- 1852-08-17 —
Bahá'u'lláh was then taken on foot and in chains, with bared head and bare feet' to Tihrán, a distance of 15 miles, where He was cast into the Síyáh-Chál. [BKG77; DB606–7, 631-634; ESW20; GPB71]
- See BKG77–8 and DB606–608 for a description of Bahá'u'lláh's journey.
- See CH40–1 for the effect on Bahá'u'lláh's family.
- See Epistle to the Son of the Wolf p20.
- Where He had a dream:
"Verily, We shall render Thee victorious by Thyself and by Thy Pen. Grieve Thou not for that which hath befallen Thee, neither be Thou afraid, for Thou art in safety. Erelong will God raise up the treasures of the earth—men who will aid Thee through Thyself and through Thy Name, wherewith God hath revived the hearts of such as have recognized Him."
[Epistle to the Son of the Wolf p21]
- In God Passes By p101-102 Shoghi Effendi quotes Bahá'u'lláh's Súrih of the Temple where He describes the moment that He had a vision of the Maiden symbolizing the 'Most Great Spirit" proclaiming His mission.
- 1852-08-31 —
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]
- 1891-05-25 — Two believers were arrested during the same period of intense persecution. Hájí Amín was sent to the prison of Qazvín, and Hand of the Cause Ibn-i-Abhar was consigned for four years in Tíhran, in which he bore the same chains as Bahá'u'lláh did, during the Latter's imprisonment in 1852. [Essay by Mehdi Wolf]
- 1917-00-00 —
The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-Taqíy-i-Abharí (Ibn-i-Abhar). He was born in 1853/4 in Abhar.
- For four years he suffered in Síyáh-Chál wearing the very same chains as Bahá'u'lláh had worn in 1852.
- On being informed that the friends in Tihrán had arranged to observe the commandment of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Bahá'u'lláh revealed, in one of His Tablets to Ibn-i-Asdaq (later named as a Hand of the Cause), the following well known Words:
Blessed is the spot, and the house, and the place, and the city, and the heart, and the mountain, and the refuge, and the cave, and the valley, and the land, and the sea, and the island, and the meadow where mention of God hath been made, and His praise glorified. -Bahá'u'lláh
[Some Bahai Sacred Spaces for Community, Slide presentation by the UK Community, Slide #74]
- His services during the time of the Master included teaching journeys through Persia, the Caucasus and India. He also made some eleven journeys to the Holy Land with the permission of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
- A special service rendered by Ibn-i-Abhar was the promotion of the education of women. He and his wife played an important part
in the advancement of women in Persian society.
- In 1886 Bahá'u'lláh appointed him a Hand of the Cause. He died in 1917. [LoF13-16, BBD114, EB268; Bahaipedia]
- Shoghi Effendi designated him as an Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh. [LoF12]
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