Rejoice with great joy, for God hath made thee 'the Day-Spring of His light', inasmuch as within thee was born the Manifestation of His Glory. Be thou glad for this name that hath been conferred upon thee—a name through which the Day-Star of grace hath shed its splendour, through which both earth and heaven have been illumined.

—BahÁ'u'llÁh, addressing the city of ?ihrÁn

... We stand, life in hand, wholly resigned to His will; that perchance, through God's loving kindness and His grace, this revealed and manifest Letter may lay down His life as a sacrifice in the path of the Primal Point,[AS] the most exalted Word.

—BahÁ'u'llÁh, from the KitÁb-i-ÍqÁn

MullÁ ?usayn was sorely disappointed when he realized that he was not to be the companion of the BÁb, on His pilgrimage to Mecca. But for the man who was the first to find Him and believe in Him the BÁb had marked out a task infinitely glorious. MullÁ ?usayn was to go from ShÍrÁz to ?ihrÁn, where the fulfilment of that task awaited him. He had travelled to ShÍrÁz on a quest. There he had reached its end, had found the QÁ'im of the House of Mu?ammad. Now he was to undertake another quest, and he was not entirely aware of the consequences that would attend its success. To him the BÁb said:

In this pilgrimage upon which We are soon to embark, We have chosen QuddÚs as Our companion. We have left you behind to face the onslaught of a fierce and relentless enemy. Rest assured, however, that a bounty unspeakably glorious shall be conferred upon you. Follow the course of your journey towards the north, and visit on your way I?fahÁn, KÁshÁn, Qum, and ?ihrÁn. Beseech almighty Providence that He may graciously enable you to attain, in that capital, the seat of true sovereignty, and to enter the mansion of the Beloved. A secret lies hidden in that city. When made manifest, it shall turn the earth into paradise. My hope is that you may partake of its grace and recognise its splendour. From ?ihrÁn proceed to KhurÁsÁn, and there proclaim anew the Call. From thence return to Najaf and KarbilÁ and there await the summons of your Lord. Be assured that the high mission for which you have been created will, in its entirety, be accomplished by you. Until you have consummated your work, if all the darts of an unbelieving world be directed against you, they will be powerless to hurt a single hair of your head.[1]

When the time came for MullÁ ?usayn to leave ShÍrÁz, the BÁb told him:

Grieve not that you have not been chosen to accompany Me on My pilgrimage to ?ijÁz. I shall, instead, direct your steps to that city which enshrines a Mystery of such transcendent holiness as neither ?ijÁz nor ShÍrÁz can hope to rival. My hope is that you may, by the aid of God, be enabled to remove the veils from the eyes of the wayward and to cleanse the minds of the malevolent. Visit, on your way, I?fahÁn, KÁshÁn, ?ihrÁn, and KhurÁsÁn. Proceed thence to `IrÁq, and there await the summons of your Lord, who will keep watch over you and will direct you to whatsoever is His will and desire. As to Myself, I shall, accompanied by QuddÚs and My Ethiopian servant,[AT] proceed on My pilgrimage to ?ijÁz. I shall join the company of the pilgrims of FÁrs, who will shortly be sailing for that land. I shall visit Mecca and Medina, and there fulfil the mission[AU] with which God has entrusted Me. God willing, I shall return hither by the way of KÚfih, in which place I hope to meet you. If it be decreed otherwise, I shall ask you to join Me in ShÍrÁz. The hosts of the invisible Kingdom, be assured, will sustain and reinforce your efforts. The essence of power is now dwelling in you, and the company of His chosen angels revolves around you. His almighty arms will surround you, and His unfailing Spirit will ever continue to guide your steps. He that loves you, loves God; and whoever opposes you, has opposed God. Whoso befriends you, him will God befriend; and whoso rejects you, him will God reject.[2]

MullÁ ?usayn was known in I?fahÁn, for there he had obtained testimonials from the great mujtahid, ?ÁjÍ Siyyid Mu?ammad-BÁqir, in support of Siyyid KÁ?im-i-RashtÍ. That eminent divine was now dead, but his son, ?ÁjÍ Siyyid Asadu'llÁh, walking in the footsteps of his illustrious father, refused to associate himself with the adversaries of MullÁ ?usayn. Another noted divine, ?ÁjÍ Mu?ammad-IbrÁhÍm-i-KalbÁsÍ, did likewise, and sternly admonished those who opposed MullÁ ?usayn to cease their clamouring and investigate dispassionately whatever he was advocating. The Governor, ManÚchihr KhÁn, the Mu`tamidu'd-Dawlih, similarly declined to heed their strictures.

The first person in I?fahÁn to embrace the new Faith was a youth, a sifter of wheat. The BÁb immortalizes his memory in the Persian BayÁn:[3]

I?fahÁn, that outstanding city, is distinguished by the religious fervour of its shi`ah inhabitants, by the learning of its divines, and by the keen expectation, shared by high and low alike, of the imminent coming of the ?Á?ibu'z-ZamÁn.[AV] In every quarter of that city, religious institutions have been established. And yet, when the Messenger of God had been made manifest, they who claimed to be the repositories of learning and the expounders of the mysteries of the Faith of God rejected His Message. Of all the inhabitants of that seat of learning, only one person, a sifter of wheat, was found to recognise the Truth, and was invested with the robe of Divine virtue![4]

Others eventually followed the example of that youth,[AW] among them MÍrzÁ Mu?ammad `AlÍy-i-NahrÍ and his brother, MÍrzÁ HÁdÍ, who were Siyyids and highly respected. MullÁ ?Ádiq-i-Muqaddas-i-KhurÁsÁnÍ was another convert. Siyyid KÁ?im had told MullÁ ?Ádiq to establish his residence in I?fahÁn and pave the way for the coming of the QÁ'im. That man of iron courage (whom we shall encounter again in the course of this story) met MullÁ ?usayn in the home of MÍrzÁ Mu?ammad-`AlÍy-i-NahrÍ. MullÁ ?Ádiq himself relates:

I asked MullÁ ?usayn to divulge the name of Him who claimed to be the promised Manifestation. He replied: 'To enquire about that name and to divulge it are alike forbidden.' 'Would it, then, be possible,' I asked, 'for me, even as the Letters of the Living, to seek independently the grace of the All-Merciful and, through prayer, to discover His identity?' 'The door of His grace,' he replied, 'is never closed before the face of him who seeks to find Him.' I immediately retired from his presence, and requested his host to allow me the privacy of a room in his house where, alone and undisturbed, I could commune with God. In the midst of my contemplation, I suddenly remembered the face of a Youth whom I had often observed while in KarbilÁ, standing in an attitude of prayer, with His face bathed in tears, at the entrance of the shrine of the ImÁm ?usayn. That same countenance now reappeared before my eyes. In my vision I seemed to behold that same face, those same features, expressive of such joy as I could never describe. He smiled as He gazed at me. I went towards Him, ready to throw myself at His feet. I was bending towards the ground, when, lo! that radiant figure vanished from before me. Overpowered with joy and gladness, I ran out to meet MullÁ ?usayn, who with transport received me and assured me that I had, at last, attained the object of my desire. He bade me, however, repress my feelings. 'Declare not your vision to anyone,' he urged me; 'the time for it has not yet arrived. You have reaped the fruit of your patient waiting in I?fahÁn. You should now proceed to KirmÁn, and there acquaint ?ÁjÍ MÍrzÁ KarÍm KhÁn with this Message.[AX] From that place you should travel to ShÍrÁz and endeavour to rouse the people of that city from their heedlessness. I hope to join you in ShÍrÁz and share with you the blessings of a joyous reunion with our Beloved.'[5]

In KÁshÁn, MullÁ ?usayn found a responsive and eager heart in a well-known merchant of that town, named ?ÁjÍ MÍrzÁ JÁnÍ.[AY] He too features prominently in the story of the BÁb. The next stage in MullÁ ?usayn's journey was the city of Qum, where the shrine of Ma'?Úmih, the sister of ImÁm Ri?Á, the eighth ImÁm, is situated. He found no attentive ears in Qum. Then came the crucial stage of his journey, when he entered the capital city of ÍrÁn, for there lay the 'Mystery' which the BÁb had mentioned.

In ?ihrÁn MullÁ ?usayn took a room in a theological institution called the madrisih (school) of MÍrzÁ ?Áli?, alternatively the madrisih of PÁminÁr.[AZ] The director of the institution, ?ÁjÍ MÍrzÁ Mu?ammad-i-KhurÁsÁnÍ, was the leading ShaykhÍ in the capital. He not only refused to heed what MullÁ ?usayn imparted, but severely remonstrated with him and accused him of having betrayed the trust of Siyyid KÁ?im. ?ÁjÍ MÍrzÁ Mu?ammad made it clear that in his view MullÁ ?usayn's presence in ?ihrÁn posed a threat to the ShaykhÍ community. MullÁ ?usayn replied that he did not intend to stay long in ?ihrÁn, nor had he done or said anything which detracted from the position of the founders of the ShaykhÍ school.

As far as he could, MullÁ ?usayn kept away from the madrisih of MÍrzÁ ?Áli?. He went out early in the mornings and returned after sunset. MullÁ Mu?ammad-i-Mu`allim,[BA] a native of the district of NÚr in MÁzindarÁn, has described how MullÁ ?usayn accomplished his mission:

I was in those days recognised as one of the favoured disciples of ?ÁjÍ MÍrzÁ Mu?ammad, and lived in the same school in which he taught. My room adjoined his room, and we were closely associated together. On the day that he was engaged in discussion with MullÁ ?usayn, I overheard their conversation from beginning to end, and was deeply affected by the ardour, the fluency, and learning of that youthful stranger. I was surprised at the evasive answers, the arrogance, and contemptuous behaviour of ?ÁjÍ MÍrzÁ Mu?ammad. That day I felt strongly attracted by the charm of that youth, and deeply resented the unseemly conduct of my teacher towards him. I concealed my feelings, however, and pretended to ignore his discussions with MullÁ ?usayn. I was seized with a passionate desire to meet the latter, and ventured, at the hour of midnight, to visit him. He did not expect me, but I knocked at his door, and found him awake seated beside his lamp. He received me affectionately, and spoke to me with extreme courtesy and tenderness. I unburdened my heart to him, and as I was addressing him, tears, which I could not repress, flowed from my eyes. 'I can now see,' he said, 'the reason why I have chosen to dwell in this place. Your teacher has contemptuously rejected this Message and despised its Author. My hope is that his pupil may, unlike his master, recognise its truth. What is your name, and which city is your home?' 'My name,' I replied, 'is MullÁ Mu?ammad, and my surname Mu`allim. My home is NÚr, in the province of MÁzindarÁn.' 'Tell me,' further inquired MullÁ ?usayn, 'is there to-day among the family of the late MÍrzÁ Buzurg-i-NÚrÍ, who was so renowned for his character, his charm, and artistic and intellectual attainments, anyone who has proved himself capable of maintaining the high traditions of that illustrious house?' 'Yea,' I replied, 'among his sons now living, one has distinguished Himself by the very traits which characterised His father. By His virtuous life, His high attainments, His loving-kindness and liberality, He has proved Himself a noble descendant of a noble father.' 'What is His occupation?' he asked me. 'He cheers the disconsolate and feeds the hungry,' I replied. 'What of His rank and position?' 'He has none,' I said, 'apart from befriending the poor and the stranger.' 'What is His name?' '?usayn-`AlÍ.' 'In which of the scripts of His father does He excel?'[BB] 'His favourite script is shikastih-nasta`lÍq.' 'How does He spend His time?' 'He roams the woods and delights in the beauties of the countryside.' 'What is His age?' 'Eight and twenty.' The eagerness with which MullÁ ?usayn questioned me, and the sense of delight with which he welcomed every particular I gave him, greatly surprised me. Turning to me, with his face beaming with satisfaction and joy, he once more enquired: 'I presume you often meet Him?' 'I frequently visit His home,' I replied. 'Will you,' he said, 'deliver into His hands a trust from me?' 'Most assuredly,' was my reply. He then gave me a scroll wrapped in a piece of cloth, and requested me to hand it to Him the next day at the hour of dawn. 'Should He deign to answer me,' he added, 'will you be kind enough to acquaint me with His reply?' I received the scroll from him and, at break of day, arose to carry out his desire.

As I approached the house of BahÁ'u'llÁh, I recognised His brother MÍrzÁ MÚsÁ, who was standing at the gate, and to whom I communicated the object of my visit. He went into the house and soon reappeared bearing a message of welcome. I was ushered into His presence, and presented the scroll to MÍrzÁ MÚsÁ, who laid it before BahÁ'u'llÁh. He bade us both be seated. Unfolding the scroll, He glanced at its contents and began to read aloud to us certain of its passages. I sat enraptured as I listened to the sound of His voice and the sweetness of its melody. He had read a page of the scroll when, turning to His brother, He said: 'MÚsÁ, what have you to say? Verily I say, whoso believes in the Qur'Án and recognises its Divine origin, and yet hesitates, though it be for a moment, to admit that these soul-stirring words are endowed with the same regenerating power, has most assuredly erred in his judgment and has strayed far from the path of justice.' He spoke no more. Dismissing me from His presence, He charged me to take to MullÁ ?usayn, as a gift from Him, a loaf of Russian sugar and a package of tea, and to convey to him the expression of His appreciation and love.

I arose and, filled with joy, hastened back to MullÁ ?usayn, and delivered to him the gift and message of BahÁ'u'llÁh. With what joy and exultation he received them from me! Words fail me to describe the intensity of his emotion. He started to his feet, received with bowed head the gift from my hand, and fervently kissed it. He then took me in his arms, kissed my eyes, and said: 'My dearly beloved friend! I pray that even as you have rejoiced my heart, God may grant you eternal felicity and fill your heart with imperishable gladness.' I was amazed at the behaviour of MullÁ ?usayn. What could be, I thought to myself, the nature of the bond that unites these two souls? What could have kindled so fervid a fellowship in their hearts? Why should MullÁ ?usayn, in whose sight the pomp and circumstance of royalty were the merest trifle, have evinced such gladness at the sight of so inconsiderable a gift from the hands of BahÁ'u'llÁh? I was puzzled by this thought and could not unravel its mystery.

A few days later, MullÁ ?usayn left for KhurÁsÁn. As he bade me farewell, he said: 'Breathe not to anyone what you have heard and witnessed. Let this be a secret hidden within your breast. Divulge not His name, for they who envy His position will arise to harm Him. In your moments of meditation, pray that the Almighty may protect Him, that, through Him, He may exalt the downtrodden, enrich the poor, and redeem the fallen. The secret of things is concealed from our eyes. Ours is the duty to raise the call of the New Day and to proclaim this Divine Message unto all people. Many a soul will, in this city, shed his blood in this path. That blood will water the Tree of God, will cause it to flourish, and to overshadow all mankind.'[6]

From Mashhad, the holy city that has within it the Shrine of the eighth ImÁm, MullÁ ?usayn addressed his first letter to the BÁb. He gave, as instructed by Him, the full details of his journey from ShÍrÁz to KhurÁsÁn. He presented the list of names of those who had responded to the call of the new theophany: a list which had become further enriched in KhurÁsÁn by the enrolment of MÍrzÁ A?mad-i-AzghandÍ, the most learned of the divines of that renowned province; MullÁ MÍrzÁ Mu?ammad-i-FurÚghÍ, another divine of immense learning; MÍrzÁ Mu?ammad-BÁqir-i-QÁ'inÍ, whose house in Mashhad was to gain the distinction of being known as the BÁbÍyyih, since its doors would be always open to those who sought MullÁ ?usayn and to all the BÁbÍs; MullÁ A?mad-i-Mu`allim, who had been a tutor to the sons of Siyyid KÁ?im; and MullÁ Shaykh `AlÍ, to whom the BÁb gave the title of `A?Ím (Great). But above all, MullÁ ?usayn recounted what had transpired in ?ihrÁn, culminating in the gracious response of the nobleman of NÚr. He sent his letter, again as instructed by the BÁb, to ?abas (a town in the province of KhurÁsÁn) where agents of ?ÁjÍ MÍrzÁ Siyyid `AlÍ received it and dispatched it to Yazd, whence it reached ShÍrÁz. The arrival of MullÁ ?usayn's letter and the tidings which it conveyed brought unbounded joy to the BÁb. Soon after, in the month of September, He left ShÍrÁz, accompanied by QuddÚs, and the faithful Ethiopian servant, MubÁrak.

From BÚshihr, while waiting to take the boat to Jiddah (Jaddah), the BÁb wrote His first letter to His wife. It opens with these moving words:

'In the Name of God, exalted is He. My sweet love, may God preserve thee.' 'God is my witness,' He continues, 'that since the time of separation sorrow has been so intense that it cannot be described,' and adds His hope that God, 'the Lord of the world,' may 'facilitate the return journey in the best manner.' Two days previously He had reached BÚshihr, and informs His wife that 'the weather is exceedingly hot, but God, the Lord of the world, is the Protector.' The boat, it seemed, would be sailing the same month; 'God, the Lord of the world, will provide protection by His grace.' He had not been able to see His mother at the time of His departure, and asks His wife to give her His salutation (salÁm) and request her prayers. He would write to Bombay for the goods required. And the letter ends thus: 'God willing, that which is decreed will come to pass. Peace be upon thee and the mercy of God and His blessings.'[7]

The ship, bearing pilgrims to Jiddah, set sail on the nineteenth day of Rama?Án 1260—October 2nd 1844.[8]