1852 Aug-Dec
185- |
Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál
See AB10–11, BBD211–12, BKG79–83, CH41–2, DB631–3, GPB109 and RB1:9 for a description of the prison and the conditions suffered by the prisoners. No food or drink was given to Bahá'u'lláh for three days and nights. [DB608]
Photo of the entrance to the Siyah-Chal (Black-Pit) where Baha'u'llah was imprisoned in Tehran.
Bahá'u'lláh remained in the prison for four months. [CH41; ESW20, 77; GPB104; TN31]
A silent video presentation on Bahá'u'lláh's time in the Síyáh-Chál made for the 150th anniversary of the event.
"Upon Our arrival We were first conducted along a pitch-black corridor, from whence We descended three steep flights of stairs to the place of confinement assigned to Us. The dungeon was wrapped in thick darkness, and Our fellow prisoners numbered nearly a hundred and fifty souls: thieves, assassins and highwaymen. Though crowded, it had no other outlet than the passage by which We entered. No pen can depict that place, nor any tongue describe its loathsome smell. Most of these men had neither clothes nor bedding to lie on. God alone knoweth what befell Us in that most foul-smelling and gloomy place!" [ESW20-21]
See CH42–3 for the effect of Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment on His wife and children. Friends and even family were afraid to be associated with His immediate family. During this period Mírzá Músá helped the family surreptitiously and Mírzá Yúsif, who was married to Bahá'u'lláh's cousin, a Russian citizen and a friend of the Russian Consul, was less afraid of repercussions for his support of them.
They were also assisted by Isfandíyár, the family's black servant that had been emancipated in 1839 on the order of Bahá'u'lláh. This man's life was in great danger. At one time they had 150 policemen looking for him but he managed to evade capture. They thought that if they questioned (tortured) Isfandíyár he would reveal Bahá'u'lláh's nefarious plots. [SoW Vol IX April 28, 1918 p38-39]
Another who helped the family was Mírzá Muhammad Tabrizi who rented a house for them in Sangelak. [PG122]
'Abdu'l-Bahá, as a child of eight, was attacked in the street of Tihrán. [DB616]
See AB11–12, RB1:9 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's account of His visit to His father.
Bahá'u'lláh's properties were plundered. [CH41; RB1:11]
See BBD4–5; DB663; BKG94–8 and Bahá'í Stories for the story of 'Abdu'l-Vahháb-i-Shírází who was martyred while being held in the Síyáh-Chál.
See BBD190, 200 and ESW77 about the two chains with which Bahá'u'lláh was burdened while in the Síyáh-Chál. Five other Bábís were chained to Him day and night. [CH41]
Bahá'u'lláh had some 30 or 40 companions. [BBIC:6, CH41]
For the story of His faithful follower and his martyrdom, 'Abdu'l-Vahháb see TF116-119.
An attempt was made to poison Him. The attempt failed but His health was impaired for years following. [BBIC:6; BKG99–100, GPB72]
Bahá'u'lláh's half-brother Mírzá Yahyá fled to Tákur and went into hiding. He eventually went to Baghdád. [BKG90, 107, CH41] |
* Bahaullah (chronology); Bahá'u'lláh, Attempts on; Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit, Tehran); Prison; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); `Abdu'l-Vahhab-i-Shirazi; * Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Poison; Chains; Mírzá Yahya (Subh-i-Azal); - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; Tehran, Iran; Takur, Iran; Iran; Baghdad, Iraq; Iraq |
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