# Martyrs of Manshad

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Siyyid Muhammad Tabib Manshadi, Martyrs of Manshad, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> The Martyrs of
> Manshád
> 
> By
> Siyyid Muhammad Tabíb Manshádí
> 
> Translated by
> Ahang Rabbani
> 
> Introduction
> What follows is the account of a band of selfless, dedicated,
> love-intoxicated followers of Bahá’u’lláh who sacrificed the most
> precious of all things in His service – life itself.
> 
> The story begins in the summer of 1903 and concludes only a
> few weeks later. It takes place in Manshád, a town near Yazd, in
> the central part of Iran. During that period, a massive Bahá’í
> persecution occurred in Yazd and soon engulfed the entire region
> resulting in nearly two hundred Bahá’í martyrdom and many
> hundred other believers suffering injuries, loss of properties, loss
> of livelihood or forced migration.
> 
> The story of Manshád’s pogrom, and the events leading up to
> it, is immortalized by the pen of Siyyid Muhammad Tabíb
> Manshádí, an eyewitness to many of the episodes. For some of the
> details, he later closely interviewed all the remaining survivors and
> thereby completed his brief narration which was published in Iran
> under the title Sharh Shahádat Shuhadáy Manshád [Account of
> Martyrdom of Manshád’s Martyrs], Mu’assasih Milli Matbu’at
> Amrí, 127 BE [1970]. The same details and based on the
> information of the same narrator is also captured by Haj
> Muhammad-Táhir Málmírí in “Táríkh Shuhadáy Yazd”, pages
> 432-503.
> 
> Áqá Siyyid Muhammad (1863-1918) was a Bahá’í physician
> who practiced traditional Iranian medicine in the small town of
> Manshád near Yazd. Yazd has always been and continues to be a
> place where religious minorities, Zoroastrian as well as Bahá’í,
> have experienced repeated attacks, pogroms, and confiscation of
> property provoked by a fanatical and rapacious Shi`ite clergy.
> 
> Áqá Siyyid Muhammad left an account, rich in detail, of
> what he witnessed during those blood-soaked days – an account he
> supplemented with details from interviews with the survivors. Its
> value is enhanced by the specificity of information it offers: names
> of the martyrs, circumstances of their deaths, identities of the
> murderers. Subheads have been added to clarify places and dates.
> In a few places, the author quotes lines of poetry or Islamic
> traditions to accentuate his narrative. For the most part they have
> been omitted in the present translation (and replaced with ellipses,
> thusly, …) as they have no direct bearing on the history.
> 
> Those familiar with the modern history of Iran will not be
> surprised to find among the persecutors Husayn Mírzá Jalálu’d-
> Dawlih, son of the infamous Mas`úd Mírzá Zillu’s-Sultán, elder
> brother of Muzaffari’d-Dín Sháh. Both princes have left a trail of
> blood in the annals of their country.
> 
> The present translation is a revision and completion of an
> earlier rendering which was published in “The Martyrs of
> Manshád”, World Order, Ahang Rabbani and Naghmeh Astani,
> Fall 1996, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 21-36.
> 
> I am deeply indebted to my sister, Naghmeh Astani, for her
> valuable collaboration in 1995 on the initial translation of this
> document, and to my esteemed cousin, Dr. Khazeh Fananapazir,
> for contributing a provisional translation of `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablet,
> which appears in the narrative below.
> 
> Ahang Rabbani
> Houston, Texas
> April 2005
> 
> Author’s Biography1
> 
> Áqá Siyyid Muhammad Tabíb Manshádí was a son of Áqá
> Siyyid `Abdu’l-Ghaní and Sakinih Khánum. He was born in 1280
> A.H. [1863-4] in Yazd and completed his early education in that
> city. Pursuant to a career in medicine, eventually he moved to
> Tehran where after many years of study, he emerged as a welltrained and knowledgeable physician [hence the name, Tabíb].
> Returning to his native land of Yazd, it was then that he learned
> about God’s Cause [that is, the Bahá’í Faith] and embraced it as a
> believer.
> 
> Some five years before the upheaval of Yazd, the honored
> Á[qá] `Ali-Akbar the martyr, son of Áqá Mírzá Ibráhím Khabbáz
> [baker], requested the honored Áqá Siyyid Muhammad Tabíb to
> settle in Manshád – a request which he readily accepted and
> thereupon migrated from Yazd to Manshád. At first, for a while he
> resided in the home of [his host] the esteemed Áqá `Ali-Akbar (the
> martyr), whose house presently serves as the Haziratu’l-Quds of
> Manshád and then moved to a house behind the Husayniyyih of
> Manshád, next to a mosque.
> 
> After some time, the honored Á[qá] Siyyid Muhammad
> married Bibi-Rubabih, a daughter of the late Hájí Siyyid Husayn
> Banádakí – a union which resulted in two offspring.
> 
> In the year 1321 A.H. [1903], a great episode of persecution
> took place in Manshád and Yazd where many of the divine friends
> [i.e. Bahá’ís] drank from the chalice of martyrdom during this
> grievous tragedy. Miraculously, the honored Á[qá] Siyyid
> Muhammad Tabíb, though residing in Manshád at that time,
> This biography appears at the beginning of the Manshád history and is
> reproduced here in translation.
> 
> escaped the hands of his persecutors and remained safe. Later, he
> committed to paper in form of [the following] monograph his
> recollections and remembrances of other survivors of that period.
> 
> Regarding the details of the days of pogrom, Áqá Siyyid
> Abu’l-Qasim Baydá and also Hájí Muhammad Táhir Malmírí have
> written books, of which the one by Malmírí, titled Táríkh
> Shuhaday Yazd [History of Yazd’s Martyrs] has been published.
> 
> At the age of 56, in the year 1336 A.H. [1918], the honored
> Á[qá] Siyyid Muhammad Tabíb Manshádí, with a pleasing end and
> with utmost resignation and acquiesce, he ascended to the world
> beyond and was buried in that city’s cemetery.
> 
> A blessed Tablet revealed by `Abdu’l-Bahá addressed to the
> author has been located, which adorns this book, and serves as a
> testimony for the depth of his faith and certitude.
> 
> He is the All-Glorious.
> 
> Yazd. His honor Siyyid Muhammad Tabíb, upon him be the
> glory of the Most Glorious God.
> 
> He is the All-Glorious.
> 
> O my God! Thou hast exalted Thyself through Thy Most
> Great Manifestation evident in the horizon of Thy verses and Thou
> hast glorified Thy being through the Beauty of Thy most gracious
> Name manifest in the realm of Thy perspicuous signs. Blind are the
> eyes that behold not the traces of Thy sovereign power which has
> embraced all daysprings of existence and deaf are the ears that
> hear not Thy call in this Promised Day. Great is their loss in not
> attaining that special gift. The blind eye is powerless to witness
> and discern this Vision and hardened ears are unable to enjoy the
> 
> sweet accents of the Most Exalted Word and to hearken the verses
> of Thy Book – a Book that explains the Hidden Mystery.
> 
> O our Lord! Thanks be unto Thee in that thou hast enabled
> us to hear Thy summons, Thou hast confirmed us in being
> attentive, Thou hast nourished us with Thy bounties and gifts, Thou
> hast raised us up in this Day of “Meeting God” from graves of self
> and desire, guided us to the Path of righteousness, illuminated our
> eyes with the light of guidance, dilated our chests so that we can
> behold the great signs, cheered our hearts with Thy glad tidings,
> strengthened our backs with the hosts of Thy Abhá Kingdom, and
> fortified our being with a battalion from thy exalted dominion, so
> much so that the announcement of Thy Manifestation has reached
> all horizons and the seven firmaments have been embraced by the
> traces of Thy Appearance.
> 
> O God! Praise be unto thee for all these. Assist thy servant
> who has turned unto Thee and who has clung to Thy Cord,
> adhered to Thy hem, so that he may attain that which is beloved
> and desirable in both this world and the world to come.
> 
> Verily Thou art the Most Generous, the Merciful, the
> Compassionate.
> 
> `A. `A.2
> 
> Provisional translation of this Tablet was graciously contributed by Dr.
> Khazeh Fananapazir.
> 
> Author’s Preface
> 
> The esteemed divine friends – upon them rests the glory of
> God – should be informed that when the heartbreaking upheavals
> of Manshád occurred, this servant was closely observant of the
> events and incidents, and saw for himself what transpired and has
> decided to outline them briefly in this monograph.
> 
> It should also be noted that for certain episodes, I have
> benefited from the most-reliable information gleaned from the
> divine friends who themselves where witness to the uproars and for
> completeness have included that as well.
> 
> Siyyid Muhammad Tabíb Manshádí
> 
> The Martyrs of Manshád
> By: Siyyid Muhammad Tabíb Manshádí
> 
> The upheaval of Manshád commenced on Saturday, 1
> Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H., corresponding to 1282 Sh, or 26 June
> 1903 AD3, or 8 Tir 825 Jalali, or 1272 Fars, or the day of Jalal of
> the month Rahmat in the Bahá’í year “Ab” of the fourth vahid in
> the Manifestation of the Point of Bayán – may my spirit and the
> spirit of the world be a sacrifice unto His meekness – that is, the
> year 61 Bayání.4 …5
> 
> In accordance with the instructions of `Abdu’l-Bahá – may
> the spirits of the world be a sacrifice unto His grace – I hereby
> submit this narrative to the presence of the divine friends and those
> firm in God’s Covenant – upon all rest the Glory of the Most
> Glorious.
> 
> In the year 1321 A.H., corresponding to the year 61 of the
> Manifestation of the Point of Bayán – may my spirit and the spirit
> of the world be a sacrifice unto Him – the illustrious Ibn-Abhar –
> upon him rest the glory of God – came from Tehran to Yazd.
> Eager to meet him, the friends in Manshád requested him to come
> for a few days to Manshád to teach the divine Cause and meet the
> friends of God. Ibn-Abhar readily accepted this invitation and
> during the Ridván festivities of the same year journeyed to
> According to calendars available to the present translator, the first day of
> Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321A.H. corresponded to 27 June 1903.
> The Bábí-Bahá’í calendar divides time into cycles of 19 years, vahid, with
> the third year being “Ab”, father. “Ab” is composed of two letters that have
> the numerical values of 1 and 2, respectively, and therefore their sum is 3.
> As customary with Middle Eastern Bahá’í narratives, the opening passage
> is devoted to praise and glorification of God, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. This
> passage has been omitted in the present translation.
> 
> Manshád. The news of his arrival brought much joy to the
> believers and cheered their spirit. But it also inflamed the jealousy
> and hatred of the fanatical populace of town. ...
> 
> The illustrious Ibn-Abhar remained in Manshád for four
> days. On the fifth day, via the village of Taft, he returned to Yazd,
> where he stayed for a few more days before going back to Tehran.
> 
> [Upheaval in Yazd]
> 
> On Saturday6, 16 Rabí`u’l-Avval 1321 A.H. [12 June 1903],
> Mírzá Ibráhím, the Imám-Jum`ih, returned to Yazd after a visit to
> Isfahán. The people of Yazd wasted no time informing him of the
> activities of Bahá’ís and of their new vigor and enthusiasm and
> their gatherings for dawn prayers. His overgrown ego and lust for
> leadership inflamed, he issued an order for the massacre of the
> Bahá’ís. Hoodlums of Yazd and those with personal grudges
> decided to start a riot and commotion.
> 
> The next morning some of these mischievous people
> gathered around the shop of Áqá Muhammad `Attár, son of Hájí
> `Azíz Khán, and stoned the front entrance.7 Then they captured the
> shopkeeper and took him to the Imám-Jum`ih, requesting
> permission to kill him. A few non-Bahá’ís who were acquainted
> with Áqá Muhammad’s goodly character, his honesty and
> trustworthiness, however, intervened and assisted with his release.
> 
> Calendars available to the present translators give 16 Rabí`u’l-Avval as a
> Friday. However, the lunar dating may vary slightly from place to place as
> the beginning of the month is determined by the local cleric’s sighting of the
> moon.
> According to Malmírí, p. 89, the first shop they went to was that of Áqá
> Muhammad Husayn Attar, son of Hájí `Aziz Khan.
> 
> On the third day, 18 Rabí`u’l-Avval 1321 [14 June 1903],
> three hours after sunrise, in the middle of Yazd’s bazaar, one of the
> Bahá’ís, the honored Hájí Mírzá Halabí-sáz, was stabbed and
> killed by the butcher’s cleaver of Hasan ibn Rasúl, one of the
> hoodlums. Prince [Sultan-]Husayn Mírzá, the Jalálu’d-Dawlih, son
> of Prince [Sultan-]Mas`úd Mírzá, titled the Zillu’s-Sultán, who was
> at that time the Governor of Yazd, quickly dispatched his aides on
> the receipt of this news to calm the people and stop further rioting
> and killings.
> 
> [The Upheaval in Manshád]
> 
> When the tragic news of Hájí Mírzá’s martyrdom reached the
> Bahá’ís of Manshád, they mourned his death and held a memorial
> service for that much-loved believer. The entire Bahá’í community
> was present in that assemblage, engaged in prayer and
> supplications. The news of this gathering and the mourning of the
> friends further inflamed the hatred and animosity of the enemies,
> who began plotting riots to slay the friends.
> 
> The believers of Manshád informed the Governor of their
> dire condition. In response he dispatched to Manshád ten
> Sháhsavan soldiers headed by a man named `Ísá Khán Sartíp
> [commander], who had orders to protect the believers and prevent
> further upheaval by the non-Bahá’ís. When `Ísá Khán and his men
> arrived in Manshád, they stayed for four days in the house of the
> town’s chieftain, Muhammad Kalántar, son of Hájí `Alí-Akbar
> Manshádí.
> 
> [Friday, 26 June]
> 
> On the fourth day, Friday, 29 Rabí`u’l-Avval 1321 A.H. [26
> June 1903], a Governor’s messenger arrived late in the afternoon
> 
> and presented a sealed letter to `Ísá Khán. This servant [the author]
> was present in that gathering when the letter was handed to him.
> On reading the communication, he was much perturbed. I asked
> him about the contents of the letter, which had visibly disturbed
> him, but he did not reply, so deep was he in contemplation.
> 
> About eight o’clock that same night `Ísá Khán asked my
> opinion: “Without a guide, would I be able to go to Yazd, via the
> village of Mihríjird, this very night?” I advised him, “It is quite a
> dark night and would be difficult since you have never traveled
> this road, which is very rocky. You would certainly need a native
> guide.” Accepting this, `Ísá Khán, accompanied by a Manshádí
> guide and two of his soldiers, started toward Yazd within the hour.
> 
> [Saturday, 27 June]
> 
> The following Saturday morning, 1 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321
> A.H. [27 June 1903], three hours after sunrise, I was at home when
> the honored Shátir Hasan Khabbáz [baker], and the esteemed Áqá
> `Alí-Akbar, sons of the late Áqá Mírzá Ibráhím Khabbáz [baker],
> came to me in a state of bewilderment and agitation. I asked them
> what was troubling them. They replied, “News is circulating in
> Manshád that the people of Yazd have caused much disturbance
> and have put to death several of the believers.” I inquired if they
> knew who had brought this news. They responded that this news
> was being spread in Manshád by Muhammad-Sádiq Na`ím-Ábádí.
> Further, Shátir Hasan assured me that he would go and ascertain its
> truth.
> 
> When they left my house, Áqá `Alí-Akbar returned to his
> shop, and Shátir Hasan set out to investigate the matter. At the
> Manshád’s cemetery he came upon [the source of the news],
> Muhammad-Sádiq Na`ím-Ábádí, whom he asked about the
> dreadful events in Yazd and who had reported the killings of
> 
> Bahá’ís. Muhammad-Sádiq, overcome with anger, struck Shátir
> Hasan in the head with a club he was carrying, opening a severe
> wound from which blood poured over his head and face.
> 
> Muhammad-Sádiq then stood there and cried out for the
> town’s people to gather around. When a large group had formed,
> he told them of the upheavals and turbulence in Yazd and incited
> his listeners to perpetrate the same murder and mischief in
> Manshád. Shátir Hasan, his head and face bloody, left the crowd
> and returned to the company of his brother Áqá `Alí-Akbar and
> other Bahá’ís to whom he recounted the events that had transpired.
> A number of Bahá’ís retreated into hiding, and others went into the
> mountains of Manshád.
> 
> Meanwhile some three hundred people gathered around
> Muhammad-Sádiq in the cemetery and embraced the idea of
> vandalizing and pillaging the Bahá’ís’ belongings and putting them
> to death. Hájí `Alí-Muhammad, an influential believer who in
> effect was the head of the Bahá’í community, was soon informed
> of this gathering and went to the hoodlums to prevent them from
> rioting and mischief. Succeeding in this effort, afterwards he came
> directly to my house, happy that the group had had a change of
> heart. The crowd, however, remained quiet for only a short time
> before becoming agitated again, an agitation much louder than
> before. Once again Hájí `Alí-Muhammad went out to calm the
> crowd, but his efforts were in vain this time, and the mob’s abusive
> cries grew worse.
> 
> In the midst of all the commotion Áqá Ghulám-Ridá, son of
> Hájí `Alí-Naqí, while trying to escape, crossed paths with Siyyid
> Ibráhím Kallih-dar [shepherd], son of Siyyid Abúl Manshádí.
> Siyyid Ibráhím tried to take Áqá Ghulám-Ridá’s life. Áqá Ghulám-
> Ridá escaped, and the Siyyid returned to the group of rioters and
> deceitfully lay motionless on the ground as if dead. His family,
> relatives and friends gathered around him, shouting, “O people,
> 
> Islam is finished. Bahá’ís have murdered the Siyyid!” Some three
> hundred people, including the rioters and spectators, lifted the
> Siyyid’s supposedly lifeless body and carried it to the house of
> Muhammad Kalántar [town’s chief]. There they continued with
> their accusations and agitation that the Bahá’ís had killed the
> Siyyid.
> 
> Muhammad Kalántar sent a messenger to my house bearing
> the news that Bahá’ís had beaten up a Siyyid, who had been
> brought unconscious to the chief’s house, and asking me to
> examine him to determine if he was still alive. Confident of God’s
> confirmations and putting my trust in Him, I went to the Kalántar’s
> home. On the way I ran into the mob of rioters who attempted to
> kill me. A non-Bahá’í prevented them and dispersed them from
> around me. I finally passed through the crowd safely and reached
> the Kalántar’s home. After examining the Siyyid and checking his
> pulse, I knew there was nothing wrong with him, and told the
> crowd: “No one has beaten or injured the Siyyid. Do not create
> mischief for no reason.” No one listened, and the hoodlums
> grasped the pretext of the Siyyid’s condition to leave the
> Kalántar’s house shouting and screaming.
> 
> Twenty-seven of the ruffians, agitated further by a certain
> Javád, son of Hájí Muhammad-Husayn Shírází, and with the
> approval of Muhammad Kalántar, separated from the group. These
> 27 were: Muhammad-Sádiq Na`ím-Ábádí; Ghulám-Ridá, son of
> Husayn; Siyyid Muhammad-`Alí, Rawdih-khan8 [reciter]; `Alí-
> Akbar, son of Ibráhím; Ghulám-Ridá of Tazarján; Hájí, son of
> Mírzá-`Alí; Ahmad-Júlá; the three sons of Ghulám-`Alí Najjár
> [carpenter], namely, Ghulám-Husayn `Ashiq, Javád, and Hájí; `Alí
> `Arab; Muhammad, son of Ridá; `Abdu’l-`Alí, son of Ahmad; `Alí,
> son of Hájí `Ali-Akbar and a nephew of the Kalántar; Husayn-`Alí,
> 
> A dramatic preacher specializing in the emotional recitation of the
> narratives of martyrdom of Imam Husayn.
> 
> son of Hájí Abu’l-Qásim; Mihdí and Ibráhím, sons of Umm-Laylí;
> Ja`far, son of Ghulám; Ridá, Husayn, and Hasan, sons of Báqir;
> Ahmad, son of Shahrbánú; `Alí-Bayk, son of Amír-Bayk; Ahmad,
> son of Hájí Ghulám; `Alí, son of `Askar, known as `Ali-Tarkaú;
> Mírzá Ahmad, son of Muhammad-Husayn Dahan; and `Alí, son of
> Báqir ibn Abúl.
> 
> Heavily armed and yelling loudly, they walked to the farm of
> Khájih Hasan. When they reached their destination about an hour
> before noon, Mullá `Alí-Akbar, the brother of Rada’r-Rúh, was
> working in the field and another farm known as Mazra`ih Binrank, situated in Sanghari region.9 As the wild mob approached,
> Hájí, son of Ghulám-`Alí Najjár, threw a stone at Mullá `Alí-
> Akbar, striking him in the head and covering his face and beard
> with much blood. Then another man, Ja`far ibn Ghulám, struck
> him in the head with a club, knocking him to the ground. `Alí-
> Muhammad, the ten year old grandson of Mullá `Alí-Akbar, threw
> himself on the body of his grandfather. The hooligans wanted to
> kill the child, but one of the bystanders prevented it. The mob
> gathered around and proceeded, using knives, clubs, and stones, to
> assault the body of Mullá `Alí-Akbar until his spirit yielded. Two
> individuals buried Mullá `Alí-Akbar in the same spot where his
> body lay. Several days later, however, his body was removed from
> the temporary grave and properly buried in his own home in
> Manshád, in the neighborhood known as Mírzáhá. Mullá `Alí-
> Akbar was seventy years old at the time of his martyrdom.
> 
> Having taken the life of Mullá `Alí-Akbar, the bloodthirsty
> and savage mob immediately attacked the house of Muhammad-
> Ismá`íl Khabbáz [baker], son of Mírzá Ibráhím Khabbáz, who
> lived on the same farm. They pillaged his house and, finding him
> on the second floor, stabbed him repeatedly before throwing him
> 
> These two brothers and their entire family had embraced the new Faith on
> Siyyid Yahyá Vahíd Dárábí’s last visit to Yazd in April 1850.
> 
> from the balcony, after which his body was subjected to various
> sorts of blows by those eagerly waiting outside. …
> 
> The sanctified remains of that lover of truth was buried in the
> vicinity of his house at Mazra`ih Khájíh Muhsin, near a large
> boulder by the road, where it remains to the present time. At time
> of his martyrdom, the honored Áqá Muhammad-Ismá`íl was sixtyseven years old.
> 
> After committing this murder, the mob left the farm at
> Mazra`ih Khájíh Muhsin, returning to Manshád and joining some
> three hundred spectators from the town and surrounding localities.
> They marched toward the home of Ustád Husayn Ursi-duz
> [shoemaker] one of the believers from Yazd who had come to
> Manshád during these grievous events. When the mob entered his
> house, Ustád Husayn retreated to the roof. Muhammad-Sádiq
> Na`ím-Ábádí [who had incited the mob earlier in the day] followed
> him with the intention of killing him. Ustád Husayn, protecting
> himself with a shoe-making tool, injured his head and succeeded in
> warding off Muhammad-Sádiq who withdrew to the ground level.
> No sooner had he fought off Muhammad-Sádiq than he was
> overtaken by several individuals, led by a certain Hájí Muhammad,
> who climbed a mulberry tree to gain access to the roof. Ustád
> Husayn, defenseless and overpowered, was thrown from the roof
> to the ground where a ruthless mob set on him with knives, clubs,
> and stones, martyring this noble soul. By now it was noon.
> 
> Ustád Husayn’s aged mother ran out of the house and threw
> herself on her son’s lifeless body, weeping bitterly. The heartless
> mob threw stones and inflicted many injuries on this devoted
> woman who was seventy years old. She became ill and only twenty
> days after the martyrdom of her son passed on to the Abhá
> Kingdom and was buried in Manshád’s cemetery. She was seventy
> years old.
> 
> The body of Ustád Husayn was taken to the bank of the
> Sháhmírí River on the outskirts of the town. He was buried behind
> Bágh Sharaf, across from a bridge, by a frequented road, and
> beneath mulberry trees known as Khájíh Rahimi’s orchard, where
> it remains his resting-place to this day. Ustád Husayn was fifty
> years old at the time of his martyrdom.
> 
> After the martyrdom of Ustád Husayn, the entire malicious
> mob continued with its vicious attacks [on the lives and property of
> Bahá’ís]. Arriving in a neighborhood known as Karchinár around
> one o’clock in the afternoon, they encountered three believers: the
> honored Áqá Husayn, son of Muhammad-Kázim; Áqá Ghulám-
> `Alí, son of Hasan ibn Hájí Rajab; and Áqá Ramadán, son of Javád
> ibn Hájí `Alí-Naqí. These believers were attempting to flee to the
> refuge of the mountains known as Pusht Bágh Naw and Mazra`ih
> `Abbás on the south side of Manshád. The mob followed them.
> 
> `Alí, the brother of Muhammad Kalántar, fired and shot Áqá
> Husayn. As he fell, the mob opened fire on him, riddling his body
> with bullets. Not satisfied with this act, they stoned what remained
> of his mortal frame. Sixty-five years old at the time of his
> martyrdom, he was brought back to Karchinár quarter and buried
> in his own home.
> 
> Immediately after the killing of Áqá Husayn, the murderous
> mob found the esteemed Áqá Ghulám-`Alí in the same vicinity.
> One of the ruffians, a certain `Abdu’l-`Alí fired on him first; then
> the rest clubbed and stoned his young body until he died.
> Regrettably, the honored Áqá Ramadán suffered the same fate, as
> his companions. He was found taking refuge under a large rock on
> the hill. They dropped the rock on him, killing him.
> 
> Áqá Ramadán was twenty-two years old at the time of his
> martyrdom. He was buried in the same mountain, about a 1000-
> yard up the hill, near the place that he suffered martyrdom. Áqá
> 
> Ghulám-`Alí was eighteen years old at the time of martyrdom. He
> was buried on the same hill, some distance above the resting-place
> of Áqá Ramadán, locations that would remain their permanent
> gravesites.
> 
> The mob remained on the hill until sunset. They then turned
> back to Manshád looking for Bahá’ís. On the way, passing through
> the Muhammad-Ábád region, they came upon the honored Siyyid
> Mírzá, son of Siyyid Ahmad. Having left his home out of fear of
> the enemies, he had lain down to rest by a wall on the northern
> mountains of Manshád, known as Kúh Murád-`Alí, and had fallen
> asleep on the ground. Seeing him, two of the hooligans, Ghulám-
> `Alí, son of Hájí Muhammad, and Ghulám-Husayn, son of Mírzá
> `Alí-Ridá, picked up a massive rock and delivered a fatal blow to
> the head of the sleeping and defenseless Siyyid Mírzá.
> 
> He was carried to and buried there in his own orchard in
> Muhammad-Abad quarter, which to this day remains his restingplace. He was seventy-five years old on the day of his martyrdom.
> 
> To sum up, on that first day of upheavals, from one hour
> before noon until sunset, seven believers were put to death in the
> most inhumane and reprehensible ways. No sound could be heard
> that day except the shouts of a celebrating mass and the roar of
> gunfire. Only God knows what befell me all during those tragic
> hours. At times I was given the news of yet another dear friend
> being put to death or heard the taunting and jeering of the mob in
> the streets. At other times the foes would congratulate each other.
> All through this I was constantly being threatened with death, and
> yet I had no choice but to witness and remain patient in light of the
> horrendous events encircling the community. …
> 
> [Sunday, 28 June]
> 
> The next day, Sunday, 2 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [28 June
> 1903], this servant was visiting one of the friends, Hájí `Alí-
> Muhammad, at the hour of dawn. As I left his house, I saw ten
> gunmen from Khabarí, Zardankí and Chár-Ráhí [villages] enter the
> town. There were: Ghulám-Husayn Khabarí and his three sons,
> Ahmad Khán, Ridá-Qulí, and Hasan Khán; Khayru’lláh Chár-
> Ráhí; Hájí, son of Qurbán-`Alí Khabarí; Ghulám-Ridá Zardankí;
> Muhammad, son of Husayn Chár-Ráhí; Hasan Sháh-Ridá; and
> Iskandar Chár-Ráhí. I asked a native of Manshád on the street who
> these gunmen were, and he said, “Having heard about the killings
> and plundering of the possessions of the Bahá’ís of Yazd and
> Manshád, they have come to have their share in it too.” When the
> news of their arrival reached the rioting mob, they joined forces
> and started toward the homes of the believers.
> 
> The first home and shop they came upon belonged to [two
> previously mentioned brothers] Shátir Hasan and Áqá `Alí-Akbar.
> All their belongings were either destroyed or plundered; even the
> grapevines in their garden were uprooted and smashed. The house
> and shop were then set afire.
> 
> Afterward, about two hours before noon, the mob moved on
> to the house of Muhammad-Báqir, son of Hasan ibn Sálih, one of
> the believers of Yazd visiting Manshád. Another believer, Mullá
> Muhammad, son of Mandar-kar Manshádí, had taken refuge on the
> second floor of the house as well. Three persons from the rioting
> gang entered the house: Hájí Husayn; `Alí-Akbar; and Hájí
> Husayn-`Ali, son of Hájí `Alí-Akbar.
> 
> They located Mullá Muhammad. Hájí Husayn-`Ali said to his
> two cohorts, “The honored Mullá Muhammad has been my teacher
> and educator. I suggest that we leave him alone and spare his life.”
> The other two would not consent to this and brought Mullá
> Muhammad downstairs and told the other ruffians about his
> presence. The mob and the [ten] gunmen circled around him. One
> 
> of the Khabari gunmen, Ghulám-Ridá Zardankí, fired a shot at his
> chest, which was followed by another shot by `Alí-Akbar. Then the
> rest either opened fire on Mullá Muhammad or stoned and clubbed
> him.
> 
> After viciously killing him, they tied a rope to his feet and
> dragged his sacred body to the back of Áqá `Alí-Akbar’s house
> and threw it on a stone-filled field front of Shahsuni’s house. Two
> of them, Zaynu’l-`Ábidín `Attár and his son Hasan-`Alí, residence
> of Rahat-Ábád farm, brought kerosene and another, `Alí `Arab,
> poured it over the body and set it on fire. As the body burned, the
> rest of them continued to stone it, so much so that the charred
> remains were completely buried under the rocks. When the last
> parts of Mullá Muhammad’s body were covered, some of the thugs
> and murderers poured water over the pile of rocks and left the
> scene.
> 
> That evening, his son, Ustád Naqí, with the help of another
> believer, Hájí `Alí-Muhammad, took the body and buried it in a
> field known as Sar-Mu, belonging to Mullá Muhammad himself.
> His resting-place remains to this day at the same spot. He was
> fifty-eight years old at the time of his martyrdom.
> 
> On the first day of the troubles, fearing the onslaught of the
> evildoers, [a group of Bahá’ís] had taken refuge in the nearby
> mountains on the eastern side of the town, behind the Mazra’ih
> Turks. They included: the honored Shátir Hasan Khabbáz [baker],
> Áqá `Alí-Akbar, and Assadu’lláh, sons of the late Mírzá Ibráhím
> Khabbáz; Áqá Hasan-`Alí; Javád; Áqá Siyyid Taqí; Áqá Siyyid
> Baqír; Siyyid Husayn; children of the late Áqá Siyyid Ahmad; Áqá
> Siyyid Muhammad, son of Siyyid Taqí; Áqá Mírzá Muhammad-
> Hudá; `Abdu’l-Vahháb; `Abdu’r-Rasúl; and Áqá Muhammad, son
> of Mihdí.
> 
> A certain Rajab-`Alí, who previously often frequented the
> Bahá’í gatherings and on occasions had expressed his love and
> allegiance to the Faith and had been friendly to the believers,
> learned of their hiding place in the mountains. Sunday night he
> went to visit them. Because the believers trusted him, they inquired
> about the events of recent days, asking further about the friends
> who had been murdered, their families, and their own households
> and relatives who were left behind. Rajab-`Alí told the Bahá’ís
> about the upheavals, the martyrdom of friends and the generally
> disastrous condition of the believers in town. When the group
> asked what was to come, Rajab-`Alí told them, “Today a group of
> Khabari gunmen have entered Manshád and the local thugs plan to
> invite some other hoodlums from the villages of Taft and Mihríjird
> to come. Tomorrow morning three, perhaps four, hundred of them
> will circle this hill and will not allow one of you [Bahá’ís] to
> escape as all will be slain and your possessions plundered.”
> 
> On hearing this, since they trusted this man – though he had
> never inhaled the fragrance of certitude – the believers became
> greatly perturbed. The refugees decided that in the middle of the
> night they would descend the hill and travel in a separate direction.
> Little did they know that Rajab-`Alí was devoid of any spiritual
> qualities and was completely insincere. When they dispersed in the
> dead of the night, Áqá `Alí-Akbar had a bad fall and broke his leg.
> … Shátir Hasan was also severely injured when a rock rolled over
> his foot. As a result, these two brothers were obliged to remain in
> the hills and could not disperse with the others.
> 
> Meanwhile, upon leaving the group, Rajab-`Alí, went
> directly to the home of Muhammad Kalántar and gave him a
> thorough report of the plans of the Bahá’ís and the condition of the
> two brothers in the hills.
> 
> [Monday, 29 June]
> 
> The next morning, Monday, 3 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H.
> [29 June 1903], was the third day of the turbulence. Muhammad
> Kalántar dispatched the Khabari gunmen, Manshád’s thugs, some
> hooligans from Taft and Yazd, along with two `Arabs of Fars who
> happened to be in Manshád on that day, to the hills with
> instructions to [find and] kill the two brothers. A very large
> number of agitators and mischief-makers of Manshád and other
> places, including both young and old, also accompanied these men.
> 
> Meanwhile, early in the morning, Shátir Hasan, [in spite of
> his injuries,] had come down the hill to fetch water for his
> illustrious brother, who was in great pain. He was by a small
> spring, situated some two thousand yards above the Hujjat-Ábád
> Farm, known as Mazra`ih Kahkum Buzurg, when the mob spotted
> him by the oak trees. Circling him, they demanded to know the
> whereabouts of his brother. Shátir Hasan told the group that the
> night before, while he was running, a rock had fallen on him and
> cut his foot, causing it to bleed badly, and, if they followed the
> blood trail, it would lead to his brother, Áqá `Alí-Akbar.
> 
> A number of men remained with him to ensure that he would
> not go anywhere. The rest followed the blood trail until they
> reached the top of the hill and saw Áqá `Alí-Akbar, who was very
> weak and could not move. When he was spotted, one of the
> gunmen, Muhammad Rabí`, son-in-law of the Kalántar, shot him,
> following which Ridá Shikárí [hunter] from the village of
> Banádak-Sádát, and then the other townspeople also launched a
> volley of bullets.
> 
> After killing `Alí-Akbar, they left the body in the same spot
> and came back down to join the rest by the stream. Shátir Hasan
> had some rock candy, which he distributed among the mob and
> assassins. Then he took off his outer garments and divided them
> among the mob. … Having thereby prepared himself for his
> 
> martyrdom, he asked if he could drink some water before they
> killed him. He was told, “Go to the stream and drink some.” Shátir
> Hasan said, “Though I know you will not allow me time to drink, I
> am resigned to the will of God and welcome His decrees.” … As
> soon as he had taken a few steps toward the stream, seventeen of
> the Khabari, `Arabs of Fárs, and Manshádí gunmen shot him in the
> back. He fell to the ground, only to receive a second volley from
> the same seventeen people. This was followed by a third round of
> shots. In all, a total of fifty-one bullets pierced his beloved body.
> 
> After Shátir Hasan’s martyrdom, his body was left by the
> same stream. Later that evening a few of the friends brought back
> his remains to Manshád, placed it in a wooden coffin and hid the
> coffin in his own home for four months until it was safe to bury it
> in the same Hujjat-Ábád Farm, on the eastern flank of a large pool
> known as Mazra`ih Kahkum Buzurg.
> 
> Forty days after the martyrdom of the honored Áqá `Alí-
> Akbar, nine of the believers of Manshád returned quietly at night
> to the hills and located his body. This group included: Áqá `Alí-
> Akbar, son of Muhammad and a nephew of the martyred Áqá `Alí-
> Akbar; Áqá Javád, son of martyred Mullá Bábá’í; Áqá `Alí-Akbar,
> son of Hájí `Alí-Muhammad; Áqá `Alí-Muhammad, son of
> martyred Áqá Mírzá Muhammad; Áqá Haydar, son of Taqí; Áqá
> Mírzá `Alí Muqaní [well-digger]; Áqá Ghulám-Husayn, son of
> Hájí Ja`far; Áqá Mírzá `Alí-Akbar, son of Husayn ibn Hájí
> Nasru’llah; Áqá `Abdu’l-Vahhab. They also placed his sanctified
> remains in a casket and buried it at his own home in Manshád.
> 
> Presently the burial spot of the honored Shátir Hasan is in the
> same Hujjat-Ábád Farm, known as Mazra`ih Kuhkum Buzurg, and
> the resting-place of the esteemed Áqá `Ali-Akbar is in his own
> residence in Manshád. Áqá `Ali-Akbar was fifty-six years old at
> the time of his martyrdom, while Shátir Hasan was sixty years old.
> 
> [Tuesday, 30 June]
> 
> On Tuesday, 4 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [30 June 1903],
> the mob learned of the hiding place of the beloved Áqá `Alí-Akbar,
> son of Hasan ibn Hájí Rajab, who had taken refuge in the house of
> his son-in-law, Ghulám-Ridá, known as Ghulám-Zagh. About one
> hour before noon the mob rushed to the house, located him [Áqá
> `Alí-Akbar], and dragged him outside to the streets. First, one of
> the gunmen, Ghulám-Ridá, son of Husayn, shot him. This was
> followed by a severe blow to the head with a heavy club, which
> Husayn-`Alí, son of Hájí Muhammad, carried for this purpose, that
> rendered him unconscious. The rest of the crowd then set upon
> him, stoning, clubbing, and firing at him. His body then was
> thrown off a nearby bridge into the river, where it remained until
> that evening when a few of the believers took his body and buried
> him in one of his orchards in the `Arab quarter of Manshád, where
> it remains to this day. The honored Áqá `Alí-Akbar was fifty years
> old at the time of martyrdom. His slaying took place one hour
> before noon.
> 
> [Wednesday, 1 July]
> 
> Wednesday morning, 5 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [1 July
> 1903], the crowd learned of yet another Bahá’í in hiding. This time
> it was Áqá Mírzá Husayn, son of Sádiq ibn Hájí Muhammad-`Alí,
> who had been hiding in the northern hills, known as the mountains
> of Murghistán and Murád-`Alí. Around noontime two of the thugs,
> Javád, son of Ghulám-`Alí Najjár [carpenter] Manshádí, and
> Zaynu’l-`Ábidín Yazdí, son of `Alí-Akbar, went into the hills,
> located Áqá Mírzá Husayn, and captured him.
> 
> He was brought back to Manshád and taken to the home of
> Muhammad-Rabí`. Áqá Mírzá Husayn asked for a drink of water,
> 
> in response to which the aforementioned Muhammad-Sádiq
> Na`ím-Ábádí unsheathed a large knife and stabbed him in the
> chest, saying, “Water for you is the tip of this dagger!” The man
> turned to the mob and said, “O people, I had vowed to drink the
> blood of these Bábís. Now watch me fulfill my vow.” He pulled
> the knife out of the body and licked all the blood off it. Then he
> signaled the mob to shoot Áqá Mírzá Husayn, which the crazed
> gunmen were happy to do with many volleys. Áqá Mírzá Husayn
> fell to the ground. Not being satisfied with that, Akbar, son of
> Ahmad, Javád, son of Ghulám-`Ali Najjár, Husayn-`Ali, son of
> Hájí Muhammad, and Akbar, son of Ibráhím, and a number of
> other ruffians then circled his remains and stoned and clubbed him.
> After killing him in that fashion two hours before10 noon, they tied
> a rope to his feet and dragged him through the streets of Manshád
> until they reached the Shahsuni home, where they deposited his
> remains. That evening his wife took the body and quietly buried it
> in a nearby Bagh Kamali belonging to Áqá Mírzá Husayn, in front
> of the building, where it remains to this day. He was sixty years
> old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> That same day Muhammad Kalántar sent some of his men to
> arrest Áqá Yádu’lláh, son of Áqá Mírzá Husayn. The boy, who
> was no more than twelve years old, was taken to the home of the
> Kalántar so he might also be put to death. In the ensuing gathering
> in which this servant was also present, I told Muhammad Kalántar,
> “The boy is a minor and religious laws are not applicable to him.
> Instruct your men not to kill him.” The hoodlums still wanted to
> slay the child. To ensure his freedom, I suggested to the Kalántar,
> “If you agree, collect some money from the mother as a price for
> his liberty.” He accepted my request, and the mother of the child
> was called. Upon collecting a sum, he allowed the boy to leave.
> 
> Most likely typist error and “after” is meant.
> 
> Again, on the same Wednesday, the mob, after killing Áqá
> Mírzá Husayn, went to Kuzh neighborhood, situated on the
> outskirts of Manshád on the way to Káv-Afshád. At that time one
> of the believers, Áqá `Alí-Muhammad, son of Hájí Husayn ibn
> Hájí `Alí-Akbar Turk, was hiding from the bloodthirsty crowd in
> the home of Husayn, son of Hasan ibn Panáh-`Alí. Four thugs
> entered the house; they were: Hasan-`Alí, son of Hájí Muhammad;
> Javád, son of Muhammad Hádí; `Alí-Akbar, son of Ibráhím; and
> `Alí-Akbar, son of Hájí Husayn. Along with some other hoodlums,
> they located the honored Áqá `Alí-Muhammad, and took him
> outside and dragged him to the shop of Mírzá Vald [son of] Ustád
> Ja`far Sabbagh [painter]. One of the gunmen, `Alí-Akbar, son of
> Hájí Husayn, aimed his gun at Áqá `Alí-Muhammad’s head and
> fired. He immediately fell to the ground at which time the rest of
> the crowd began stoning him. At that moment, while the severely
> injured Áqá `Alí-Muhammad was breathing his last breaths,
> Biman-`Ali, son of Ghulám-Ridá, approached him. This heartless
> individual opened Áqá `Alí-Muhammad’s mouth, filled it with
> sand and soil, and then kicked him in chest until he was dead.
> 
> A rope was tied to his feet, and he was dragged and paraded
> to the front door of the martyred Shátir Hasan’s home, [the
> believer whom the same people had killed earlier]. His body was
> left there until nighttime, when one of the believers gathered his
> remains and buried them in northern orchard of the residence, next
> to a wall, where they remain to this day. Áqá `Alí-Muhammad was
> forty-five years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> [Thursday, 2 July]
> 
> The next day, Thursday, 6 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [2 July
> 1903], two hours before noon, four men entered the home of
> Khadíjih-Sultán, an elderly Bahá’í woman, daughter of Hájí Rajab
> and mother of the martyred Áqá Ghulám-Ridá, son of Hájí `Ali-
> 
> Naqí. The four assailants were: Ghulám-Ridá, son of Husayn; `Alí,
> son of Hájí Akbar; Ahmad, son of Hájí Ghulám; and Ghulám-Ridá
> Tazarjání. They took her to the home of Muhammad Kalántar and
> requested his permission to kill her. He instructed them to take her
> away, thereby signaling his consent. The men took her to the top of
> tikiyih11 in the town center and pushed her off the roof. The
> women of Manshád gathered around her body and first removed
> her cheddar and veil, after which men and women alike stoned her
> sanctified remains. Khadíjih-Sultán, who was later buried in her
> own home in Karami quarter, where she remains to the present
> day, was sixty-five years old at the time of her death.
> 
> [Friday, 3 July]
> 
> On Friday, 7 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [3 July 1903], Áqá
> Siyyid Javád, son of Áqá Siyyid Taqí, had taken refuge in his
> home. Ghulám-Ridá, son of Husayn, [who was one of the men
> from the killing mob,] learned of Áqá Siyyid Javád’s whereabouts
> and went to his house, captured him, and brought him out. His
> three young daughters, who were only nine, seven, and five years
> old, began to weep and plead with the man to leave their father
> alone. They even begged to be killed in place of their father. The
> daughters, tears pouring from their eyes, encircled their dear father
> and held tight to him and at times pleaded with that stonehearted
> man by grabbing the hem of his garment. Determined to take Áqá
> Javád’s life, the man ignored all the children’s plea and cries. He
> used his club and kicks to separate the daughters from their father
> and, violently slapping them, forced them to let go of their father.
> 
> By now an eager ill-intending crowd had gathered and was
> watching the whole incident. Áqá Siyyid Javád’s hands were tied
> 
> A building where large gatherings for mourning of the martyred Imáms
> are held.
> 
> behind his back, and with bare feet and head he was taken to the
> home of Muhammad Kalántar. ... At that moment, when they
> brought Áqá Siyyid Javád, I happened to be visiting the Kalántar at
> his home. Áqá Javád’s countenance seemed to glow with joy,
> extreme happiness, and certitude. He was radiating a heavenly
> smile as he entered the room. He was not speaking to anyone. ...
> 
> Muhammad Kalántar appeared on the roof of the house. The
> crowd told the Kalántar that they had captured this Bahá’í. He said,
> “Why have you brought the Siyyid to me?” And with the wave of
> his hand the Kalántar signaled his approval for him to be taken
> away and be killed. The mob paraded the Siyyid to Manshád’s
> Maydan Nakhl [palm tree square]. One of them, Javád, son of
> Ghulám-`Alí Najjár [carpenter], fired a bullet that shattered his
> skull. He fell to ground. Others joined in by firing their guns at him
> and engaging in their ritual stoning, cursing, and defaming of the
> remains. The three principle slayers were: Ghulám-Ridá, son of
> Husayn; `Alí-Akbar, son of Hájí Husayn; and Ghulám-Ridá
> Tazarjání.
> 
> It was an hour before noon when Áqá Siyyid Javád drank the
> cup of martyrdom. Later his remains were dropped into a pit used
> for preparing charcoal, located behind Shahsuni’s house, which
> serves to this day as his burial place. It was an hour before noon
> when Áqá Siyyid Javád drank the cup of martyrdom. He was forty
> years old.
> 
> [Saturday, 4 July]
> 
> On Saturday, 8 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [4 July 1903], the
> honored Áqá Muhammad-`Alí, son of Hájí Nasru’lláh, had taken
> refuge in the house of his nephew, Áqá Mírzá Ahmad, when six
> men entered the house to capture him. These six were: Ghulám-
> Ridá, son of Husayn; Mírzá `Alí-Akbar and Mírzá Javád, sons of
> 
> Ridá; Siyyid Muhammad-`Alí Rawdih-khan [reciter]; Siyyid
> Husayn, son of Siyyid Ibráhím; and Muhammad, son of Ridá.
> They were joined by a number of other ruffians.
> 
> They tied a rope around the neck of Áqá Muhammad-`Ali,
> and two men, Muhammad, son of Ridá, and Ghulám-Ridá, son of
> Husayn, forcefully pulled each end. Such is how Áqá Muhammad-
> ’Alí was martyred two hours before sunset. …
> 
> After the killing, they stoned and clubbed his remains and left
> the body. That evening the believers took his remains to the `Arab
> quarter and buried him in an orchard belonging to Áqá
> Muhammad-’Alí himself, where his resting-place remains to this
> day. He was fifty years old.
> 
> [Sunday, 5 July]
> 
> The following day, Sunday, 9 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [5
> July 1903], the honored Áqá Ghulám-Ridá, son of Hájí `Alí-Naqí,
> who had also taken refuge at a home of a friend, Siyyid Ridá, son
> of Mírzá Jamál, was discovered by Siyyid Husayn, son of Siyyid
> `Alí-Ridá. He informed four of the men [who had committed many
> of the earlier killings]: Muhammad-Sádiq Na`ím-Ábádí; Mírzá
> Ridá, son of Hájí Siyyid Mírzá the Imám Jum`ih of Manshád;
> Siyyid Husayn, son of Hájí Siyyid Mahmúd; and Siyyid Ibráhím,
> son of Siyyid `Alí-Ridá. They came together with a large mob and
> seized the esteemed Áqá Ghulám-Ridá.
> 
> They tied his hands behind him, leading him through the
> streets and eventually to a neighborhood known as Pusht Bágh.
> There he was shot by two of the gunmen, Siyyid Husayn, son of
> Hájí Siyyid Mahmúd, and Siyyid Ibráhím, son of Siyyid `Alí-Ridá.
> Each fired a fatal shot at him. His body was stoned, clubbed, and
> 
> then thrown into a nearby well. It was three hours into the
> morning.
> 
> Two months later his body was recovered from the well by
> fellow believers and buried in his own home at a site near the
> grave of his mother, Khadíjih Sultán, whom the same people had
> killed earlier. These two souls, the mother and the son, are still
> buried next to each other in the Karami quarters. He was forty
> years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> [Thursday, 9 July]
> 
> The honored Áqá Assadu’lláh, an illustrious son of Mírzá
> Ibráhím Khabbáz [baker], and a brother of the martyred Shátir
> Hasan and Áqá `Alí-Akbar, was in hiding during the ensuing
> upheavals and commotion in Manshád. On Wednesday evening, 12
> Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [8 July 1903], he decided to leave for
> Yazd on foot. Together with his traveling companion, Siyyid `Alí,
> son of Hájí Siyyid Ahmad Manshádí, they took a route through the
> valleys outside of town.
> 
> The next dawn, while passing through Gudar-zar, a wellknown curve in the road, several men from the village of Mihríjird
> recognized Áqá Assadu’llah and encircled and seized both
> believers. The villagers immediately took them to a nearby farm
> known as Ibráhím-Ábád, or perhaps better known as Mazra`ih
> Hájíha, situated at the foot of the same Gudar-zar. They
> interrogated the two, and each was given the opportunity to recant.
> Siyyid-`Alí, who was a Muslim, was set free. Áqá Assadu’lláh,
> however, was detained.
> 
> The people sent a report of the day’s event to the Imám-
> Jum`ih of Yazd, Mírzá Ibráhím, who was visiting the nearby
> village of Tazarján. When the messenger arrived to deliver the
> 
> report, he was intercepted by one of the community leaders, Hájí
> Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí Tazarjání, known as Hájí Qiblih, who took
> the report and read its contents. Then, without consulting the
> religious leader, the Imám-Jum`ih, he summoned six gunmen of
> Taft who were in Tazarjan at that time: `Abdu’l-Khaliq; Siyyid
> Mihdí, known as Shimru; Hájí Siyyid `Alí-Akbar Siyáh; Akbar,
> son of Ibráhím Zarri` [farmer]; `Abdu’l-Vahháb; and Siyyid
> Husayn `Arab. He acquainted them with the events of the day, and
> the manner that Áqá Assadu’lláh was captured and where he was
> held. Further, he instructed the men to proceed at once to the farm
> of Ibráhím-Ábád and to slay the prisoner. They departed
> immediately.
> 
> When the six evildoers came to the farm, they took Áqá
> Assadu’lláh to the rooftop of a building on the farm belonging to a
> certain Siyyid Muhammad and asked if he was a Bahá’í. On
> hearing an affirmative response, one of the men, Siyyid Husayn
> `Arab, stabbed him with a knife, and the others mercilessly shot
> him. His body was thrown into the streets, where it lay untouched
> for only a short while. This martyrdom occurred three hours into
> the afternoon.
> 
> Meanwhile, upon learning of Áqá Assadu’lláh’s arrest, ten of
> the Manshád’s thugs rode to the Ibráhím-Ábád farm. The ten
> assailants were: Ghulám-Ridá, son of Husayn; `Alí-Akbar, son of
> Ibráhím; Muhammad, son of Ridá; Ghulám-Husayn `Áshiq; Mírzá,
> son of Ustád Ja`far Sabbágh [painter]; Hasan-`Alí, son of Hájí
> Muhammad; Javád and Hájí, sons of Ghulám-`Alí Najjár
> [carpenter]; Mihdí, son of Umm-Laylí; and Siyyid Yahyá, son of
> Mírzá Ibráhím.
> 
> Arriving about an hour after Áqá Assadu’lláh was executed
> by the Taft’s gunmen, one of the [Manshádí] men, `Alí-Akbar, son
> of Ibráhím, approached the body and with his carpenter’s ax
> severed the head. The head was brought back to Manshád and
> 
> thrown on the ground in Maydan Nakhl [town’s palm-tree square].
> It remained there for three hours ... and then was taken and hung
> from the door of Áqá Assadu’lláh’s own haberdasher shop, where
> passers-by stoned it. On seeing this spectacle, Mullá Muhammad-
> Husayn Rawdih-khan, a well-known Muslim reciter, cried out, “O
> people! In Karbalá the infidel Baní Umayyih had the temerity to
> kill the Fifth of the Holy Household12, the Prince of the Martyrs
> [Imám Husayn], and hung his blessed head from the gates of the
> city, for which the people of Islam have cursed them for centuries.
> Today you have committed the same exact shameful act of the
> infidels!” Upon hearing this, the people stopped their assault on the
> severed head.
> 
> A day later the head was taken down and carried to the home
> of the victim’s brother, Husayn-Bábá, next door to the same shop,
> and buried. Áqá Assadu’lláh’s headless body, still lying in the
> same field in the Ibrahim-Ábád farm, was thrown in a well. Two
> months later one of the believers by the name of `Alí-Ridá, son of
> Fayyad-Muqani [well digger], removed his body from the well and
> buried it at the same farm where Áqá Assadu’lláh had been
> martyred.
> 
> Four months later, Áqá Mírzá Assadu’llah, son of Mírzá
> Ismá`íl, who was a relative of the martyred Áqá Assadu’llah,
> exhumed the sacred head of Áqá Assadu’llah and placed it in the
> same coffin used for Shátir Hasan. This coffin was taken to the
> aforementioned Mazra`ih Kuhkum [Buzurg] for burial. Presently
> the body of Áqá Assadu’llah is buried in the farm known as
> Ibrahim-Ábád, while his head is interned in Mazra`ih Kuhkum,
> known as Hujjat-Ábád, buried with his brother [Shátir Hasan]. Áqá
> Assadu’lláh was thirty-five years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> Al-i `Aba, or the Holy Household, is a reference to the 14 Sacred Figures
> of Shi`ih Islam: Muhammad, Fatimih, and the 12 Imams. Imam Husayn,
> Who was martyred in Karbala, was the fifth in this line.
> 
> [Friday, 10 July]
> 
> On Friday, 14 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [10 July 1903],
> Áqá Mírzá Muhammad, the illustrious son of the martyred Áqá
> Mullá `Alí-Akbar, had taken refuge in a farmhouse belonging to
> Siyyid `Alí-Akbar, son of Hájí Siyyid Husayn. Abu’l-Qasim, son
> of Ghulám-Ridá, learned of his whereabouts and informed the
> thugs and rioters.
> 
> It was two hours before noon when more than two hundred
> attackers, rebels and spectators gathered around the farmhouse.
> They went inside, captured Áqá Mírzá Muhammad, and restrained
> him by tying his hands behind him. Then they dragged him to the
> home of Áqá `Alí-Akbar, who had been martyred days earlier.
> There he was tied to a pine tree behind the house and executed
> with successive volleys of gunfire. His body was then untied,
> doused with kerosene brought by Zaynu’l-`Abidin `Attar, and set
> on fire, ... all the while being stoned by the murderers and kicked
> by two of the slayers, Javad, son of Ghulám-`Alí Najjár, and
> Baman-`Ali, son of Ghulám-Ridá. ...
> 
> After the mod had dispersed, one of the non-Bahá’í relatives
> of Áqá Mírzá Muhammad, a certain Siyyid Mihdí, took his
> sanctified remains and buried him in an orchard adjacent to the
> residence of Áqá Mírzá Muhammad, known as Áqá Rida’i’s field,
> where remains his resting-place to this day. Áqá Mírzá Muhammad
> was forty-three years old.
> 
> On the same day, Áqá Siyyid Husayn, son of Áqá Siyyid
> Ahmad, was yet another Bahá’í who had taken refuge at the home
> of a Muslim friend, Siyyid Áqá’í. Two days before Manshád’s
> convulsions, his eldest son, Siyyid Javád, who was only fourteen
> years old, had fallen while working in the farm fields with his
> 
> grandfather, breaking one leg and severely injuring the other. His
> injuries were so severe that he could not move and was bedridden.
> Every day I would visit the boy and tend to his wounds. On the
> first day of the upheaval the wife of Áqá Siyyid Husayn, fearing
> the enmity of the thugs, had taken her injured son to the home of
> Siyyid Áqá’í to be with his father. Thus Siyyid Husayn, his wife,
> and Siyyid Javád were all three hiding there. Siyyid Husayn also
> had another younger son and daughter who were left alone. These
> two homeless young children were each day in a different house
> and at nights, hungry, thirsty, and desolate, would hide in the fields
> or mountains.
> 
> On that Friday, which was now the fourteenth day of the
> troubles, the vicious mob was searching every household in
> Manshád in hope of finding more Bahá’ís to kill. Siyyid Áqá’í
> informed Áqá Siyyid Husayn’s wife of the day’s events, indicating
> to her that soon his house would be searched and did not want Áqá
> Siyyid Husayn to be killed in his house. When Áqá Siyyid Husayn
> learned of the conversation from his wife, he told her that his death
> was near. He alone left the home that had been his family’s refuge,
> bidding farewell to his wife and son. Taking the advice of his host,
> he changed his clothes and took refuge behind the pulpit of the
> nearby mosque. His host had asked him to remain there until the
> mob had finished searching his house. Then he would be able to
> return.
> 
> Although the anticipated search of the house did not result in
> any findings, a number of women in the neighborhood reported
> having seen Siyyid Husayn in the mosque. Siyyid Husayn, aware
> of his dire situation, had no choice but to leave the mosque,
> running a distance of two hundred yards and then climbing over a
> wall into a wheat field. He hid in the wheat but was spotted by a
> woman who told Ibráhím, son of Umm-Liylá, who entered the
> field and searched until he found Siyyid Husayn. Upon finding
> him, Ibráhím, immediately struck him with a wooden club, while
> 
> another, Husayn-`Alí, son of Hájí Muhammad, fired at Siyyid
> Husayn’s face. Thereupon, Siyyid Husayn, son of Siyyid Ibráhím,
> decided to fire on the victim, but the gun did not discharge.
> However, the honored Siyyid Husayn had already fallen down with
> that very first bullet.
> 
> Ghulám-Ridá Tazarjání threw Siyyid Husayn, who was
> nearly dead, over the same wall he had earlier climbed and then
> dragged him by his feet to the house of Mullá Bábá’í, a [soon-to
> be] martyr himself. The honored Siyyid Husayn still had some life
> left in him when his wife and son were informed and quickly ran to
> the scene but were stopped and assaulted by the curses and
> obscenities shouted at them by Ghulám-Ridá, son of Husayn. In
> their fear, the wretched believers sat on the ground, while Ghulám-
> Ridá continued his abusive language towards the wife.
> 
> After the departure of Ghulám-Ridá, they dared go near
> Siyyid Husayn. Upon hearing the crying voices of his family, he
> opened his eyes and looked at his wife and children. The family
> threw themselves on his body, and he embraced them tenderly.
> While holding his loved ones and several teardrops streaming from
> his eyes, Áqá Siyyid Husayn’s hallowed spirit left for the Exalted
> Paradise. That evening his remains were taken to his home in the
> Mírzá quarters of the city and buried in front of the building, where
> it serves as his burial-place to this day. He was forty years old.
> 
> When he heard the news of his father’s martyrdom, the
> bedridden and broken-hearted Siyyid Javád pleaded for one last
> opportunity to visit and bid farewell to his father. Unfortunately,
> no one paid any attention to this poor boy, though he was only a
> short distance away from his fallen father. After Siyyid Husayn’s
> death, Siyyid Javád was taken back to his own home. He was
> constantly heard saying and praying, “How I wish that the enemies
> had seen me and taken my life on that day too! If only they would
> come now and cut my heart out allowing me to join that exalted
> 
> soul!” Not a day went by that he did not wish for his own death.
> His wailing and lamenting were destined to be as ephemeral as his
> fleeting life, for he was to outlive his father’s brutal martyrdom by
> only fourteen days. Every night his mother would take the other
> two children, afraid that the neighbors would bring harm to them,
> and spend the night at Siyyid Áqá’í’s home. Each night Siyyid
> Javád would beg his mother not to leave him alone. He feared he
> would die alone. But the poor mother had no choice but to look
> after the other two young children and protect them. When she
> returned home on Friday, 28 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [24 July
> 1903], she found her son’s lifeless body in his bed. After his
> mother mourned for his death, Siyyid Javád, according to his
> wishes, was laid to rest next to Siyyid Husayn, where to this day
> both the father and son remain – a union in both this world and the
> next.
> 
> On the same Friday [10 July] that Siyyid Husayn was
> martyred, another young man by the name of Áqá Husayn-`Alí,
> son of the [soon-to-be] martyred Mullá Baba’i, was also martyred.
> 
> Fearing the bloodthirsty mob, this young man had gone to the
> mountains on the north side of Manshád, known as Murghistán
> Mountains, where he hid in a cave. When the mob was finished
> with Siyyid Husayn, some three hours before sunset, they went to
> the mountains in search of other believers. `Ali-Akbar, son of
> Ibráhím, together with other thugs located Áqá Husayn-`Alí. They
> captured him with the intention of bringing him to Ja`far-Ábád,
> one of Manshád’s neighborhoods. On the way that youth fell
> victim to countless beatings and stoning. When they reached a
> field known as Bágh Javádí, in a final act of contempt, one of his
> attackers, `Alí-Akbar, son of Ibráhím, fired at him, while Ghulám-
> Ridá, son of `Alí, and Háshim, from the Fayúj tribe, beat him to
> death with sticks and stones. He was buried on that spot, at the
> tender age of nineteen.
> 
> [Saturday, 11 July]
> 
> The following day, 15 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [11 July
> 1903], Áqá Ghulám-Husayn, son of Taqí Dallal [broker], a Bahá’í
> from Yazd who had come to Manshád to escape the brutal pogrom
> unfolding there, along with another Bahá’í named Áqá Siyyid
> Báqir, son of the late Siyyid Ahmad Manshádí and a brother of the
> martyred Áqá Siyyid Husayn, were found hiding in one of the
> caves in the eastern mountains, behind the Turks’ farm. Two hours
> after sunrise the mob surrounded the cave and at first, Ghulám-
> Ridá, son of Husayn, called for the two believers, Áqá Siyyid
> Báqir and Áqá Ghulám-Husayn, to surrender. Acquiescing, they
> emerged, whereupon Áqá Ghulám-Husayn was killed instantly by
> a huge volley of gunfire and later beheaded. His headless body was
> left alone and later was buried in the same spot. His head was
> taken to Muhammad Kalántar, who instructed one of his
> messengers, Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí, son of Husayn Turk, to take it
> as a gift to Mírzá Fathu’lláh, the Mushíru’l-Mamálik, the [newlyappointed] Governor of the province of Yazd. This head was
> buried in Yazd, near Mussala City-gate, towards the Qiblih, about
> three yards from the river. Áqá Ghulám-Husayn was sixty-three
> years old at the time of his martyrdom.13
> 
> After Áqá Ghulám-Husayn was assassinated, the mob sought
> out Áqá Siyyid Báqir, who had escaped the fate of his companion
> and returned to his own home some time earlier. Since it was
> getting warm, and people seemed thirsty, Áqá Siyyid Báqir invited
> the men inside to have some fruit. They accepted his invitation and
> entered. After enjoying the refreshments and fruits that Áqá Siyyid
> Báqir offered them, they arrested him and, tying his hands, led him
> 
> The last two sentences occurs further in the narrative, but to improve the
> flow, it has been moved to this spot.
> 
> to the home of Muhammad Kalántar, who ordered his
> imprisonment.
> 
> On that same day Siyyid `Alí14, out of fear, decided to leave
> Manshád and started toward Yazd. On the way, while between the
> villages of Tazarján and Taft, three men from that area saw and
> recognized him: Siyyid Sádiq, Siyyid `Alí-Akbar, and Mírzá
> Muhammad-`Alí, son of Mírzá Siyyid Husayn from the village of
> Turanj15.
> 
> Siyyid `Alí was summarily arrested, his hands tied behind
> him, and he was taken to Tazarján where they sought the
> permission of Mírzá Ibráhím, the Imám-Jum`ih of Yazd, who was
> visiting, to kill their prisoner. The Imám-Jum`ih replied that, since
> he was not familiar with the character of the Siyyid, it was not
> possible for him to issue such a fatwá [warrant]. He advised them
> instead to take the Siyyid back to Manshád and inquire from the
> people of that town about him. Two hours before sunset the men
> entered the town of Manshád, bringing with them Siyyid `Alí with
> hands tied. They had already decided to take him to Muhammad
> Kalántar and let him pronounce the verdict.
> 
> When they came to Maydan Nakhl [town’s palm-tree
> square], Siyyid `Ali escaped from his three captors and sought
> refuge behind the palm. By now a group of savage townspeople
> had heard of their arrival and had come to see them: Ghulám-Ridá,
> son of Husayn; Muhammad-Sádiq Na`im-Ábádí; Javád and Hájí,
> sons of Ghulám-Ridá Najjár [carpenter]; Ahamd Javád; Ghulám-
> Ridá Tazarjani; Mírzá Muhammad-`Ali Tafti, an attendant of
> Prince Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad, surnamed, Navvab Vakilu’t-
> Tawliyih.
> 
> The text erroneously has Siyyid Taqí.
> The text erroneously has Tazyaj.
> 
> This group joined the three original assailants, and some
> others, and circled Maydan Nakhl. They had surrounded the victim
> and were prepared to take his life when one of the villager cried
> out that the palm was sacred and that his life should be spared until
> he released his hold on it.16 They ignored the man and it was about
> sunset when Ghulám-Ridá Tazarjání fired the first shot, which was
> followed by shots by Siyyid Sádiq Turanjí and Mírzá Muhammad-
> `Alí Taftí, attendant of Navvab Vakilu’t-Tawliyih, fatally shot
> Siyyid `Alí. Thus, that illustrious soul was martyred under the
> palms in town’s square.
> 
> That evening, his wife removed her husband’s remains from
> the scene and buried them in their home in Mírzáha quarter of
> Manshád, where it remains his burial-spot to this day. He was
> thirty-five years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> The three men who had arrested Siyyid `Alí and instigated
> his murder, namely, Siyyid Sádiq, Siyyid `Ali-Akbar and Mírzá
> Muhammad-`Ali of Turanj, decided before leaving town to shed
> the blood of this servant. With this intention in mind they left
> Maydan Nakhl and came to my home. I was alone when the three
> men entered my house. Since at the time I neither knew them, nor I
> was aware of their intentions, I greeted them warmly. A water-pipe
> was offered, and tea was served. Then I asked them where they
> were from and what business brought them to Manshád, upon
> 
> Every year in the month of Muharram, the first month in the lunar
> calendar of Islam, the Shí`ís mourn the martyrdom of Imám Husayn, the
> grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in Karbalá in the year 61 A.H. As part
> of the rituals commemorating the events of Karbalá, a large coffin
> resembling a palm tree is prepared and covered with expensive fabrics and
> decorated with daggers, swords, and mirrors. The believers carry the coffin,
> representing Imám Husayn’s coffin, the procession that passes through the
> streets. It appears that such a coffin was in the town-square and that Siyyid
> `Ali sought refuge behind it. Hence the protests of the villagers that “the
> palm was sacred” and that “his life should be spared.”
> 
> which they related to me the story of Siyyid `Alí’s martyrdom
> beneath the palms. Upon hearing this, I was overwhelmed by
> sorrow and grief. Seeing my condition, the men immediately left
> my house. Outside, Siyyid Sádiq had asked the other two why they
> had not killed me. They said that, since I had been so extremely
> kind and hospitable, they did not have the heart to take my life.
> 
> That same early evening, after the mob killing of Siyyid `Alí,
> the men immediately returned to the home of Muhammad
> Kalántar, where Siyyid Báqir was imprisoned. It was late in the
> afternoon when they took him to a field known as Mazra`ih
> Turkha, to a farm known as Jan-Áqá’i. Three of them, namely,
> Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí Taftí, the attendant of Navvab Vakilu’t-
> Tawliyih, Ghulám-Ridá, son of Husayn, and Muhammad-Sádiq
> Na`ím-Ábádí, each fired a bullet into their victim.
> 
> Later the believers took the hallowed remains and buried
> them next to the grave that contained the headless body of Áqá
> Ghulám-Husayn Dallal killed earlier in the day – his companion
> and fellow martyr. That spot is located in Mazra`ih Turkha, by a
> bent known as Kamar Kasih-Piyalih, behind Lay-Zardih River,
> south-side of Káv-Afshádí Road. Siyyid Báqir was fifty-one years
> old.
> 
> [Sunday, 12 July]
> 
> The following day, Sunday, 16 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H.
> [12 July 1903], the honored Muhammad, son of Mullá Bábá’í, had
> taken refuge in his home when around noontime I saw three of the
> rioters going in that direction: Ghulám-Ridá Tazarjání; Husayn-
> `Alí, son of Hájí Muhammad; and Háshim from Fayúj tribe. I was
> perplexed and deeply grief-stricken, knowing their intent to
> commit yet another murder of some innocent Bahá’í, but I did not
> know where they were going. When the men reached the home of
> 
> Áqá Muhammad, they entered it and brought him out. Áqá
> Muhammad requested that they delay their perfidious act for an
> hour so that he might say farewell to his wife and young children
> and see them for one last time. The men, ignoring his plea,
> answered by shooting him. At first, Háshim of Fayuj tribe shot him
> in the head, which caused him to fall to the ground. Then the other
> two, Ghulám-Ridá Tazarjani and Husayn-`Ali, son of Hájí
> Muhammad, each shot him in turn.
> 
> `Ali-Akbar, son of Hájí Husayn, tied a rope around the
> martyr’s feet and dragged him back home, where later that evening
> his wife brought the body inside and laid it to rest. That house is
> located in Sar-Bagh quarter of Manshád, and he remains buried
> there at the present. He was twenty-three years old at the time of
> martyrdom.
> 
> [Wednesday, 15 July]
> 
> The following Wednesday, 19 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H.
> [15 July 1903], the honored Mullá Bábá’í, a brother of the
> illustrious [martyred] Rada’r-Rúh [and father of the recently
> martyred Áqá Muhammad], found shelter in Rakur quarter, located
> between Manshád and Káv-Afshád, in the home of Hájí
> Muhammad-Hasan, son of Hájí Qásim.17 A woman by the name of
> Hájíyyih, wife of Hájí Qásim-`Ali, who lived in that neighborhood,
> learned of his whereabouts and informed Manshád’s terrorinducing populace. Soon a mob, consisting of thugs, murderers and
> onlookers, totaling over two hundred, descended upon the house
> where Mullá Bábá’í had taken refuge.
> 
> Mullá Bábá’í had become a believer some fifty-three years earlier, during
> Vahíd Dáríbí’s visit to Yazd in April 1850.
> 
> Several men entered the home and began searching the
> rooms. Ghulám-Ridá, son of Husayn, came upon the room where
> Mullá Bábá’í and his son, Áqá Javád, were sitting in a dark corner.
> He instructed them to come out of the room, but they said nothing.
> `Ali-Akbar, son of Ibráhím, brought a lamp and entered the room
> and then came out saying that Mullá Bábá’í and his son must be
> shot right there, but, apprehensive of the harm that might befall his
> son, Mullá Bábá’í quickly surrendered instead.
> 
> Mullá Bábá’í’s hands were tied behind his back and,
> bareheaded and barefoot, he was led to the home of Hájí Siyyid
> Husayn, son of Hájí Siyyid Ahmad, in the Mírzáhá section of town
> to be killed. Another group captured Áqá Javád, Mullá Bábá’í’s
> son, and brought him as well to be killed. Mullá Bábá’í, who was
> in the middle of the crowd, could not see his son; hence he asked
> Siyyid Husayn, if they had not yet killed his son, to bring him near
> so he could see him one last time. Siyyid Husayn agreed and
> brought the son near. When the Mullá saw his son, his last spoken
> words were instructions to Áqá Javád that, should he survive, he
> should arrange for the payment of a debt to a certain individual.
> Bidding him farewell, Mullá Bábá’í left the boy to the care of
> Siyyid Husayn, expressing the wish that he not be obliged to speak
> again and so remained silent.
> 
> Although the crowd wanted to kill the boy, Siyyid Husayn
> intervened and took him inside his own home. It was around noon
> that the crowd moved Mullá Bábá’í once again toward the bazaar,
> near the shop of Zaynu’l-`Ábidín `Attár. With his hands still firmly
> tied behind him, Mullá Bábá’í was repeatedly stoned. A rock
> hurled at him by Mírzá Husayn, son of Hájí Siyyid Mírzá, the
> Imám Jum`ih of Manshád, fractured his forehead, from which
> blood gushed forth, covering his radiant countenance. Biman-`Ali,
> son of Ghulám-Ridá, threw another rock that further injured his
> head and caused blood to be spilled over his face. Time after time
> he was assaulted, until his white beard was soaked by his blood.
> 
> He was then taken behind the home of martyred Áqá `Alí-Akbar
> where he was held for about ten minutes. During this entire time
> his gaze remained fixed in the direction of the Holy Land, the
> Sacred Threshold of his Beloved, as he whispered a quiet prayer.
> Not one word was uttered by him in the face of his ordeal, so
> poignantly did he exemplify the lesson of true faith and sacrifice.
> …
> 
> In the midst of the chaos Shátir Hasan Khabbáz [baker] of
> Ardikán retrieved a can of kerosene from a nearby shop of
> Zaynu’l-`Abidin `Attar, poured it over Mullá Bábá’í and `Alí
> `Arab Haddad Manshádí, set him ablaze. While the flames
> engulfed him, those who carried guns began to shoot him. Others
> were satisfied with clubbing and stoning him. Siyyid Husayn, son
> of Siyyid `Ali, and Siyyid Hasan, son of Siyyid `Ali-Ridá
> Manshádí, tied a rope to his feet and dragged his remains to the
> home of a fellow believer, the honored Siyyid Taqí. That night,
> believers retrieved the body and buried it in a land known as Mullá
> Akbarí, near the home of Siyyid Taqi, where remains his burialspot to this day. Mullá Bábá’í was sixty-five years old at the time
> of martyrdom.
> 
> Bahá’í Pogroms in Nearby Villages18
> 
> Village of Káv-Afshád
> 
> On Friday, 14 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [10 July 1903], a
> memorial gathering in honor of the Prince of the Martyrs [Imám]
> Husayn ibn `Ali – may my life be a sacrifice unto His meekness –
> was held at the home of Hájí Mullá Muhammad-`Alí Dahan in the
> village of Káv-Afshád [where all the village men,] including a
> Bahá’í named Ustád Ridá, were in attendance. Sometime during
> the event a group of thugs from Manshád arrived at the gathering
> and, on spotting Ustád Ridá, attempted to martyr him then and
> there. Some of the natives of Káv-Afshád, however, became
> agitated and prevented this slaying, arguing that, “In honor of the
> rawdih-khani19 of Imám Husayn ibn `Ali, upon Him be peace, we
> will not permit that he be taken from this house and be slain.” …
> 
> A sever confrontation occurred between the villagers and
> Manshádí thugs, and at the end resulted in the Manshádí hooligans
> being expelled from the gathering by the people of Káv-Afshád. At
> the conclusion of the commemorative gathering, the esteemed
> Ustád Ridá, [apprehensive of his life,] left the house and took
> refuge in the house of Hasan, son Muhammad Káv-Afshádí, his
> son-in-law.
> 
> However, after only two days, the local thugs decided on
> slaying of Ustád Ridá. Hasan notified the ruffians of Ustád Ridá’s
> whereabouts. Thereupon the house of the son-in-law was rushed
> 
> In addition to the account of the Manshád’s pogrom, Siyyid Muhammad
> Tabíb Manshádí also recorded the heinous Bahá’í killings in the nearby
> villages. Because of their historical importance, they have been translated as
> well.
> Commemoration or observance gatherings in honor of Imam Husayn.
> 
> that Sunday afternoon, 16 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [12 July
> 1903], by the thugs who quickly captured and removed the
> honored Ustád Ridá to another neighborhood of the village, known
> as Sarmúr Káv-Afshád. Two of the hoodlums, Muhammad-`Alí,
> son of Yádigár, and Siyyid Husayn Haddád, son of Siyyid `Ali,
> prepared to kill that illustrious soul, when Ustád Ridá turned to
> them and said, “My Beloved – may my soul be a sacrifice unto His
> gentleness – has taught us to kiss the hand of our would-be
> executioners. As the two of you intend on killing me, therefore, in
> accordance with the His instructions, grant me this one last favor
> of kissing your hands before being put to death.”20 On hearing this,
> the two men extended their hands, which Ustád Ridá kissed
> reverently. Then they tied a rope around his neck, one end being
> held by Siyyid Husayn Haddád and the other held by Muhammad-
> `Ali, son of Yádigár, and each pulled the rope until the victim was
> suffocated. ...
> 
> After martyrdom, his body was hung from a nearby tree until
> the next morning when his sacred remains were lowered and
> buried by non-Bahá’ís behind and on the north side of the takiyih21
> of Káv-Afshád, by the road. Presently he remains buried in the
> same location.
> 
> Ustád Ridá was fifty-six years old at time of his martyrdom.
> 
> Village of Darrih
> 
> Shátir Hasan [son of Zaynu’l-`Abidin] was a Bahá’í from the
> Kushak-Naw quarter of Yazd who, during this period of unrest in
> This comment echoes the exhortation of Bahá’u’lláh in the Lawh Shikar
> Shikkan. For the text of the tablet, see The Bahá’í World: An International
> Record, Volume XVIII, 1979-1983, comp. The Universal House of Justice
> (Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 1986), p. 11.
> Takiyih is the place of worship or soothsaying for the Shi`ih Muslims.
> 
> his native town, had moved to the nearby village of Tazarján,
> where he was continuing his profession of baker. When the people
> of the village learned of the disturbances and turmoil in Yazd, they
> congregated and surrounded Shátir Hasan, beating him with stone
> and sticks, intending on killing him. With great difficulty and
> struggle, Shátir Hasan was able to escape the crazed mob and
> quickly left the village for Manshád. He arrived there on the same
> day, three hours before sunset, and took refuge in the home of the
> martyred Áqá `Alí-Akbar.
> 
> Meanwhile, the honored Áqá Mírzá Ibráhím Tabíb
> Khurramsháhí, a Bahá’í of Yazd from Maydán-Sháh quarter,
> escaping the wrath of the murdering mob there, made his way to
> Manshád. Upon entering the city, the thugs in Manshád recognized
> Áqá Mírzá Ibráhím and attempted to kill him. However, as many
> of the locals did not know him, their aim was halted by others. On
> the first day of troubles, [26 June,] some three hours before sunset,
> the esteemed Shátir Hasan and the honored Mírzá Ibráhím left
> Manshád out of the fear of the foes for the village of Darrih. They
> arrived there one hour before the sunset and took a room in
> Khadíjih Darvísh’s house. When the villagers became aware of the
> two newcomers that very night, they surrounded the house, and a
> few went inside and captured the two believers. As the villagers
> were not aware of the details associated with these two, they
> inquired of one another. Two of them, Ramadan, son of Hájí
> Sha`ban, a native of Darrih, and Ghulám-Husayn, son of Ahmad-
> Mazar, a native of Yazd, however, said to the crowd, “We know
> these two; both are Bahá’ís and have just escaped from Manshád.”
> The two believers, that is, Shátir Hasan and Mírzá Ibráhím, were
> first completely undressed by a large mob from Darrih, led by:
> Ramadan, son of Hájí Sha`ban; Ghulám-Husayn, son of Ahmad-
> Mazar; Ridá, son of Akbar-Hadi; Akbar, son of Ja`far; Ridá, son of
> `Ali; Habib, the son of Ustád Ridá Dallal; Ismá`íl from the village
> of Darrih, son of Biman-`Ali; Siyyid `Ali; the children of Siyyid
> 
> `Ali-Rida; and Siyyid Ismá`íl, son of Siyyid Ibráhím, who was a
> residence of Bagh-Gandum quarter of Yazd. …
> 
> The hands of the two distinguished men were tied behind
> them. Led in front of the crowd, they were compelled to march to
> Kushtkhan22 of Darrih village, to an area known as Khabbáz-
> Ráraun, while sustaining injuries of rocks, stones and sticks being
> thrown at them. On the way they were stoned so severely and
> repeatedly that before reaching their destination, they gave life to
> the Life-Giver. Their sacred remains were thrown in an empty
> well, between Bágh and the pool of Mazra`ih Javádí’s aqueduct.
> This well is by Ibráhím-Ábádí roadside, near a large bolder. The
> well was filled with dirt until their bodies were no longer visible.
> Shátir Hasan was thirty-five, and Mírzá Ibráhím Tabíb, sixty-five
> years old at the time of their martyrdom.
> 
> Village of Banadak-Sadat
> 
> When on Sunday, 2 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [28 June
> 1903], the news of the commotion and pogroms of Yazd and
> Manshád and martyrdom of the divine friends had reached the ears
> of the people in the village of Banádak, the inhabitants followed
> the example of the thugs in Yazd and Manshád and about two
> hundred of them and some others congregated two hours before the
> sunset deciding on killing the Bahá’ís and spilling the blood of
> those wronged-ones. They proceeded towards the Bagh-Kurk
> quarter, which was one of the neighborhoods of Banádak.
> 
> The esteemed Áqá Husayn, son of Báqir, was one of the
> believers of Yazd and a resident of Sahl ibn `Ali quarter, and at
> that time was visiting Banádak. Through the instigation of his sonin-law, Sabzih-`Ali, the hoodlums surrounded the residence of that
> 
> An area used to slaughtering sheep.
> 
> honored person and six of them entered the house, [five of whom]
> were from Banádak: Hájí Ahmad, son of Baqir; Hájí Siyyid Karím,
> son of Siyyid Husayn; Muhammad, son of Husayn ibn Báqir,
> Mubashir of Banádak; Mírzá Muhammad, son of Hájí Mullá
> Sádiq; Chiraq-`Alí, son of Ghulám-Husayn Khájíh; and the sixth
> one, Hájí Karim Shurmal, was from Yazd. They entered the house
> and threw the honored Áqá Husayn from the second floor into the
> street. First, Hájí Karim Shurmal shot him. Then the other ruffians
> repeatedly riddled him with bullets. It was noontime that he was
> thusly martyred.
> 
> Afterwards a rope was tied to his feet and he was dragged on
> the ground until they reached Kudar Tazarjan at the fork in the
> road where one road leads to Bágh-Hájían quarter and the other
> road leads inside Banádak village. They threw the remains in the
> middle of a small brook on skirts of the southern hills of Banádak,
> situated about twenty steps from the main road passing by the
> aqueduct of Qádí’s farm. After two days and nights that his sacred
> body was left on the mountainside, he was finally buried there.
> Áqá Husayn was sixty-five years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> The honored Áqá Mírzá Muhammad Hudá, who was one of
> the believers of Yazd, residing in the Khalif-Bágh neighborhood,
> was now living in Banádak for several years engaged in farming.
> Fearing the enemies, on the first day of upheavals, no sooner had
> the thugs commenced mischief and troubles, that he escaped from
> Banádak for Manshád. For five days he hid in Manshád’s
> mountains, thirsty and without food.
> 
> On Thursday, 6 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [2 July 1903], a
> group of men, including of the following, entered the residence of
> the honored Áqá Muhammad [Hudá]: Hájí Ahmad, son of Báqir;
> Hájí Siyyid Karím, son of Siyyid Husayn; Muhammad, son of
> Husayn; son of Báqir, the Mubashi; Mírzá Muhammad, son of Hájí
> Mullá Sádiq; Chiraq-`Ali, son of Ghulám-Husayn Khájíh; all were
> 
> from Banádak, and from Yazd was Hájí Karím Shurmal and Hájí
> `Alí Dallak [masseur]. After the mob entered the house, they
> looked for the esteemed Áqá Muhammad, but on being unable to
> find him, torched the house and left.
> 
> They searched the nearby homes and eventually one of the
> thugs was able to locate him in one of the homes in the
> neighborhood, known as Khanih-Khuda’i. The crowd was notified
> of his whereabouts and in no time over one hundred fifty of the
> hoodlums entered the house and removed the honored Áqá Mírzá
> Muhammad from the house.
> 
> At first, Hájí Siyyid Karím, son of Siyyid Husayn, repeatedly
> stroke him with a chain he had brought with him. These beatings
> caused severe lacerations, but the ruffians retorted to Hájí Siyyid
> Karím, “Such beatings are ineffective and will not result in the
> desired outcome! We must slay him!” When Hájí Siyyid Karím
> heard such talks, he shot the honored Áqá Mírzá Muhammad. This
> was followed by shots fired at the victim by: Hájí Karím Shurmal;
> Chiraq-`Alí, son of Ghulám-Husayn Khájíh; and Hájí `Alí Dallak.
> Thereupon, the mob also opened fire on his remains.
> 
> It was two hours before noon that he was thusly martyred.
> Subsequently, a rope was tied to his feet and he was dragged to the
> takiyih of Banídak, where he was left. Men and women continued
> to stone the sacred remains and for two hours he was left as such in
> the Maydan [village-square] by the palm trees. Once more his
> remains were dragged and thrown on the skirts of Banádak’s
> northern mountains, at a location known as Til Zard. An old
> woman named Múlúd, who was the wife of Husayn, son of `Ali
> ibn Qásim Banádaki, threw a stone at the remains that broke four
> of Áqá Mírzá Muhammad’s teeth. Still the fire of people’s enmity
> was not quenched. They collected firewood, poured kerosene over
> 
> it and made a large fire with which they burned his Abraham-like
> remains.23 …
> 
> For three days, his charred remains were left on the
> mountainside. The thugs stoned it so much that it was completely
> covered and to this day rests in the same spot. The honored Mírzá
> Muhammad Hudá was fifty years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> Áqá Ghulám-Ridá, son of Husayn ibn Hájí Rahman, was one
> of the believers of Banádak-Sádát. Because of the hostilities of
> non-Bahá’ís, he had left Banádak two years earlier and was
> residing in Manshád. On the first day of troubles in his new town,
> he fled to the village of Nayr and took refuge in the home of his
> brother-in-law. This brother-in-law, however, informed the thugs
> and non-Bahá’ís of his arrival and they immediately rushed to the
> house and seized the honored Ghulám-Ridá. They wanted to slay
> him there, when some of the natives of Nayr protested, “Do not
> you slay this man here and take him instead with you to Manshád,
> where you can do what you wish. If he is killed in this village, then
> the governor can hold us responsible.”
> 
> It was Saturday, 15 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [11 July
> 1903], when Mírzá Muhammad Tafti and one of the attendants of
> Navvab Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad, titled Vakilu’t-Tawliyih,
> brought the honored Ghulám-Ridá to Manshád with hands tied,
> where he was conducted to the house of Muhammad Kalántar. It
> was the evening hour. They were ready to turn him over to
> Manshád’s thugs so he could be martyred that very night, but this
> servant was present in the gathering and said to Muhammad
> Kalántar, “The villagers did not commit this murder and refused to
> shoulder responsibilities for such an act. It would be best if the
> people of Manshád followed their example. If you deem
> appropriate, kindly allow him to leave this night for whatever
> 
> Allusion to the fact that Prophet Abraham was tested with fire.
> 
> directions he wishes.” Muhammad, however, did not consent to
> this request. Therefore I asked him to delay his killing until the
> morning, a request that was accepted. He instructed Áqá Ghulám-
> Ridá to be imprisoned.
> 
> That Sunday morning, 16 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [12
> July 1903], Manshád’s evildoers became aware of the arrival of
> Áqá Ghulám-Ridá. They congregated and decided to slay him in
> Manshád. Several of the non-Bahá’ís suggested to Muhammad
> Kalántar, “This man should be taken to Banádak and dealt with in
> accordance with the wishes of people there.”
> 
> The same two men who had brought Áqá Ghulám-Ridá to
> Manshád by way of Nayr were now charged to take him, hands
> tied, to Banadak. There, he was first brought before Siyyid Kázim,
> brother of Navvab Vakilu’t-Tawliyih, and permission was sought
> to slay the prisoner. Outwardly, Siyyid Kázim ordered the release
> of the man, but with a secret motion issued instruction for his
> killing. A mob of about two hundred strong took Áqá Ghulám-
> Ridá from Siyyid Kázim’s house to Til Zankiyan, situated on the
> eastern flank of Banádak. He was surrounded by the mob. First,
> Husayn, son of Mihdi, who was a thug from Yazd, perpetrated
> with his sword several injuries on Áqá Ghulám-Ridá’s head and
> body. Afterwards, Muhammad, son of Husayn ibn Báqir, the
> Mubashir [mayor] of Banádak, conveyed Áqá Ghulám-Ridá to the
> top a wall and then dropped him below. Hájí Siyyid Karim, son of
> Siyyid Husayn ibn Siyyid Ahmad, fired a shot into the victim,
> which was followed with repeated volleys by the mob. It was the
> noon hour.
> 
> After his martyrdom, one of the thugs, a certain Raziq, from
> Yazd, beheaded Áqá Ghulám-Ridá and hung the head by a walnut
> tree, while his decapitated body was thrown into a well at the spot
> where he was killed. For three days, his head thusly hung from that
> tree. Afterwards, Ghulám-`Alí, brother of Ghulám-Ridá, brought
> 
> down that sacred head from the tree and deposited it in the same
> well that housed his remains. Presently, the well by Til Zankiyan,
> on the eastern side of Banádak-Sádát, servers as his resting-place.
> After some time, Ghulám-`Ali, brother of that illustrious soul,
> filled the well and converted the lands around it into a farm, which
> stands to this day.
> 
> The honored Ghulám-Ridá was thirty years old at the time of
> martyrdom.
> 
> Village of Hanzá
> 
> After the pogroms of Taft and Yazd, and the martyrdom of
> believers – upon them rest the Glory of God – the evildoers and
> thugs in Hanzá decided on tumult, commotion and the slaying of
> the divine friends. It was Saturday24, 4 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H.
> [30 June 1903], that Hanzá’s hoodlums congregated and decided to
> kill the Bahá’ís of that village.
> 
> That day, Áqá Mírzá [Muhammad] Árám was in the mosque
> in Hanzá. Muhammad, son of Vahhab, entered and resolved to kill
> him. Áqá Mírzá [Muhammad] Árám, however, became aware of
> his intention and left the mosque for his house. Muhammad also
> came out of the mosque and followed him, looking for an
> opportunity to slay him on the way. Áqá Mírzá Árám entered his
> house, with Muhammad’s plan remaining frustrated.
> 
> When Wednesday morning, 5 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [1
> July 1903], Mírzá Muhammad [Árám] left his house, a non-Bahá’í
> approached him and advise him, “The thugs plan to kill you this
> very day.” At that time, Muhammad, son of Vahhab, arrived and
> 
> According to calendars available to the present translator, 4 Rabí`u’th-
> Thání was a Tuesday.
> 
> Mírzá Muhammad gave him the cash he had as a gift. However,
> Muhammad did not leave him alone and together with Husayn
> Kalagh Tafti, `Alí ibn Rasúl Hanzá’i, and some other people from
> the villages of Hanzá and Tazarjan, seized Áqá Muhammad Mírzá
> and conducted him to Hanzá’s takiyih. The assailants, that is,
> Muhammad, son of Vahhab, `Ali, son of Rasúl, and Husayn
> Kalagh, each severely stabbed the victim, injuring him gravely.
> Then they brought him to his own residence where they each
> stabbed him once more. Upon entrance into his residence, the
> honored Mírzá Muhammad’s spirit passed on to the world above
> and to the Abhá Paradise. It was two hours before noon that he was
> thusly martyred.
> 
> After martyrdom, the thugs stoned his remains. Then they
> removed him to an orchard outside the village, known as Bágh
> Aramiha, which belonged to the martyred Mírzá Muhammad. He
> was buried there. Six years later, the widow of the honored Mírzá
> Muhammad, in accordance with Islamic practices, exhumed his
> remains from that location and carried it to Mashhad, where he was
> buried in the vicinity of the Shrine of Imam Ridá. Presently he is
> buried in that location. The honored Mírzá Muhammad was forty
> years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> On Thursday, 6 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [2 July 1903], the
> exalted leaf Fatimih Bagum, daughter of Mír[zá] Sharfu’d-Din,
> was at her house when some non-Bahá’ís informed her, “Thugs
> and rioters plan on killing you and soon will rush your house to
> seize you.” Fearing the hoodlums, she immediately left her house
> and took refuge in the house of Mírzá Husayn, son of Hájí Mírzá
> Muhsin Hanzá’í. However, Hájí, son of Abu-Talib Hanzá’í,
> became aware of her whereabouts, followed her and discovered the
> room that she was hiding in.
> 
> Hájí ibn Abu-Talib entered the house and came by her room,
> calling her by name. Having no choice or recourse that exalted
> 
> lady emerged from the room. Hájí ibn Abu-Talib and Husayn
> Kalagh Tafti seized that wronged woman, and at first beat her with
> chains so much that she was covered in blood. She pleaded
> ceaselessly, crying, “Have you no shame of my Grandfather, the
> Messenger of God25, upon Him and His family be peace? For the
> sake of my sanctified Grandmother26, discard the notion of killing
> me and leave me be.” They did not heed her pleas and showed no
> mercy.
> 
> They brought her by Hanzá’s river, across from the house of
> Mírzá `Abdu’llah Tabib Hanzá’í. While a large crowd had
> surrounded that wronged lady, Hájí ibn Abu-Talib and Husayn
> Kalagh Tafti each stabbed her, and then others joined in stoning
> her. It was two hours before noon that she was thusly martyred.
> 
> Afterwards a rope was tied to her feet and she was dragged to
> Hájí `Abdu’r-Rasúl Hanzá’í’s house. They gathered firewood and
> set her remains on fire. Not satisfied with that, they brought
> gunpowder and poured it over her and the fire, while continuing to
> stone and beat her body.
> 
> Subsequently, her charred remains were buried in an orchard
> belonging to the honored Áqá Siyyid Muhammad-`Ali, brother of
> that wronged woman, a spot that severs to this day as her restingplace. She was forty-nine years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> On the first day of upheavals, the rioters in Hanzá attempted
> to murder the honored Siyyid Muhammad-`Ali Kazir [son of
> Sharu’d-Din and brother of martyred Fatimih Bagum] and the
> honored Áqá Mírzá Javád Sabbagh [son of Muhammad Qannad
> [confectioner]]. Fearing the antagonism of the enemies, the two
> men escaped and each took refuge at a different place. For three
> 
> A reference to Prophet Muhammad.
> A reference to Fatimih, daughter of Prophet Muhammad.
> 
> days Áqá Siyyid Muhammad-`Ali Kazir was hiding in the hills on
> the north of Hanzá: one day in the home of Siyyid Vali Khan
> Hanzá’í, and two more days in the aqueduct’s wells. The honored
> Áqá Mírzá Javád Sabbagh also hid for two days in the house of
> Mírzá Mihdi, son of Hájí `Abdu’r-Rasúl Hanzá’í, and four more
> days in the home of Husayn, son of Ismá`íl Hanzá’í.
> 
> On Friday, 7 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [3 July 1903], the
> evildoers became aware of the whereabouts of these two believers.
> Mírzá Hidayatu’llah, surnamed Mu`in-Divan, sent a messenger to
> Áqá Siyyid Muhammad-`Ali assuring him, “If you come out from
> the house, I will not allow anyone to harm you.” For this purpose
> he sent two of his attendants to accompany that honored person
> and to ensure his protection and safety. Thusly he was conveyed to
> the village of Tazarjan.
> 
> When the people of Tazarjan saw the honored Áqá Siyyid
> Muhammad-`Ali, they decided to take his life. Mu`in-Divan’s
> attendants tried what they could to prevent them, but were
> unsuccessful. Those involved included three thugs from Yazd:
> Hasan, son of Rasúl, who was the assassin of the honored Hájí
> Mírzá Halabí-sáz [in Yazd]; `Abbás Chit-saz, known as `Abbás
> Ghar-Ghar, and thirdly, Muhammad, known as Muhammad Palang
> [tiger]. They were joined by: Muhammad, son of Vahhab Hanzá’í;
> Hájí `Ali Hujjih-furush; Hájí Ghulám-Ridá Hujjih-furush, a
> residence of Tazarjan; and several Siyyids of the village of Taranj.
> In addition, there were the following six thugs from Taft: `Abdu’l-
> Khaliq; Siyyid Mihdi, known as Shimr; Hájí Siyyid `Ali-Akbar
> Siyah; Akbar, son of Ibráhím Zagh; `Abdu’l-Vahhab; and Siyyid
> Husayn `Arab. These were also united by a number of other men
> from Tazarjan, Hanzá and Yazd.
> 
> This group was planning to bring Áqá Siyyid Muhammad-
> `Ali from Tazarjan to Hanzá. But by the time they reached
> Mazra`ih Husayn-Ábád, the transgressors compelled Áqá Siyyid
> 
> Muhammad-`Ali to climb an orchard’s wall, which he reluctantly
> and with no recourse agreed to. From below, Hájí `Ali Hujjihfurush fired a shot at his head, followed by shots by Muhammad
> Palang and volleys from other thugs. Áqá Siyyid Muhammad-`Ali
> fell from the top of the wall to the ground and thusly attained the
> exalted station of martyrdom that day at noontime. The evildoers
> stoned his remains and they tied a rope to his feet and dragged him
> to the village of Hanzá. For three days, they pulled his remains in
> the streets of Hanzá. Afterwards, he was buried behind his own
> residence, where he remains to this day. The honored Áqá Siyyid
> Muhammad-`Alí was forty years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> As for Áqá Mírzá Javád Sabbágh, his martyrdom occurred on
> the same day, 7 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [3 July 1903]. When
> the thugs had concluded the murder of the honored Áqá Siyyid
> Muhammad-`Ali, they searched Hanzá for the honored Áqá Mírzá
> Javád. That day he had taken refuge in the home of Husayn ibn
> Ismá`íl and soon the hoodlums learned of his whereabouts and
> informed Mírzá Muhammad Ja`far Mujtahid [religious cleric]
> Hanzá’í who instructed Áqá Mírzá Javád be seized and murdered.
> 
> The mob moved quickly and surrounded the residence of
> Husayn ibn Ismá`íl. Some of the men entered the house and
> brought Áqá Mírzá Javád outside. By the authorization of Mírzá
> Muhammad-Ja`far, the same aforementioned group of thugs and
> vagabonds, joined by a number of other hoodlums and rioters,
> carried the honored Áqá Mírzá Javád to the home of Mírzá
> Muhammad-Ridá Mujtahid Kirmanshahi. They tied him to a pine
> tree and shot him repeatedly.
> 
> It was three hours after noon that he was thusly martyred.
> After his killing they continued to stone his remains. Subsequently,
> his sanctified body was buried behind the home of the martyred
> Áqá Siyyid Muhammad-`Ali, next to his resting-place, where both
> 
> graves remain to this day. Áqá Mírzá Javád Sabbágh was forty-two
> years old at the time of martyrdom.
> 
> Village of Hadash
> 
> On Friday27, 29 Rabí`u’l-Avval 1321 A.H. [25 June 1903],
> the thugs and rebels martyred several of the friends of God in
> Yazd. The honored Áqá `Abdu’r-Rasúl was one of the believers of
> that city and fearing the vagabonds of that region, on Saturday, 1
> Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [27 June 1903] he came to the village
> of Hadash. Upon arrival at Baghistan quarter, near the takiyih of
> that neighborhood, Husayn, son of Abu’l-Hasan, the Mubashir
> [mayor] of Hadash, saw him and sent one of his attendants to arrest
> that honored person and tie him tightly to a tree. That man tied the
> esteemed Áqá `Abdu’r-Rasúl to a berry tree.
> 
> People inquired of Husayn Mubashir, “What wrong has this
> youth committed that you have him thusly tied to a tree?” “This lad
> is a Bahá’í,” he responded, “and has escaped from Yazd. I plan to
> slay him.” Certain non-Bahá’ís stated, “Killing this young man
> without investigation and proof is not right.”
> 
> Therefore, Husayn ordered that honored person to be untied
> from the tree and conducted to the home of Áqá Shaykh `Ali,
> where Áqá Shaykh Ahmad Hadashi was present in that gathering
> as well. When Áqá `Abdu’r-Rasúl entered, Áqá Shaykh `Ali and
> Shaykh Ahmad questioned him thoroughly. Afterwards they
> responded to Husayn ibn Abu’l-Hasan and the villagers, “We were
> unable to ascertain the truth of this lad’s beliefs and consequently
> are unable to render an opinion on his case and issue a fatwa
> condemning him to death. Take this boy to Qaraq quarter which is
> 
> According to calendars available to the present translator, 29 Rabi`u’l-
> Avval was a Thursday.
> 
> one of Hadash’s neighborhoods, before Mullá `Abdu’l-Karim
> Rawdih-khan [reciter] and inquire from the people of that quarter
> about him as they know him well. If someone without malice and
> based on insight and knowledge testifies to the apostasy of this
> youth, then he must be killed.”
> 
> Husayn, son of Abu’l-Hasan, and a crowd of three hundred
> strong, carried Áqá `Abdu’r-Rasúl from that house and for some
> two hours paraded him in the streets of Hadash village. It was two
> hours before noon when they returned to residence of Shaykh `Ali.
> Two of the non-Bahá’ís, one by the name of `Ali-Akbar Qassab
> [butcher] Rahat-Ábádí, and the other, Ghulám-Ridá Na`im-Ábádí,
> came before the Shaykh `Alí and Shaykh Ahmad and testified,
> “With our own eyes we have beheld this youth to eat with a
> Zoroastrian from the same bowl.”
> 
> However, Shaykh `Alí and Shaykh Ahmad stated to the
> ruffians, “This testimony does not establish the apostasy and
> infidelity of this youth and therefore you cannot kill him.” The
> thugs did not heed the words of Shaykh Ahmad and brought the
> honored Áqá `Abdu’r-Rasúl outside the house to murder him. That
> gentle youth grabbed the hem of the garment of Husayn ibn Abu’l-
> Hasan and pleaded not to be killed. But that tyrant did not accept
> and ordered his slaying.
> 
> The thugs surrounded him in the same Baghistan [orchard],
> next to the home of Hasan, son of Abu-Talib Hadashi. First, Áqá
> Kuchak Safa Raz, a native of Yazd, fired a shot at his chest, which
> penetrated his being and the bullet came out from the other side.
> Then Muhammad-`Ali Khabbáz [baker] of Yazd, and Husayn, son
> of Musa-Ridá Qassab [butcher] Hadashi, each took a meat cleaver
> and hacked the youth in head. Other thugs commenced stoning and
> clubbing him. It was two hours before noon that Áqá `Abdu’r-
> Rasúl was thusly martyred.
> 
> After he was murdered, a rope was tied to his feet and his
> sacred remains were dragged on the ground. He was taken to the
> river next to the village cemetery, near Mazra`ih Mullá `Abdu’l-
> Karím’s pool, about fifty yards north of the road, on the eastern
> flank of Hadash’s hills. They threw his body there.
> 
> Two natives of Hadash, one was Hájí `Ali, son of Áqá
> Muhammad, and the other, wife of Hasan, son of Bábá, each
> brought a container of kerosene and for the sake of nearness unto
> God, poured over his sanctified remains and set him on fire. After
> he was charred, the hoodlums stoned him so much that his
> remained were completely covered by stones.
> 
> The honored Áqá `Abdu’r-Rasúl was fourteen years old at
> the time of martyrdom.
> 
> Village of Tang-Chinár [of Pusht-kuh farms]
> 
> On the first day of upheavals in Yazd, the Governor of the
> city, the Jalalu’d-Dawlih, sent one of his men with a message to
> Hájí Mírzá Mahmúd Afnán, the illustrious son of Hájí Mírzá
> Muhammad-Taqi Afnán, the Vakilu’l-Haqq. That message was:
> “You must leave Yazd this very day for Marvsat or Bavanát in
> Fárs so that the rebels and mischief-makers would not harm your
> honored person.”
> 
> Consequently, congruent with the Governor’s wishes, the
> honored Hájí Mírzá Muhammad, left Yazd on the eve of Saturday,
> 1 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [27 June 1903], for the direction of
> Marvsat. The esteemed Áqá Muhammad-Háshim Dallal, who was
> one of the believers of Yazd, accompanied Hájí Mírzá
> Muhammad. They took the road by way of Mihríjird village. On
> reaching the village of Dih-Naw, which is a distance of three
> 
> farsangs28 from the city, the steed of Áqá Muhammad-Háshim
> became lame and could advance no more. As such, Áqá
> Muhammad-Háshim had to stay in that village and Hájí Mírzá
> Mahmúd, alone, left by way of Mihríjird and Kalmund for
> Marvsat, leaving the journey’s necessities, rations and food with
> Áqá Muhammad Háshim.
> 
> That night, Áqá Muhammad-Háshim carried the provisions
> with him to Mihríjird arriving there on Sunday morning, 2
> Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [28 June 1903]. He sent Hájí Mírzá
> Mahmúd’s bedding and supplies to Marvsat and himself, without
> provisions or steed, remained in Mihríjird’s Baghdad-Ábád
> quarter. He went to the house of his maternal cousin, Siyyid
> Yahyá, known as Siyyid Yahyá Muqaddas [holy], situated in
> `Uliya neighborhood. When the people of Mihríjird became aware
> of his arrival, some of the troublemakers of that quarter went to
> Hájí Muhammad, son of Hájí Rasúl, titled the Maliku’r-Ra`ya, and
> inquired, “On fearing the rebels and mischief-makers of Yazd, one
> of the Bahá’ís of that city has escaped and today has arrived at the
> home of Siyyid Yahyá.” Hájí Muhammad and some other nonbelievers went to the residence of Siyyid Yahyá and after some
> discussions decided to martyr that honored person [i.e. Áqá
> Muhammad-Háshim] on the spot. However, owing to kinship of
> Áqá Muhammad-Háshim and Siyyid Yahyá – a resident of their
> neighborhood – they abandoned that idea and instead insisted that
> Áqá Muhammad-Háshim should leave their town.
> 
> It was the eve of Monday, 3 Rabí`u’th-Thání 1321 A.H. [29
> June 1903], when Áqá Muhammad-Háshim directed his steps
> towards Tang-Chinár. It was Monday morning when he arrived at
> Bamdak farm, one of the farms and orchards of Tang-Chinár.
> 
> Each farsang is 6 kilometers.
> 
> When the honored Áqá Muhammad-Háshim arrived at the
> farm, the inhabitants of that farm and other farms in Tang-Chinár
> became aware of his arrival, and congregated and surrounded him.
> Muhammad-`Ali, son of Ridá, and Husayn and Muhammad, sons
> of Taqi Sariban Chinárí, and some other thugs of Tang-Chinár shot
> him with repeated volleys. Then they stoned and clubbed his
> remains. It was two hours before noon that he was thusly martyred.
> 
> After martyrdom they tied a rope to his feet and dragged him
> until they reached a river situated between Muradi’s and Hájí
> Muhammad-`Ali’s farms. There the mob collected firewood and
> set afire his remains. … After incinerating his sacred temple, they
> buried it there by the river where it remains to this day.
> 
> The honored Áqá Muhammad-Háshim Dallal was forty-two
> years old at the time of martyrdom. …
> 
> Honor Role of Bahá’í Martyrs of
> Manshád and its Vicinity
> 
> Town of Manshád
> June 27   Mullá `Alí-Akbar                70 years old
> June 27   Muhammad-Ismá`íl                67
> June 27   Ustád Husayn                    50
> June 27   Áqá Husayn                      65
> June 27   Áqá Ghulám-`Alí                 18
> June 27   Áqá Ramadan                     22
> June 27   Siyyid Mírzá                    75
> June 28   Mullá Muhammad Manshádí         58
> June 29   Áqá `Alí-Akbar                  56
> June 29   Shátir Hasan                    60
> June 30   Áqá `Alí-Akbar ibn Hasan        50
> July 1    Áqá Mírzá Husayn                60
> July 1    Áqá `Alí-Muhammad               45
> July 2    Khadíjih-Sultan                 65
> July 3    Áqá Siyyid Javád                40
> July 4    Áqá Muhammad-`Alí               50
> July 5    Áqá Ghulám-Ridá                 40
> July 9    Áqá Assadu’llah                 35
> July 10   Áqá Mírzá Muhammad              43
> July 10   Áqá Siyyid Husayn               40
> July 10   Áqá Husayn-`Alí                 19
> July 11   Áqá Ghulám-Husayn               63
> July 11   Siyyid `Alí                     35
> July 11   Áqá Siyyid Báqir                51
> July 12   Áqá Muhammad                    23
> July 12   mother of martyr Ustád Husayn   70
> July 15   Mullá Babá’í                    65
> July 24   Siyyid Javád                    14
> 
> Village of Káv-Afshád
> July 12   Ustád Ridá                 56 years old
> 
> Village of Darrih
> June 26   Shátir Hasan               35
> June 26   Mírzá Ibráhím Tabíb        65
> 
> Village of Banadak
> June 28   Áqá Husayn                 65
> July 2    Mírzá Muhammad Hudá        50
> July 12   Áqá Ghulám-Ridá            30
> 
> Village of Hanza
> July 1    Mírzá Muhammad Árám        40
> July 2    Fatimih Bagum              49
> July 3    Áqá Siyyid Muhammad-`Alí   40
> July 3    Áqá Mírzá Javád Sabbágh    42
> 
> Village of Hadash
> June 27   Áqá `Abdu’r-Rasúl          14
> 
> Village of Tang-Chinár
> June 29   Áqá Muhammad-Háshim        42
>
> — *Martyrs of Manshad (Used by permission of the curator)*