

Qur'an as the basis of his argument . . .

This prompted 'Ala'ud-Dawlih, the Governor of Zanjan,

to convene several meetings. He ordered the divines of Zanjan

to attend, and arranged for Baha'i books and Tablets to be

taken to these meetings. After reading some of these, the

objections of the divines were adequately answered sometimes

by Varqa and sometimes by Ruhu'llah. The answers, which

were all supported by the verses of the Qur'an, were convincing

and irrefutable.

Since the defeat of the divines in their argument became

evident to the Governor, who was a powerful and courageous

personality, the divines did not dare to label Varqa as an

infidel and issue his death warrant. In these meetings 'Alau'd-

Dawlih often permitted the twelve-year-old Ruhu'llah to

speak with the divines. He used to prove the subject with

amazing courage, eloquence and profundity. His talks were so

sweet that the Governor admitted that the proofs which that

child had adduced were a great miracle in his sight . . ."

Another story goes like this: Once Ruhu'llah and his older

brother were walking in town. A Muslim clergyman riding on

his donkey spotted the two boys and from their appearance he

knew they were strangers in Zanjan. So he went to them and said,

'Who are you?'

Ruhu'llah answered, 'We are sons of Varqa, a native ofYazd.'

'What is your name?' the clergyman demanded.

'My name is Ruhu'llah,' came the answer.

'That is a great name,' said the clergyman. 'Christ was

Ruhu'llah* and He used to raise the dead and give them life.'

'Sir, if you slow down the pace of your donkey,' Ruhu'llah

declared with great enthusiasm, 1 too shall raise you from the

dead and give you a new life!'

The clergyman hurriedly left saying, 'You two must be Babf*

children!'

The full story of the circumstances which led to the martyrdom

of Varqa and his twelve-year-old son Ruhu'llah is beyond the

scope of this book. Both of them were engulfed in a series of

arrests and imprisonments. They were transferred from prison to

prison weighed down with chains, their feet placed in stocks. As

a result they suffered much hardship and torture until at the end

Varqa was martyred when in a rage Hajibu'd-Dawlih, the chief

steward in charge of the Prison of Tihran, pierced his stomach

with a dagger. Ruhu'llah saw his father fall to the ground, and

then his body was cut into pieces. A short while later, refusing to

recant his faith and earnestly wishing to join his father, that

noble and heroic child was strangled to death. This was in May

1896.

Thus ended the life of two immortal heroes of the Baha'f

Dispensation. Both father and son have immeasurably enriched

the annals of the Faith and shed such a lustre upon it that

generations yet unborn will be inspired by the example of their

lives and moved to scale the lofty heights of service in the

promotion of the Cause of God.

* 'Ruhu'llah' literally means the 'Spirit of God', a title of Christ mentioned in the Qur'an.