Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Richard Francis, Ahmad-i-Yazd, bahai-library.com.
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Ahmad-i-Yazd

Richard Francis

1993/2003

Ahmad was born in the city
of Yazd around 1800. While in his teens he felt a great attraction towards mysticism
and would seclude himself to commune with God, with his greatest hope being: to
face the promised Qá'im. He often associated with dervishes and ascetics who claimed
to possess some divine insight. His father and family, being orthodox Muslims
became concerned and tried to persuade him to be less ascetic.

Ahmad left home (ran away)
and at around age twenty, traveled to India in the garb of a dervish . He stayed
with a baker in Bushire ,who claimed to hold a great station in the spiritual
realms. However, Ahmad soon left for Bombay and continued an ascetic lifestyle
where he evidently becomes disappointed with the mystics. After prostrating himself
and chanting the verses of the Qur'an twelve thousand times and not finding the
object of his quest, he returned to Persia and made his home in Kashan, married,
had a son and daughter, and worked as a hand-weaver.

Upper room of the House of the Báb, Shiraz, Iran
Here is where the Siyyid `Alí-Mohammad first declared that he was the "Gate of
God" or Báb in the presence of the Shaykhi disciple Mullá Husayn-i-Bushrú`i.
on May 23, 1844. He thus confirmed that he was the Promised one of Islam, the
Qá'im, and that his Mission was to prepare the way for another, "Him Whom God
shall make manifest."

After numerous years he heard
news of the Báb from Shiraz and after making inquires, maintained a strong urge
to investigate. A traveler (probably a Bábí himself) told him to proceed to Mashhad
where he met the Mullá Sadiq-i-Khurasani and acknowledged the Message of
the Báb. He was instructed to return to his wife and children in Kashan.
There he discovered that Hájí Mírzá Jani , whom he had known for some time, was
also a Bábí.

The Báb stayed two nights
in Hájí Mírzá Jani's home while being escorted from Isfahán to Tehran. Ahmad was
finally able to attain the presence of his Lord. Soon, the number of Bábís in
Kashan considerably increased and the persecutions started. Ahmad hid in
a cooling tower for forty days while friends brought food and water in secret.

He escaped and traveled to
Baghdad and reached the residence of Bahá'u'lláh. There, he documented accounts
of the last months of Bahá'u'lláh's stay in that city. He stayed in the close
proximity to the Blessed Beauty for six years. He also remained in that
city for some time after Bahá'u'lláh's departure to Constantinople.

Ahmad longed to attain the
presence of His Lord again and traveled on to Constantinople. By this time, Bahá'u'lláh
was in Adrianople where he sent him the Arabic Tablet of Ahmad. He surrendered
his will to Bahá'u'lláh and returned to Persia to teach and propagate His Message
to the Bábís. He traveled extensively and a great number of (approximately two
thousand) Bábís recognized the station of Bahá'u'lláh through Ahmad's dedicated
efforts and teaching work. Some of the Bábís even showed hostility toward the
Bahá'i teachings and bore physical threats.

Ahmad then lived and worked
in Kashan and carried the original tablet on his person. His wife died
and his daughter married an official to the court of Nasiri'd-Din Shah
in Tehran. His son, who died shortly after Ahmad became a Bábí, left a grandson,
Jamal in his care. Jamal become a lifelong, steadfast Bahá'i.

Ahmad then went to Shiraz
and later to Nayriz where he remarried and lived for about twenty years. He wanted
to see his Daughter in Tehran and arrangements were made for him to stay in Munj.
By this time he was well into his nineties and was still maintaining utmost health
and vigor, spending most of his time in meditation on his Tablet. He stayed in
Munj for four years before he was able to travel to Tehran and also visited Qázvin.
He lived to be over one hundred and passed away in 1902. His date of birth was
unknown and one account placed his age at the time of his death to be one hundred
and thirteen.

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