Lawh-i-’Abu’l-Hasan Mírzá
(Tablet to ’Abu’l-Hasan Mírzá)[1]
‘Abdu’l-Bahá’
Trans. H. M. Balyuzí
The Lamp of the Assemblage of the high-minded, the Prince of the enlightened, Shaykhu’r-Ra’ís:[2]
May he be a ray of God, and a dazzling moon!
O kind Friend! What thy
musk-laden pen hath inscribed bestowed joy and brought delight. It was not a
dew-drop, but an ocean; not a lamp, but a beam of sunlight. Praise and glory be
to God, Who hath endowed Creation with such beatitude and conferred such
tranquillity upon the hearts, and by imparting heavenly knowledge, made the
friends stars of the East, brilliant moons, so that they would enkindle the
Light of Understanding, and with the showers of the rain of their utterance make
human hearts the envy of meadows and rose-gardens. O kind Friend! The
All-Bountiful God guided thee and led thee to traverse mountains and deserts, to
reach the City of thine ancestors. That Land stood in great need of one mighty
soul like that loving friend to enter therein, engage in discussion, show the
Way of God, embellish the assemblage of men with mysteries unveiled, and watch
over their spiritual lives so that they might abide under the shade of the tree
of hope. Thou shouldst speak forth, wax eloquent, divulge the hidden secrets,
share the Word of God, inaugurate a school of the Kingdom and give instruction
in the heavenly Books, ignite a shining lamp and burn down the veils of the
imaginings of the ignorant. May thy soul be joined to the Beloved.
Notes
[1]
According to Balyuzí, this Tablet is unpublished, but no manuscript collection
is named (MW’s note).
[2]
’Abu’l-Hasan Mírzá, known as Shaykhu’r-Ra’ís
(1847 - 1917). He was a grandson of Fath-‘Alí-Sháh (reigned
1797-1834). His father, Muhammad-Taqí Mírzá, was one of the princes
who rebelled against Muhammad Sháh (reigned 1834-1848), was
imprisoned at Ardibíl in Ádharbáyján, but escaped to live out his
life relatively undisturbed in Tabríz. ’Abu’l-Hasan’s mother, Khurshíd
Bagum, taught him the Bábí Faith when he was a child. When he was young, he
was sickly, losing the use of one eye due to smallpox. He escaped a cholera
epidemic in Tabríz, and was soon sent for tutoring in the capital with his
father. He studied logic and Arabic syntax under Mullá ’Alí-i-Núrí, and
advanced rapidly. His father died when ’Abu’l-Hasan was about 14, and
his brothers, partly because of jealously of his gifts, forced him into military
training. At the military school, he was able to continue his literary studies,
determined to fulfill his father’s wish that he become a cleric. After two
years, he left the military school and moved to Mashhad. By this time, he
had demonstrated signs of a great poetical and literary gift, and, at 17, he was
inducted into the clerical ranks by Hájí Qavámu’l-Mulk. He entered
the theological academy and studied Arabic, mathematics, philosophy and theology
under some of the most enlightened men of the time. From Mashhad, he went
on to further studies in Najaf and Karbilá in ’Iráq, then served as
apprentice under Hájí Mírzá-Muhammad-Hasan, the
greatest Shí’ih divine at that time, for two years. After receiving
the power of issuing religious decrees and judgements from his master and making
his pilgrimage to Mecca, he returned to Mashhad to preach. He quickly
became beloved for his speeches at the pulpit. He was then forced to leave Mashhad
for Qúchán, due to the hatred of the Ásafu’d-Dawlih of Shíráz.
After one year in Qúchán, he briefly was in ‘Ishqábád,
before again journeying to Mecca and Medina. On his returned, he again gained
great renown in Baghdád, but was encouraged by Shaykh Muhsin
Khán, the Persian ambassador, to return to Persia. The favours presented
to him by Nasiri‘d-Din Sháh’s family aroused jealousy in
certain circles and he was banished Kalát-i-Nádiri. When freed, he collected
his family in Mashhad and moved them back to ‘Ishqábád. After
touring Transoxania, and receiving gifts and high praises from Sultán
‘Abdu’l-A’ziz, he finally journeyed to Beirut, Jerusalem, and
finally to ’Akká, where he attained the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’. The
Master commanded Shaykhu’r-Ra’ís to teach the Faith, but with
great caution. This he did, proceeding to Burma and India, then returning to Shíráz
in 1896. He again ascended the pulpit and great crowds flocked to listen to his
lectures. Opposition from the ’ulamá again forced him to flee, this time to Isfahán.
In that city, he resumed preaching, only to arouse the animosity of no less a
figure than Shaykh Muhammad Taqíy-i-Najafí, stigmatized
by Bahá’u’lláh as the ‘Son of the Wolf’. However, due to his position,
Shaykhu’r-Ra’ís could not be harmed. He soon left Isfahán
for Tihrán, where, in a few years, against the wishes of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’,
he became a leading voice in favour of a constitution. In the coup d-état
that followed, the Shaykhu’r-Ra’ís was imprisoned for a time,
but pardoned by the government. The Master never reproached him for his error.
’Abu’l-Hasan Mírzá soon retired from public life, ending his days
in Ishqábád, where he passed away in 1336 A.H. (between October 17th
1917 to October 6th, 1918. See H. M. Balyuzí. Eminent Bahá’ís
in the Time of Bahá’u’lláh, (Oxford, George Ronald, 1985) chap. 12. (A
photograph of ‘Abu’l-Hasan Mírzá appears on page 149.) Taherzadeh
records that ’Abu’l-Hasan Mírzá was one of the first men sent by Muhammad-Taqí
Mírzá to entreat ‘Aba Badí (the father of Badí, the bearer of the Tablet
to the Sháh) to recant his faith. (Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh,
Vol. 2, p. 132) (MW’s note).
Back to the
Temple