# Quddus

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Lowell Johnson, Quddus, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> Golden Crowns Series
> 
> Quddús
> by
> Lowell Johnson
> 
> The National Spiritual Assembly
> Bahá’ís of South and West Africa
> 
> Johannesburg
> Revised edition, Copyright © 1982 by the
> National Spiritual Assembly
> of the Bahá’ís of South and West Africa
> (Incorporated Association not for Gain)
> Extracts from the following works reprinted by permission:
> By Bahá’u’lláh: Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh
> Copyright 1939, 1952, © 1976 by the
> National Spiritual Assembly
> of the Bahá’ís of the United States;
> by Nabíl-i-A‘ẓam: The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative
> of the Early Days of the Bahá’í Revelation,
> published by the National Spiritual Assembly
> of the Bahá’ís of the United States.
> 
> Illustrated by Michele Gregory.
> 
> Set in 11 on 13 pt Monotype Baskerville by
> Monotype Composing Service (Pty.) Ltd., Cape Town
> and printed in South Africa by
> Budd and Thomson (Pty.) Ltd., Cape Town.
> 
> ISBN 0 908420 31 5
> 
> ii
> Introduction to the Golden Crowns Series
> 
> In these next pages you will read of great sacrifices. Anyone reading
> the stories of the early believers in the Bahá’í Faith will wonder why
> these people sacrificed so much. What was different about the
> Messages of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh which made ordinary people
> rise to the heights of heroism and die gloriously for their Faith?
> The teachings of the Báb* and Bahá’u’lláh† repeat the divine
> principles announced by the Prophets of the past. You can read these
> teachings in a very small book entitled The Hidden Words. It was
> written by Bahá’u’lláh. But added to these eternal truths, the Báb
> and Bahá’u’lláh have given new teachings never announced by any
> Prophet of God before. Here are some of them:
> The first teaching of the Bahá’í Faith is that all men belong to one
> human family. Speaking to all men, Bahá’u’lláh says, ‘Ye are the
> fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch.’ By this He means that
> the world of men is like a tree, the nations and peoples are the
> different branches of that tree, and the men and women are as the
> fruits and blossoms of that tree. In all past religions, the world of
> men was divided into two parts—one part known as the people of
> the Book of God or the pure tree, and the other known as the lost
> people or the evil tree. Bahá’u’lláh has changed this teaching by
> announcing that the world is one world and all people in it members
> of one family. This is a special teaching of Bahá’u’lláh not to be
> found in any other religion. Some people are asleep, He says, and
> they need to be awakened; some are sick, they need to be healed;
> some are like children, they need to be taught; but all receive the
> bounty and gifts of God.
> 
> * The Báb is the title given to the Forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh. He was born in
> Shíráz, Írán (Persia) on the 20th of October 1819 and was martyred in Tabríz,
> Írán on the 9th of July 1850. The ‘Báb’ means the ‘Gate’.
> † Bahá’u’lláh is the name of God’s newest Manifestation on earth. He was born
> in Ṭihrán, Írán on the 12th of November 1817 and died near Haifa, Israel on
> the 29th of May 1892. ‘Bahá’u’lláh’ means the ‘Glory of God’.
> Another new principle in the Bahá’í Faith is the need to investigate
> truth. That is to say, no man should blindly follow his ancestors and
> forefathers. Each man must see with his own eyes, hear with his own
> ears, and investigate truth for himself.
> Another teaching is this: that the foundation of all the religions
> of God is one. There is only one God. Therefore, there can be only
> one religion—the Religion of God. All the past Prophets have taught
> the same basic truths, which have all come from the same mouth of
> God. This teaching is a new teaching and is special in the Bahá’í
> Faith.
> A new principle is that religion must be the cause of unity, har-
> mony and agreement amongst men. If religion becomes the cause
> of disagreement and hatred, if it leads to separation and fighting,
> then it would be better if there were no religion in the world.
> The Bahá’í Faith also teaches that religion must agree with
> science and reason. If it does not agree with science and reason then
> it is superstition. Down to the present day it has been the custom for
> a man to accept a religious teaching even if it does not agree with
> his reason and judgement. The agreement of religious belief with
> reason and science opens new windows to the soul of man.
> Bahá’u’lláh has taught the equality of men and women. This is
> special to the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, for all other religions
> have placed men above women.
> A new religious principle is that prejudices, whether religious,
> racial, patriotic or political, destroy the solid foundation for a
> peaceful life. Therefore, men must overcome their prejudices so that
> they can see the underlying truth, that the family of man is one
> family and not divided into separate parts.
> Universal peace is promised in the Bahá’í teachings. This universal
> peace will be accomplished by putting into practice the principles
> of Bahá’u’lláh. Peace shall come to all nations, governments, peoples,
> religions, races, and all parts of mankind. No other Prophet has
> ever promised peace to the world during His ministry, but this is
> one of the special teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.
> 
> The Báb and Bahá’u’lláh have taught that every man must gain
> knowledge and receive an education. It is a religious law in the
> Bahá’í Faith that both girls and boys must be educated.
> Bahá’u’lláh has set forth the solution and provided the remedy for
> the economic question. The solution of the economic problem, He
> says, lies in the realm of the spirit. No religious books of the past
> Prophets speak of this important human problem.
> The greatest new principle of the new religion is the establishment
> and appointment of the Centre of the Covenant. This is another
> teaching not given by any of the Prophets of the past. Bahá’u’lláh
> has appointed a Centre of the Covenant* to carry on His work and
> hold the Bahá’ís together after His passing. When a person becomes
> a Bahá’í, he must agree to follow the laws contained in the Covenant.
> In this way, Bahá’u’lláh has protected the religion of God against
> differences and splits. He has made it impossible for anyone to create
> a new sect or faction of belief. To make sure of the unity of the
> believers, He has entered into a Covenant with all the people of the
> world, including the Interpreter and Explainer of His teachings, so
> that no one may interpret or explain the religion of God according
> to his own ideas or opinion, and thus create a sect founded upon his
> own understanding of the divine words.
> These are some of the principles of religion brought by the Báb
> and Bahá’u’lláh which are different from the religions of the past.
> Thousands of men and women died during the nineteenth century
> rather than give up their faith in these teachings. Today, in the
> twentieth century, millions of Bahá’ís live their lives so that they
> can demonstrate these teachings and bring them to all people,
> everywhere.
> In the Golden Crowns series, Lowell Johnson tells the stories of some
> of these early believers who won the crown of martyrdom. One of
> these believers was Quddús. Quddús’ story now follows.
> 
> * Bahá’u’lláh appointed His eldest Son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as the Centre of the
> Covenant. He guided the Bahá’ís until He passed away in Haifa, Israel, on the
> 28th of November 1921. ‘‘Abdu’l-Bahá’ means the ‘Servant of Bahá’ or the
> ‘Servant of the Glory’.
> 
> Note
> 
> For this edition, these stories have
> 
> been extensively revised. They may
> 
> be read aloud effectively, or else
> 
> used for private reading.
> 
> Quddús
> Mullá Ḥusayn* was the first to believe in the Báb, but Muḥammad-
> ‘Alí (later known as Quddús) was His favourite disciple. ‘Quddús’
> means ‘Holy’, or the ‘Most Holy’.
> Through his mother, Quddús was a direct descendant of the
> Prophet Muḥammad. He was born in the town of Bárfurúsh, in the
> northern part of Írán. His mother died when he was very young, and
> his father died while Quddús was a boy studying at school in the city
> of Mashhad. Therefore, he was raised by his stepmother, who loved
> him very much. He was an intelligent boy and a very good scholar.
> When he was eighteen years old, Quddús heard about Siyyid
> Káẓim and his new teachings, so he travelled all the way to Karbilá,
> near Baghdád in ‘Iráq, to sit in Siyyid Káẓim’s classes. Siyyid
> Káẓim was the one who foretold the coming of the Báb. Very soon,
> Quddús became Siyyid Káẓim’s favourite student. He always took
> the lowliest seat in the room. He was very quiet, very modest, and he
> seldom spoke to the rest of his companions.
> Siyyid Káẓim was often heard to remark that certain ones amongst
> his disciples, although they sat in the lowliest of seats and were
> always very quiet, were greater in the sight of God than Siyyid
> Káẓim was himself. But even though Siyyid Káẓim made it quite
> clear to them, none of the other disciples realized that the man whom
> Siyyid Káẓim was talking about was Quddús.
> Quddús was an independent seeker after the Promised One.
> Therefore, when several of his companions came to Mullá Ḥusayn
> in Shíráz and asked if Mullá Ḥusayn had found the Promised One,
> Quddús was not with them. He was out seeking his Beloved by
> himself.
> One evening, on his search for the Promised One, Quddús came
> to the city of Shíráz. There he saw Mullá Ḥusayn, whom he had
> met in Siyyid Káẓim’s classes, walking in the street. Quddús was
> 
> * See the booklet on Mullá Ḥusayn [online at bahai-library.com/johnson_mulla_husayn].
> 
> tired and dirty from his journey, but when he saw Mullá Ḥusayn,
> he became very excited. He took Mullá Ḥusayn into his arms and
> begged him to tell him if he had yet found the Promised One. Mullá
> Ḥusayn tried to calm him down, and told him he must rest for a
> while, and then they would talk. But Quddús would not calm down.
> At that moment Quddús started looking at a Young Man walking
> a short distance away from Mullá Ḥusayn. Quddús turned to Mullá
> Ḥusayn and said, ‘Why do you try to hide Him from me? I can
> recognize Him by His walk. I swear by God that no one except Him,
> whether in the East or in the West, can claim to be the Truth. No one
> else in the whole world can have the power which I see in that holy
> person.’
> Mullá Ḥusayn was surprised by Quddús’ words, so he excused
> himself for a minute and went to talk to the Young Man. Mullá
> Ḥusayn told the Báb what Quddús had said, and the Báb told him
> not to be surprised, as He had been talking with him through the
> spirit, and knew him already. He had been waiting for him to come.
> So the Báb asked Mullá Ḥusayn to go to him, and bring him into
> His presence immediately.
> It was in this remarkable way that Quddús became the last of the-
> eighteen Letters of the Living to recognize the Báb. These eighteen,
> together with the Báb, made up the first nineteen believers in the new
> Revelation.
> When Quddús arrived in Shíráz and recognized the Báb as the
> Promised One, he was only twenty-two years of age. Although he was
> young in years, no one showed as much courage and faith as Quddús
> during the difficult years which were to follow. When the Báb
> called each of the Letters of the Living into His presence and gave
> each one a special command to carry out, it was Quddús whom the
> Báb chose to stay with Him and be His companion.
> When the Báb received the message from Mullá Ḥusayn that
> Bahá’u’lláh had become one of His followers Quddús was with Him.
> From that moment, Quddús noticed that the Báb showed a new
> spirit and new hope. It was clear that the Báb had great faith in this
> 
> new believer, Bahá’u’lláh, and He told Quddús that the time had
> now come for Him to start on His pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.
> He chose Quddús to accompany Him.
> 
> The Báb and Quddús, together with the Báb’s Ethiopian servant,
> joined a group of pilgrims who were leaving Shíráz for Mecca and
> Medina. They first went to the town of Búshihr where the Báb had
> worked in former years as a humble merchant with His uncle.
> After making the final arrangements for the trip, they climbed
> aboard a sailing ship and spent two months travelling on stormy
> seas. The weather was very bad, and many of the pilgrims became
> sick from the motion of the sea. But nothing could keep the Báb from
> His prayers and His writing. Quddús was His secretary during the
> whole time. At all times during the day lie was busy taking down
> every word which the Báb told him to write. The Báb and Quddús
> were always calm and peaceful while the others on the ship were sick
> and afraid.
> When the Báb and Quddús arrived at the end of their sea trip,
> they landed at the city of Jeddah. It was here that the Báb put on the
> proper clothes for a pilgrim and set out on His journey by camel
> across the desert to Mecca. Although the Báb asked Quddús to ride
> a camel as well, he refused. Quddús preferred to walk ahead of the
> Báb’s camel holding the camel’s bridle so he could protect the Báb
> in case anything might happen. Quddús walked all the way from
> Jeddah to Mecca, happily taking care of his Master’s needs and
> completely forgetting that he was tired, and his feet were sore. Every
> night Quddús would sacrifice his sleep, and stay awake beside his
> Beloved, ready at a moment’s notice to protect Him and keep Him
> safe.
> While they were in Mecca the most important work for Quddús
> was to deliver a message from the Báb to the Sharíf, the keeper of the
> most holy House of God. In this letter, the Báb set forth in clear
> 
> words the purpose of His Message and called upon the Sharíf to
> accept the Truth of His Cause. He also sent some of His other
> Writings so that the Sharíf could recognize the power of His Words.
> It was the Báb’s purpose in writing this letter to inform the head
> Chief of the Muslim Faith that the Promised One had arrived, the
> Promised One that all the faithful Muslims were waiting for.
> The Báb gave this very important letter to Quddús to deliver to the
> Sharíf. Quddús followed his Master’s instructions and delivered it,
> sealed, into the Sharíf’s own hands.
> The Sharíf was a good man. However, he was very busy and had
> no time to read. A few days later Quddús went back to the Sharíf
> and asked him if he had any answer for the Báb. The Sharíf told him
> that he was too busy at the moment. He would read the message and
> answer it at a later time. Little did the Sharíf know that he was too
> busy to read a Message from God.
> From Mecca the Báb and Quddús went on to Medina, and from
> there they returned to Jeddah, once more made the sea voyage for
> two months, and landed again at Búshihr. Altogether, their
> pilgrimage lasted for nine months. And that was the end of Quddús’
> companionship with the Báb.
> When the Báb and Quddús arrived at Búshihr, the Báb called
> Quddús into His presence and said to him, ‘The days of your com-
> panionship with Me are drawing to a close. The hour of separation
> has struck, a separation which no reunion will follow except in the
> Kingdom of God, in the presence of the King of Glory. … The hand
> of destiny will ere long plunge you into an ocean of tribulation for
> His sake. … I, too, will be immersed beneath its depths. Rejoice …
> for you have been chosen as the standard-bearer … of the noble
> army that will suffer martyrdom in His name. In the streets of
> Shíráz … the severest injuries will afflict your body. You will
> survive … The hosts of the Unseen will hasten forth to assist you,
> and will proclaim to all the world your heroism and glory.’
> With these words, the Báb said goodbye to Quddús. He gave
> Quddús a letter to deliver to His uncle, and also some of His
> 
> Writings. He then told Quddús to give His loving greetings to
> wife, His mother and all His loved ones in Shíráz.
> And so Quddús set out on his journey to Shíráz to carry out His
> beloved Master’s wishes. Arriving in Shíráz, he was greeted with
> love by the Báb’s uncle, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid ‘Alí, who insisted that
> he stay with him in his own home. The Báb’s uncle had known for
> some time about the Báb and His Message, but never the complete
> story. When Quddús explained it fully to him, he immediately saw
> the Truth and became the first follower of the Báb in Shíráz since
> the Báb’s Eighteen Letters of the Living. So strong became his faith,
> and so great his love for the Báb, that he gave his whole life to His
> service. He was an outstanding business man in the city of Shíráz,
> but he never let anything stand in the way of telling people about the
> new Message, or of protecting the Faith and the Báb Himself. So
> great was his love that he later gave his life as one of the Seven
> Martyrs of Ṭihrán.
> The next person whom Quddús met in Shíráz was Mullá Ṣádiq
> Mullá Ṣádiq became so on fire with the love of the Báb that one day
> when he was leading the faithful Muslims in prayer at the mosque,
> he added to the Muslim call to prayer certain words which the Báb
> had written and commanded to be used. The other men of the clergy
> were so angry that they reported Mullá Ṣádiq to the Governor of the
> province. The Governor ordered the arrest of both Quddús and
> Mullá Ṣádiq.
> After questioning Mullá Ṣádiq, the Governor cursed him and
> ordered his servants to remove all his clothes and to beat him a
> thousand times with a whip. He then commanded that the beards
> of both Quddús and Mullá Ṣádiq should be burned, their noses
> pierced, that a rope be put through the hole, and that they be led
> through the streets of the city for everyone to see.
> This was done as the Governor had commanded, and no one tried
> to help them out of their trouble. Quddús and Mullá Ṣádiq bravely
> put themselves into the hands of God, and Mullá, Ṣádiq even had a
> smile on his face while he was being whipped, for he knew he had
> 
> done nothing wrong. Soon after this they were ordered to leave the
> city of Shíráz and warned that if they ever tried to return, they would
> both be killed.
> Do you remember the last words of the Báb to Quddús? ‘In the
> streets of Shíráz … the severest injuries will afflict your body. …
> The hosts of the Unseen will hasten forth to assist you, and will
> proclaim to all the world your heroism and glory.’
> In this way Quddús and Mullá, Ṣádiq were the first to suffer on
> Persian soil for the sake of their beloved Faith.
> 
> From Shíráz, Quddús went on to Kirmán where he brought Ḥájí
> Siyyid Javád, a very great scholar, into the Faith. From Kirmán,
> Quddús went to many other cities, always teaching, always in-
> spiring others to give their lives to the Báb.
> While Quddús was in Ṭihrán, he was brought into the presence of
> Bahá’u’lláh. The thoughts of Bahá’u’lláh about Quddús at that time
> are not known, but Bahá’u’lláh’s brother, Áqáy-i-Kalím, was very
> impressed. He told a friend, ‘The charm of Quddús, his easy manner,
> his courtesy, his grace, combined with a dignity of bearing, was liked
> by everyone. We watched him one day as he prepared for his prayers,
> and we noticed how different he was, how much more graceful he
> was, than anyone else who was present. He seemed to be, in our eyes,
> everything that was graceful and pure.’
> From Ṭihrán, Quddús went on to his home in Bárfurúsh, in the
> province of Mázindarán, where he spent many months with his
> family and relatives. His stepmother gave Quddús as much kindness
> and care as his own mother could have given. She looked forward
> with great hope to the day when Quddús would be married. That
> was what would make her happier than anything else, she said.
> Quddús was then about twenty-five years of age, and she often said
> to him, ‘I am afraid I will go to my grave without having my
> happiness made complete.’
> 
> Quddús told her, ‘The day of my wedding is not yet come. That
> day will be the most glorious. It will not be in this house, it will be
> out in the open air. It will be in the midst of the Sabzih-Maydán,
> while thousands of people look on. There I shall celebrate my
> wedding and see all my hopes come true.’ His stepmother did not
> understand what he meant by these words until three years later
> when Quddús was killed in the Sabzih-Maydán, and he sacrificed
> his life for the Báb.
> For about two years Quddús lived in Bárfurúsh. He talked with all
> classes of people and, by the gentleness of his character and his great
> knowledge, he became greatly loved by everyone in the town.
> One day, Mullá Ḥusayn came to Quddús’ home, and reported that
> he had just returned from visiting the Báb in the prison of Máh-Kú.
> It was wonderful for Quddús to see Mullá Ḥusayn. He took him into
> his arms lovingly, waited upon his guest, and did everything to make
> Mullá Ḥusayn comfortable. With his own hands he washed the
> blisters on Mullá Ḥusayn’s feet and removed the dust from Mullá
> Ḥusayn’s clothes. He gave Mullá Ḥusayn the seat of honour at his
> table, and invited all his friends to meet him.
> After dinner, when all the guests had left, Quddús asked to hear
> all the news about the Báb. After a long talk, Mullá, Ḥusayn said
> finally, ‘But He gave me no definite directions about what I should
> do next to spread the Cause. He told me that in Mázindarán a
> hidden treasure would be revealed to me, and I would know what to
> do.’
> Now we know that Quddús was the favourite disciple of the Báb.
> We also know that the Báb chose Quddús to be with Him for fourteen
> months of His life so that He could prepare Quddús to carry on His
> work while He was in prison. While Quddús was with the Báb, he
> learned many things which the other Letters of the Living were not
> privileged to learn. Quddús was also given a special spiritual power
> which made him the greatest of all the Bábís next to the Báb Himself.
> When Quddús heard that Mullá Ḥusayn was looking for a hidden
> treasure, he showed Mullá Ḥusayn a piece of writing which he had
> 
> completed. Mullá Ḥusayn read the writing and immediately recog-
> nized the special power which the Báb had given to Quddús.
> Without hesitation he said, ‘It is Quddús who is the hidden treasure
> which the Báb promised I would find. Although my Master is now
> in prison in the mountains of Ádhirbáyján, the reflection of His glory
> now stands before me.’ From that moment on, Mullá Ḥusayn
> accepted Quddús as his new leader, and he did whatever Quddús
> asked him to do, just as if it were the Báb Who was commanding him.
> Quddús thus became the new leader of the Bábís, while the Báb was
> in the prison of Máh-Kú and the castle of Chihríq.
> The next morning, when Quddús’ friends gathered at his home a
> second time, they heard Quddús say to Mullá Ḥusayn, ‘Now, at this
> very hour, you should arise, and go to Khurásán. In the city of
> Mashhad, you should build a house in which we can live and receive
> guests. To this house you shall invite every pure soul, and we shall
> prepare them to join together to teach the Cause of God.’
> Mullá Ḥusayn departed. Soon the house in Mashhad was finished.
> It was named the Bábíyyih after the Báb, a name which it still has to
> this day. Soon after it was built, Quddús went to Mashhad to live
> with Mullá Ḥusayn. Together they worked as a team. Mullá Ḥusayn
> would go out amongst the people and interest them in the Faith. He
> would then bring the people to the Bábíyyih to listen to Quddús.
> Quddús would teach them, accept their declarations, and send them
> out to teach others. In this way, a wonderful spirit was spread
> throughout the whole city of Mashhad. So many people came to the
> house to be taught that the Chief Constable of the city couldn’t
> control the traffic. And the news of the Faith spread from Mashhad
> to all parts of the province, and even beyond.
> 
> It was during this time, when the Faith was spreading rapidly all
> over Írán that the Báb sent a Message from His prison to all the
> believers asking them to hold a conference in the province of
> 
> Khurásán. It was especially important for Quddús to be there, as he
> was the leader of the Bábís while the Báb was in prison. Before
> leaving Mashhad, Quddús called the believers of Mashhad into his
> presence, and said to them, ‘From now on, you must look to Mullá
> Ḥusayn as your leader. You must obey whatever he tells you to do
> without question. There are going to be very difficult times for you
> in the near future. The days when you will he tested greatly are soon
> coming. But, if you obey Mullá Ḥusayn, he will see that you are
> saved when the troubles are at their worst.’
> With these words, Quddús left the believers in the city of Mashhad,
> and started for the little village of Badasht. On his way to Badasht,
> he was met by Bahá’u’lláh in the village of Sháh-Rúd, and they
> went to the conference together.
> It was then the beginning of summer. When Bahá’u’lláh arrived
> in Badasht, He rented three gardens—one for the use of Quddús, one
> for Ṭáhirih and her servant, and one for Himself. Ṭáhirih, you may
> remember, was the only woman to be named a Letter of the Living.
> Altogether there were eighty-one Bábís who attended this first
> conference in Bahá’í history. All eighty-one of those present were the
> guests of Bahá’u’lláh. The conference lasted for twenty-two days.
> The purpose of this conference was to break with the old laws and
> explain the new Age to the &ibis. Until then they had mostly been
> following the laws of Muḥammad. But the time had come for them
> to follow the new teachings of the Báb. As you will see, it was to be
> a time of testing the pure hearts and the sincere believers.
> At that time, Bahá’u’lláh was not the leader of the Faith. Most of
> the Bábís looked to Quddús as their leader, because he was the
> closest to the Báb. The conference had been called by the Báb, but
> since He was still in prison, He could not be there.
> Little by little, however, it became clear that Bahá’u’lláh was
> really the most important Person at the conference. Every day,
> Bahá’u’lláh revealed a new Tablet which was chanted to the
> believers. In these Tablets, He gave each person present a new name
> for the new Day. Qurratu’l-‘Ayn was given the new name ‘Ṭáhirih’,
> 
> Muḥammad-‘Alí was given the name ‘Quddús’, and so on. Even
> Bahá’u’lláh, Who had always been known as Ḥusayn-‘Alí, accepted
> the name which the Báb had already given to Him, the name ‘Bahá’.
> One day at the conference, Bahá’u’lláh took ill, and had to stay in
> bed in His tent. As soon as Quddús heard of the illness, he hurried to
> Bahá’u’lláh side. Soon, the rest of the believers also came to
> Bahá’u’lláh’s tent, and they gathered around Him. No sooner had
> they arrived than a messenger came from Ṭáhirih, asking Quddús
> to come to her in her garden. Quddús was very angry to be given an
> order by a woman, so he said, ‘I have cut myself entirely off from
> Ṭáhirih. I refuse to go.’ With that answer, the messenger went back
> to Ṭáhirih, but she sent him back again to Quddús. ‘Ṭáhirih insists
> that you come to see her in her garden’, he said. ‘If you do not come
> to her, she will come to you.’
> Now, in those days, it was not proper for a woman to appear with
> the men. No man must ever look at the face of a woman, unless it
> were his wife. And certainly no man was supposed to look at Ṭáhirih,
> because she was supposed to be the return of Fáṭimih, the daughter
> of the Prophet Muḥammad, a pure and holy woman. Because of
> this, Quddús did not believe that Ṭáhirih would do such a thing. So
> he said, will not go with you.’ Then, the messenger said to Quddús,
> ‘Either you must come with me to Ṭáhirih, or else you must cut off
> my head with this sword.’ What a surprise this was to Quddús,
> especially when the messenger laid his sword at Quddús’ feet and
> leaned over for Quddús to cut off his head! But nothing was going to
> stop Quddús now, so he lifted the sword and said, ‘All right, if it be
> your wish to have your head cut off, I will cut it off.’ But just at that
> moment, there was Ṭáhirih standing in front of them!
> What a shock for everyone! And what a terrible thing for a
> woman to do! She had not only come into the tent with the men, but
> she was no longer wearing her veil, and she was very beautifully
> dressed. No man had ever seen anything like this before! One man
> was so shocked he cut his own throat. With blood on his face and
> body, he ran away from the meeting. Several others left the meeting
> 
> and the Faith, too. The others could not speak, they could not believe
> their eyes!
> Ṭáhirih stepped forward and seated herself to the right of Quddús.
> She spoke some words to everyone present, and announced that she
> was the promised Trumpet-blast. She then turned to Quddús and
> said, ‘You were not very careful about the way you taught the Faith
> in Khurásán.’ Quddús was very angry and said, ‘I can do as I
> please. I do not have to follow the will and good-pleasure of my
> fellow-disciples.’
> That was the beginning of a quarrel between Ṭáhirih and Quddús
> which lasted for several days. Ṭáhirih would say to the Bábís,
> ‘Quddús has made many mistakes, and I was sent here by the Báb
> to teach him what to do.’ Quddús would then answer, ‘Ṭáhirih is the
> one who is wrong. She is not telling you the truth. Anyone who
> follows Ṭáhirih is following the wrong path.’ Some of the Bábís
> agreed with Ṭáhirih, some agreed with Quddús. A few believed that
> both of them were right, and that the believers were being tested to
> see how strong their faith was.
> After a few days, Bahá’u’lláh was able to stop the argument in a
> beautiful way. Ṭáhirih and Quddús were brought together, and
> Quddús admitted that Ṭáhirih was right. He and Ṭáhirih then
> became the best of friends again, and the believers were called upon
> by Bahá’u’lláh to accept the teachings of the Báb.
> Although the Bábís at that time did not know it, it seems that
> Quddús and Ṭáhirih had planned this whole argument
> together. Ṭáhirih had taken her instructions from Bahá’u’lláh. He
> had told her what she must do. He had also told Quddús that he
> must argue with Ṭáhirih. Why did Bahá’u’lláh choose this way of
> introducing the new teachings? Because the Báb wanted everyone
> present to think for himself and decide for himself whether to follow
> the old way of Islam, or the new way of life brought by the Báb.
> It was to be a time of great testing of hearts. Between Ṭáhirih and
> Quddús, they brought up all the arguments for and against the new
> teachings of the Báb, so that everyone would have a chance to think
> 
> about them and arrive at a clear decision. So, although it looked as if
> Quddús and Ṭáhirih were very angry with each other during the
> conference, they were, in fact, only following Bahá’u’lláh’s in-
> structions.
> When the Conference of Badasht had ended, the believers set out
> for Mázindarán. Quddús and Ṭáhirih rode in the same carriage.
> 
> While Bahá’u’lláh, Ṭáhirih and Quddús and some of’ the believers
> were resting on the way, at the village of Níyálá, some people started
> throwing stones down at them from the top of the mountain. Because
> of the danger, Bahá’u’lláh dressed Quddús in His own clothes, and
> sent him away. After the attack had died down, Bahá’u’lláh spoke
> to the people of Níyálá and made them see that they were doing
> wrong.
> Quddús was saved from being killed, but was caught by the
> enemy anyway, and placed under guard at the home of a relative
> in the town of Sárí. For ninety-five days he was kept in this house,
> and although he was treated well, he could not do the thing he
> wanted to do most—he could not go out and teach his beloved
> Faith.
> At this time it became very difficult for the Bábís in Írán. More and
> more of the Iranians were accepting the Bib as the return of Jesus
> and Muḥammad. More and more people were hearing that the Báb
> had ended some of the laws of Muḥammad at the Conference of
> Badasht. And so, more and more, the leaders of the Muslim Faith
> came to hate the Bábís, and wanted to stop the spread of this new
> religion. It even became dangerous for the Bábís to leave their
> homes, either by day or by night. The Muslims tried to kill as man)
> Bábís as they could. They would go into the Bábí homes while the
> men were away during the day and kill the women and children.
> At night, the Muslims would attack the Bábís on their way home, or
> 
> while they were walking on the roads or in the streets, and kill them
> or put them in gaol.
> After a time, the Báb sent a message to Mullá Ḥusayn that he
> must go to help Quddús, who was still under guard in the house of
> his relative in the town of Sari. So Mullá Ḥusayn gathered his men
> together and set out. On the way, Mullá Ḥusayn and his men were
> attacked so many times that he decided he must stop at the Shrine
> of Shaykh Ṭabarsí and build a fort where he could protect himself
> and his men from being killed.
> As soon as the Fort of Shaykh Ṭabarsí was built, Bahá’u’lláh
> came to inspect it. After inspecting the Fort, Bahá’u’lláh gave His
> approval, made a few suggestions to improve it and make it more
> comfortable and then He said to Mullá Ḥusayn, ‘The one thing this
> fort and company require is the presence of Quddús.’ Bahá’u’lláh
> knew that if Quddús were there, everything would be perfect. So He
> told Mullá Ḥusayn to send Mullá Mihdí with six men to Sari to
> fetch Quddús. It would be very simple, He said. All they would have
> to do was tell his relative that he must hand Quddús over to them,
> that was all. ‘The fear of God and the dread of His punishment’, said
> Bahá’u’lláh, ‘will prompt him to surrender unhesitatingly his
> captive.’
> The men went immediately to the town of Sari, and it was as
> Bahá’u’lláh had said. They demanded Quddús, and the relative let
> him go, with no trouble or argument. Such was the power of God.
> 
> As Quddús was coming up to the Fort of Shaykh Ṭabarsí, Mullá
> Ḥusayn called all his men together at the Fort and told them that
> both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh wanted Quddús to be there. They must
> think of Quddús as being the Báb Himself. ‘As for myself,’ he said,
> ‘you must consider me his lowly servant. You must obey Quddús so
> completely that even if he were to tell you that you must kill me, you
> must immediately obey. If you hesitate, you will be untrue to your
> 
> Faith. You must not go to him unless he invites you. You must give
> up your own wishes and desires, and follow his plans and his
> commands. You must act in such a way that I will be proud of you.’
> Then, Mullá Ḥusayn took about a hundred of his men to meet
> Quddús. In the hands of each man he put two candles, and they
> went out into the night. What a joy for them to see their beloved
> Quddús! Still holding their candles, they followed their new leader
> back to the fort, singing the hymn, ‘Holy, holy, the Lord our God,
> the Lord of the angels and the spirit!’ And ‘quddús’ means ‘holy’.
> As Quddús climbed off his horse at Shaykh Ṭabarsí, his first
> question was about Bahá’u’lláh. Mullá Ḥusayn told him that, if
> God willed, Bahá’u’lláh would visit the fort again. Quddús then
> asked how many men were in the fort. According to a Muslim
> tradition, there should have been three hundred and thirteen to
> fulfil an ancient prophecy about the New Day. One by one, Mullá
> Ḥusayn counted the men as they walked through the gate of the
> fort. In all, he counted three hundred and twelve. As he left the gate
> to report the number to Quddús, a young man suddenly rushed into
> the fort. He had run all the way from Bárfurúsh so he could join the
> men at the fort, and give his life for the beloved Báb. When Mullá
> Ḥusayn told Quddús that there were now three hundred and
> thirteen, Quddús said, ‘Whatever the tongue of the Prophet of God
> has spoken concerning the promised One must be fulfilled.’ In this
> way, it would be proved that the New Day had come and the people
> would recognize the truth.
> The leadership which Quddús gave to the men at Shaykh Ṭabarsí
> was a spiritual leadership. One of the most interesting things about
> the Bábís in the fort is that they were not fighters or soldiers trained
> in warfare. Most of them were students and teachers, and men of
> gentle occupation. They were intelligent men who had studied the
> Qur’án. They got their strength from the spirit and not from their
> muscles. What they were hungry for was more spiritual under-
> standing of this New Day. Therefore, Quddús was the perfect man
> to be in the fort to give them new life at every turn. He was a scholar.
> 
> When he arrived at the fort, he gave Mullá Ḥusayn some talks he
> had written down, and asked that they be read aloud to the believers.
> One was all about the Báb, the second was about Bahá’u’lláh, and the
> third about Ṭáhirih. Some wondered why Quddús had written such
> wonderful things about Bahá’u’lláh, because they didn’t know at that
> time how important Bahá’u’lláh was. When Quddús was told this,
> he said they would understand in due time, if God willed it.
> Quddús had also been writing a beautiful explanation of part of
> the Qur’án. In spite of all the difficulties, he completed it while in
> the fort, and the Bábís were thrilled with its power. It was six times
> as long as the Qur’án.
> For a time every morning and every afternoon during those days,
> Quddús would ask Mullá Ḥusayn and some of his other companions
> to chant to him the Writings of the Báb. Quddús would seat himself
> in an open square next to the fort, and with his friends sitting
> around him, lie would listen to the words of his beloved Master.
> Even while the battles were raging around him, he always spent this
> time listening to the words of the Báb. Completely calm, he would let
> the bullets fall anywhere they wanted to. He would only pray, ‘I
> glory in that I was the first to suffer for Thy sake in Shíráz. I long to
> be the first to suffer in Thy path a death that shall be worthy of Thy
> Cause.’
> That is the kind of knowledge and the kind of faith which Quddús
> had. When his companions saw his courage and listened to his
> wisdom, their faith became stronger, they themselves became more
> brave. At first they had thought that Mullá Ḥusayn showed so much
> attention to Quddús because the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh had told him
> that Quddús must be there. But gradually, they came to love
> Quddús so much themselves that they gave their hearts to him as
> completely as they had to Mullá Ḥusayn.
> 
> Day after day the enemy attacked the Fort of Shaykh Ṭabarsí. Each
> time the Bábís would raise the cry of ‘Yá Ṣáḥibu’z-Zamán!’* and
> they would ride out to the battle. Although the Bábís were small in
> number, untrained in the ways of making war, and often hungry
> because of lack of food, they always beat off the armies attacking
> them. Quddús and Mullá Ḥusayn would ride ahead of the others,
> and they showed so much courage that the others fought bravely
> behind and beside them.
> One day the enemy cut off their supply of water. Anyone who left
> the fort to fetch water would surely be killed. Quddús therefore
> ordered his men not to leave the fort. One of the men said to him,
> ‘Our bread has already been cut off by the enemy. What will happen
> now if our water should be cut off as well?’
> When asked this question, Quddús turned to Mullá Ḥusayn and
> said, ‘God willing, this very night we shall have a downpour of rain,
> followed by a heavy fall of snow. This will help us turn back the
> attack they are planning.’
> That very night so much rain fell at the Fort and around it that
> much of the ammunition of the enemy was completely ruined, and
> the Bábís had enough water to last many, many weeks. The next
> night there was a very heavy snowfall and Quddús said to the man
> who had complained, ‘Praise be to God Who has answered our
> prayer and caused both rain and snow to fall upon our enemies. It
> has brought trouble to them and refreshment to our fort.’
> The attacks of the enemy continued, however, and so Quddús
> ordered a moat (a deep wide ditch) to be dug around the fort as a
> further protection. For nineteen days they worked hard digging the
> moat, and then it was finished. Soon after, the enemy sent a large
> army against the fort. This time the army was headed by Prince
> Mihdí-Qulí Mírzá. The Prince camped on a hill above the fort, and
> 
> * O Lord of the Age.
> 
> ordered his soldiers to fire in that direction. It was not yet daybreak,
> when Quddús gave the signal, ‘Mount your steeds, O heroes of
> God!’ and the gates of the fort were thrown open. Two hundred
> and two men on horses followed Quddús and Muller Ḥusayn in the
> direction of the army. Although the army had many more men than
> the two hundred and two Bábís, the Bábís rode through it as though
> there were no army there. They rode right up to the headquarters
> of the Prince, and into his private rooms. The Prince was so surprised
> and so afraid that he threw himself out the back window of his
> room, and ran away without even stopping to put on his shoes.
> As the Bábís went through the headquarters of the Prince, they
> found boxes filled with gold and silver and many expensive things.
> But they refused to touch any of it, except a pot of gunpowder, and
> the favourite sword of the Prince. After the battle, they all gathered
> around Quddús while Mullá Ḥusayn kept watch. Suddenly, the
> army attacked again. Quddús was hit in the mouth by a bullet. It
> knocked out several of his teeth and wounded his tongue and throat.
> He was unable to speak. When Muller Ḥusayn saw blood dripping
> from Quddús’ mouth, he was horrified, and was about to beat
> himself on the head, but Quddús stopped him in time. Then Muller
> Ḥusayn took both the sword of Quddús and the favourite sword of
> the Prince, and went after the army himself. The whole army quickly
> turned around and ran the other way.
> With pain and regret, they carried Quddús back to the fort.
> Everyone was sad because he had been hurt. When he saw that they
> were sad, Quddús took a piece of paper and wrote on it, because he
> could not speak. He wrote on the paper, ‘We should accept the will
> of God. We should stand firm and steadfast in the hour of trial. …
> Although my body is in pain, my soul is happy. I am so thankful to
> God. If you love me, do not be sad, for that will sadden me too.’ This
> is how Quddús taught the Bábís to be happy while serving God, no
> matter how much pain it causes.
> Soon Quddús recovered, but he was unable to help during the next
> attack on the fort a few days later. Mullá Ḥusayn, therefore, had to
> 
> lead the men by himself. He knew it was his last battle. As he rode
> out of the fort with his men behind him, they shouted again, ‘Yá
> Ṣáḥibu’z-Zamán!’, but during the fighting, Mullá Ḥusayn’s horse
> got caught in a rope, and he was shot in the chest. A few hours later
> he died, but before he died, he was carried back to the fort, and a
> wonderful thing happened.
> As soon as Mullá Ḥusayn was brought to his room, Quddús
> ordered the rest of the men to leave. He said to them, ‘Leave me
> alone with him. There are certain things which I want only him to
> know.’ Everyone left Mullá Ḥusayn and Quddús alone in his room,
> but they stood outside the door and waited. One of the men was
> looking through a crack in the door, and heard Quddús call Mullá
> Ḥusayn’s name. He was surprised to see Mullá Ḥusayn rise up and
> seat himself on his knees in front of Quddús in his usual manner.
> With his head lowered and his eyes down, Mullá Ḥusayn listened to
> every word Quddús said. The man heard Quddús say to Mullá
> Ḥusayn, ‘You have hurried to leave this world, and you are leaving
> me to face the enemy. If it pleases God, I will join you in a short
> time, and I shall also taste the sweetness of being in heaven.’
> For two hours, Mullá Ḥusayn and Quddús conversed with each
> other, but no one knows what they said. After a long time, Quddús
> opened the door to his companions and said, ‘I have said my last
> goodbye to Mullá Ḥusayn. I have told him many things which I
> could not tell him before.’ When they went to where Mullá Ḥusayn
> lay, he was dead. But there was a little smile still on his face, and lie
> looked so peaceful it seemed as though he had only fallen asleep.
> Quddús himself took care of Mullá Ḥusayn’s body. He put his
> own shirt on Mullá, Ḥusayn and gave the order for him to be buried
> to the south of, and next to, the Shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí. Quddús’
> last words before Mullá Ḥusayn was buried were these: ‘Well is it
> with you to have remained to your last hour faithful to the Covenant
> of God. I pray God that there will never be a division between you
> and me.’ He then kissed the eyes and the forehead of Mullá Ḥusayn,
> and himself laid the body in the grave. Then he told everyone
> 
> standing near that they must keep secret the place where Mullá
> Ḥusayn was buried. He then commanded that the thirty-six men
> who had been martyred that day be buried on the north side of the
> Shrine—all in one grave. And his final word to them was: ‘Let the
> loved ones of God learn from the example of these martyrs of our
> Faith. Let them be and remain as united in life as these are now in
> death.’
> No less than ninety of the companions of Quddús were wounded
> on that night, most of whom died as a result. Quddús had Mírzá
> Muḥammad-Báqir take Mullá Ḥusayn’s place as organizer of the
> men. Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir was the man who had built the
> Fort and the Bábíyyih so well.
> So badly was the enemy beaten that night that it was forty-five
> days before they could make another attack. During this time, how-
> ever, the Bábís were not allowed out of the fort to get any food.
> They even ground up bones to make some flour and cooked Mullá
> Ḥusayn’s horse for meat. When this was finished and the men came
> near to starving again, Quddús had Mírzá, Muḥammad-Báqir
> distribute the last of the rice amongst the men. When everyone had
> received his share, Quddús said, ‘Whoever feels himself strong
> enough to stand the troubles soon to come may remain with us in this
> fort. If any one amongst you has the slightest fear, he must leave here
> at once. Soon the enemy will strike us again, and this time there will
> be no way for anyone to escape the coming hardships.’
> That very night one of the men in the fort betrayed his friends and
> sent the news to ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán, the officer in charge of the
> enemy’s army, that Mullá Ḥusayn had been killed, as well as many
> others. He urged ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán to attack the Bábís now, while
> they were hungry and going through these terrible tests. When
> ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán heard the news that Mullá Ḥusayn had been
> killed, he was overjoyed. He was sure that now he would have no
> trouble in capturing the Fort of Shaykh Ṭabarsí and getting a
> promotion from the Sháh for his good work. He killed the messenger
> who had brought him the news, and prepared to make another attack.
> 
> On the day of the attack, he marched with two regiments of men
> toward the fort. Quddús saw them coming and said to Mírzá
> Muḥammad-Báqir, ‘Take eighteen men beside yourself, and march
> out to meet these two regiments. Teach ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán that,
> although Mullá Ḥusayn is no longer with us, God’s power still gives
> his friends strength to overcome the enemy.’
> Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir quickly chose eighteen of his men, and
> as they rode out of the fort shouting ‘Yá Ṣáḥibu’z-Zamán!’, the whole
> army ran for their lives. They rushed all the way to Bárfurúsh before
> stopping. ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán was so shaken with fear that he fell off
> his horse, leaving one of his boots still in the stirrup. With only one
> boot on, he ran off, following the army which was running away
> even faster than he was.
> And so it happened that nineteen men won over a whole army,
> through the help and protection of God. This victory was a great
> relief for the Bábís. It reminded them once more of the power of God,
> and it gave them a feeling of unity which they had not had since the
> death of Mullá Ḥusayn. Once again, however, they were running out
> of food. They pulled some dead horses off the battlefield and cooked
> their meat.
> There was one cow left in the fort, but the man in charge of the
> caw would not kill it. He used the milk every day to make a pudding
> for Quddús. As the men became more and more hungry, however,
> Quddús could no longer eat more than a few teaspoonfuls of the
> dish, and then he would always give the rest of it to the men. ‘I have
> stopped enjoying food,’ he would say, ‘since Mullá Ḥusayn has left
> us. My heart bleeds when I see my hungry companions around me.’
> In spite of his sadness, however, he would always continue to write
> his explanation of the Qur’án, and encourage his men to be brave
> and patient to the very end.
> One man, Mullá Mírzá Muḥammad, tells this story about Quddús
> and those days in the fort: ‘God knows’, he said, ‘that although we
> were hungry, we no longer thought about food. Our thoughts were
> no longer about our daily bread. We were so carried away by the
> 
> words which Quddús would read and say to us that we wouldn’t
> even be tired. We could have gone on like that for years. Nothing
> could make us unhappy. Whenever the lack of food made us lose
> our strength, Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir would hurry to Quddús.
> Quddús would then walk amongst us, say a few words to each of us,
> and our spirits would return with great joy. We only needed to see
> his face, and we would feel ourselves so strong that, if the enemy
> were to attack us at that moment, we would feel ourselves ready to
> rush into the battle and win another victory.’
> While their enemies were getting ready for another attack, the
> Bábís went on with their lives inside the fort, happily preparing
> for the coming of Naw-Rúz.* During Naw-Rúz of that year (1849),
> they sang praises to God with the hymn ‘Holy, holy, the Lord our
> God, the Lord of the angels and the spirit.’ They sang songs and
> were happy. They thanked God for the many blessings which the
> Almighty had given to them. Nothing could stop their happiness at
> being in the presence of Quddús and serving God as His heroes.
> 
> On the very day of Naw-Rúz, Quddús wrote a message to his
> companions in which he said that the time was now coming when
> many of them would be martyred for the Cause. On the ninth day
> after Naw-Rúz, four armies started to fire their guns on the little
> fort of Shaykh Ṭabarsí. When the guns began to sound, Quddús
> came out of his room and walked to the centre of the fort. His face
> was filled with smiles, and he had never appeared to be so calm. As
> he was walking across the floor, a cannon-ball suddenly fell before
> him. He calmly rolled it over with his foot, and said, ‘How little
> these enemies realize the power of God! Have they forgotten that
> God can do anything He wants? Do they try to frighten the heroes
> of God—these heroes who care nothing for royalty or honour or
> earthly reward?’
> 
> * New Year in Írán.
> 
> He then turned to his men and said these wonderful words: ‘Do
> not be afraid of anything which comes from the enemy. You are the
> ones whom Muḥammad spoke about in the Qur’án when He said:
> “Oh, how I long to behold the countenance of my brethren; my
> brethren who will appear in the end of the world! Blessed are we,
> blessed are they; greater is their blessedness than ours.” You must
> not be afraid today, or you will lose the honour Muḥammad has
> given you. Each one of you has his own time when he will die. When
> that time comes, nothing and no one can change it. No matter how
> anyone tries, he can never make your life shorter or longer than it is
> meant to be. Only God knows, and we must abide by His plan. If you
> should become afraid for one moment of the booming of these guns
> which will continue to fire on this fort, you will lose the protection of
> God.’
> Although the men were becoming more and more thirsty and
> hungry, this speech put new life into their hearts. They prepared
> themselves for the new attack. As the shells fell inside the fort during
> the next few days, the Bábís chanted the verses of the Qur’án so
> loudly that the army could hear them outside. The Prince was
> surprised that they did not give up and surrender. Instead, the Bábís
> sang hymns and prayed.
> Finally, Ja‘far-Qulí Khán, the leader of one of the four armies,
> built a high tower and put his cannon on top of it, so he could fire
> it right inside the fort. When Quddús saw the tower being built, he
> said to Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir, ‘Go out and give this new general
> a severe beating as you did ‘Abbás-Qulí Khán. Let him know that
> God’s lion-hearted warriors, even when they are tired and hungry,
> can show such great strength that only God could have given them.
> Let him know that the more hungry they become, the more harm
> they will do the enemy.’
> Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir again rode out of the fort with eighteen
> men. So fiercely did they raise the cry of ‘Yá Ṣáḥibu’z-Zamán!’ that
> the enemy panicked. Ja‘far-Qulí Khán and thirty of his men fell
> before the swords of the ‘Bábís, and the guns on their tower were
> 
> thrown to the ground. Then the Bábís started to break down the
> walls the enemy had built, but darkness came, and it was wise to
> return inside the fort. None of the Bábís was hurt in this battle.
> Instead, they brought back with them into the fort a number of the
> enemy’s strongest and best-fed horses.
> Shortly after this attack, there was an explosion in the enemy’s
> camp, which killed several of their officers and men. Because of this
> there was no further attack on the Bábís for a whole month. During
> this time, Quddús gave permission for the men to go outside the fort
> and gather all the grass they could find. This grass they boiled and
> made into soup. It was the only food that they had left. Quddús
> spent more and more of his time talking with the men, giving them
> words of cheer and helping to make their hearts lighter.
> After a month, the cannons started firing again. This time the
> army was also storming the fort, so Quddús sent Mírzá Muḥammad-
> Báqir into battle with thirty-six men instead of only eighteen. As he
> sent them out to fight, these were the words he spoke, ‘Never since
> we came into this fort have we started any of the battles we have
> fought. Only after they have attacked us, have we gone out to defend
> ourselves. If we had wanted to wage a holy war against them, if we
> had wanted to bring people into our Faith through the power of
> force, we could easily have done so. By now we could have stirred up
> all the peoples of the world and prepared them to accept our
> Message. Such is not the way, however, which we have chosen to
> follow. Our only way of converting the people is by showing them
> our faith, our good deeds, and our willingness to die in the path of
> our Faith. The hour is fast approaching when we shall be able to
> complete this task.’
> Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir jumped on his horse, and followed by
> the thirty-six men, raised the cry of ‘Yá Ṣáḥibu’z-Zamán!’ The
> Bábís rode forward into the army, and five of them were killed in the
> lighting. The enemy gave up the fight, however, and ran away,
> leaving their flag on the ground behind them. The Bábís returned to
> the fort with the five martyrs, who were all buried in one grave
> 
> beside the others who had been killed in other battles. Mírzá
> Muḥammad-Báqir gave the flag to Quddús.
> 
> For several days, all was quiet. Then the Prince sent a message to
> Quddús that he wanted to stop the fighting and make peace. Quddús
> sent two men to represent him at the Prince’s headquarters. The
> Prince received them courteously, and offered them some tea which
> they refused, because they did not wish to have more food or drink
> than the men in the fort. They did not wish to suffer any less than the
> other men. Then the Prince said, ‘The fighting between us has been
> going on too long. On both sides we have fought long and hard. It is
> enough: let us find a way to settle our differences. With these words,
> he took his Holy Qur’án and wrote the following words on one of the
> pages, ‘I swear by this most holy Book, by the righteousness of God
> who has revealed it, that I have no other purpose than to bring about
> peace and friendliness between us. Come out of your fort and be sure
> that no one will hurt you. You, yourself, and your companions, I
> solemnly declare, are under the protection of the Almighty, of
> Muḥammad His Prophet, and of Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh, our King. I
> promise that no man, either in the army or in the neighbourhood,
> will ever attack you. May God damn me forever, if I have any other
> wish than the one I have stated!’ He then put his seal on the state-
> ment, gave the Qur’án to the men, and told them to give his best
> greetings to Quddús. Then, he added, ‘This very afternoon, I will
> send a number of horses to the gate of the fort which I hope Quddús
> and his companions will use to ride to my camp. I shall put up a
> special tent for them to use, and they will be my guests until I can
> arrange for them to return to their homes, at my expense.’
> When the men gave the Qur’án to Quddús, he kissed it reverently
> and said, ‘O our Lord, decide between us and between our people
> with truth, for the best to decide art Thou.’ Immediately after that,
> he told his companions that they must prepare to leave the fort.
> 
> ‘We shall accept the Prince’s invitation,’ he said, ‘so they can show
> if they are sincere.’
> At the appointed hour, the horses arrived. Quddús put on the
> green turban given to him by the Báb, and he and his companions
> left the fort carrying all that was left of their arms and belongings.
> They were taken to the tent, and soon after they arrived Quddús
> said to his men, ‘From now on, you must accept whatever happens
> in the name of God. You must not let anything happen to spoil the
> good name you have had up until now. Pray to the Almighty that He
> will help you to be faithful to Him, even to your last hour.’
> A few hours after sunset they were served a poor and small meal
> furnished by the Prince. Quddús, and nine of his men who were with
> him in his private tent, refused to eat it. The next morning the Prince
> sent for Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir to come to him. Quddús told him
> to go, and report what happened when he returned. Mírzá
> Muḥammad-Báqir met the Prince and received another promise
> that none of the men would be hurt. A plan was also made to furnish
> a horse for each of Quddús’ men as far as the town of Sang-Sar. Then,
> they would be permitted to leave for their homes, wherever they
> were.
> When Mírzá Muḥammad-Báqir returned to Quddús, he said,
> ‘I believe that what his tongue says, his heart does not believe.’
> Quddús agreed.
> Quddús then went to his companions and told them they must not
> wait for their horses the next day. They must leave for their homes
> that very night. He, himself, was soon to go to Bárfurúsh. They
> begged him not to leave them, but he said, ‘Do not cry. We shall
> soon be together again—this time never to part. We have given our
> Cause into the care of God. Whatever is His will, we will joyously
> accept.’ Again, he told them to leave for their homes that very night.
> It was still morning, so Quddús returned to his tent. Very soon he
> received orders from the Prince to report to him. When he arrived at
> the tent, Quddús became a prisoner of the Prince, and he was unable
> to speak again to his men. The Prince then sent a message to Quddús’
> 
> men that Quddús wanted them to join him at the army head-
> quarters. Some of the men believed the message, and when they
> arrived at the headquarters they were captured, and later sold as
> slaves. These few men are almost the only ones who lived to tell the
> rest of the world what happened in the Fort at Shaykh Ṭabarsí.
> Almost all the rest of the men were killed. First, some of the
> Prince’s men forced Mullá Yúsuf, one of Quddús’ most trusted men,
> to go to the Bábís and tell them that Quddús wanted them to give
> up their guns. After giving him his instructions, the men asked
> Mullá Yúsuf what he was going to tell the Bábís. He answered, ‘I
> shall tell them what you told me to tell them, and then I shall say,
> “It is nothing but a lie”!’ Almost before these words were finished,
> he was killed.
> Next, the army turned its attention to the Fort. They turned their
> guns on it and completely destroyed it. They even burned every part
> of it, and made the ground completely level around the Shrine, so it
> would look as though nothing had ever happened there.
> And finally, after the Bábís had no fort to protect themselves with,
> the armies attacked them in their tents and killed almost every man.
> Even as they died they sang the hymn they had sung so very often,
> ‘Holy, holy, O Lord our God, Lord of the angels and the spirit.’ A
> few men were taken as captives and three men were saved by the
> Prince, because they were very famous in Írán. If they had been
> killed, the Prince would have been very unpopular with the people.
> The captives were then tortured for fun by the Prince’s men. A few
> were cut to pieces with knives, others were pulled apart, a number
> were tied to trees and filled with bullets, and still others were blown
> from the mouths of cannons. The whole world marvelled at their
> sacrifices, and today we wonder how they were able to do it.
> 
> As soon as all these men were killed, the Prince took Quddús to his
> home town of Bárfurúsh. There the Prince was welcomed by the
> Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulamá’, the Chief of the Muslim religion in that town. All
> the clergy came out to welcome the Prince. The people had hung
> flags across the streets and made big fires at night to celebrate the
> victory over the Bábís. For three days the Prince said nothing to
> anyone about what he intended to do with Quddús. He was afraid
> to do anything to him, himself. His plan was to take Quddús to
> Ṭihrán and hand him over to the Sháh, and let the Sháh decide
> what should be done. But the Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulamá’ had other plans. He
> had hated Mullá Ḥusayn, and now he hated Quddús. When he
> discovered the Prince’s plans, he argued and argued with him against
> the idea. When he found that the Prince would not give in, he called
> everyone to the mosque. The Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulamá’ called upon the
> people of Bárfurúsh to help him prove to the Prince that he must not
> take Quddús to the Sháh. He said to them, swear before God that
> I will take neither food nor sleep until I am able to end the life of
> this man Quddús with my own hands.’
> When the Prince learned that the people of Bárfurúsh were against
> him, he became afraid for his own life. Therefore, he called a meeting
> of all the priests of Bárfurúsh, so they could decide together what they
> should do. As soon as the priests were gathered together, the Prince
> gave orders for Quddús to be brought into their presence. When
> Quddús appeared, the Prince invited him to be seated beside
> himself. Then the Prince turned to the Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulamá’ and said,
> ‘Your discussions of this problem must be based on the Qur’án and
> the sayings of Muḥammad. Only in this way can you decide what is
> true and what is false.’
> The Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulamá’ was the first to speak. He looked at Quddús’
> green turban, and said, ‘Why are you wearing a green turban?
> Don’t you know that only a true descendant of the Prophet
> 
> Muḥammad can wear a green turban? Anyone else who does so is
> damned by God.’
> Quddús calmly replied, ‘Was Siyyid Murtaḍá, whom all the
> priests praise and admire, a descendant of the Prophet through his
> father or his mother?’
> One of the priests immediately said, ‘Through his mother only.’
> ‘Then’, said Quddús, ‘why do you object to me? My mother was
> always recognized by the people of this town as a direct descendant
> of the Imám Ḥasan. Does this not make her a descendant of the
> Prophet Muḥammad? She was always honoured by every one of you
> as such in the past.’
> No one dared to argue with him. They all knew that what he said
> was the truth. But that did not stop the Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulamá’. He
> became so angry at his priests because Quddús was more clever than
> they, that he threw his turban on the ground and said, ‘This man
> has succeeded in proving to you that he is a descendant of the Imam
> Ḥasan. Soon he will prove to you that he is the Prophet of God
> Himself!’
> By now, the Prince had no more courage. Fearing for his own life,
> he did something very much like what Pontius Pilate had done when
> Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin, just before His crucifixion.
> The Prince said to the priests, ‘I wash my hands of all responsibility
> for what you do to this man. You are free to do what you like with
> him. You will yourselves have to answer to God on the Day of
> judgement.’
> With these words, the Prince called for his horse and left for the
> town of Sari. No sooner had the Prince left the meeting than the
> Sa‘idu’l-‘Ulamá’ gave orders for Quddús to be put to death in a way
> which was even worse than the death of Jesus.
> First, Quddús was stripped of his clothes, and his green turban
> given to him by the Báb was dirtied in the mud. Next, he was led
> through the streets barefooted, bareheaded, loaded with chains, with
> all the people of the town following him and spitting upon him. The
> worst women of the town then attacked him with knives and axes.
> 
> While all this was happening to Quddús, he whispered his forgive-
> ness to the people: ‘Forgive them, O my God’, he cried. ‘Show them
> Thy mercy, for they do not know what we have already learned and
> love. I have tried to show them the path that leads to their salvation;
> but see how they have risen to kill me! Show them, O God, the way
> of Truth, and turn their ignorance into faith.’ His last words were:
> ‘Would that my mother were with me, and could see with her own
> eyes the glory of my wedding!’
> No sooner had he said these words than he was torn to pieces and
> thrown into the fire. In the middle of the night, a friend went to the
> place where he was burned, and gathered up the last few pieces of
> his body which had not burned, and buried them not far from the
> place where he was killed. So ended the life of the noble-hearted
> Quddús.
> So terrible was the way in which Quddús had been killed that
> when the Báb heard the news in the castle of Chihríq where He was
> in prison, He did not write for five whole months. His deep grief and
> sadness caused the Pen of Revelation to stop.
> 
> Epilogue
> First and most important of the martyrs of the Fort of Shaykh
> Ṭabarsí was Quddús, whom the Báb called the ‘Last Name of God’.
> Quddús, the eighteenth Letter of the Living, was the Báb’s chosen
> companion on His pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, and was the
> first to suffer persecution on Iranian soil for the Cause of God. He
> was only eighteen years of age when he left his home town of
> Bárfurúsh for Karbilá in ‘Iráq. For about four years he was a student
> of Siyyid Káẓim, and at the age of twenty-two he met and recognized
> the Báb in Shíráz. Five years later, on the 16th of May 1849, he was
> killed by the people of his own town.
> Both the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh have written many Tablets and
> prayers about Quddús, praising him for his services to the Faith.
> 
> Bahá’u’lláh even gave him the title the ‘Last Point’, which shows that
> Bahá’u’lláh considered Quddús the most important Bábí next to the
> the Báb Himself.
> 
> Sources
> The following books were consulted in the writing of this story of Quddús:
> Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í World Faith (Wilmette, 1956)
> H. M. Balyuzi, The Báb (Oxford, 1973)
> Nabíl, The Dawn-Breakers (Wilmette, 1932)
>
> — *Quddus (Used by permission of the curator)*