"In the middle of the nineteenth century Iran, then remote from the West, was roused and convulsed by the appearance of the Marty-Prophet, the Báb, Whose brief Ministry of six years (1844-50) ended in His own martyrdom and that of thousands of His followers. The Báb was a youthful merchant Who fulfilled wide expectation in The East and West by His declaration that ‘He Whom God shall manifest” would soon arise to guide mankind into a new epoch of spiritual civilization.
The Báb and His religion were observed at first hand by Western diplomats – British, Russian, French, and Austrian, in particular – whose official reports and accounts in books provide unparalleled data for the study of the birth and rise of a faith which, in the words of a Cambridge scholar, Edward Grandville Brown, 'may not impossibly win a place amidst the great religions of the world'.
Mr. Balyuzi has made use of many official documents from governmental records, and also cites material gathered from family archives, accessible to him as a relative of the Báb. His illustrations include several items from these archives."
In the forward section of the book, Hand of the Cause of God Mr. Baluzi indicates that:
"This book is the first in the range of Baha’i literature to make extensive use of official documents from governmental archives. I am greatly indebted to Moojan Momen who has generously shared with me the results of his able research in the Public Record Office of London and elsewhere.
The two British Foreign Secretaries who received news and dispatches regarding the Báb and the Baha’is were the Earl of Aberdeen, who held office from September 1841 to July I 846, under Sir Robert Peel; and Viscount Palmerston, whose tenure of office extended from July 1846 to January January 1852 under Lord John Russell. The British envoy chiefly involved in forwarding such reports to London was Lt.-Col. (later Sir Justin) Sheil, the Minister in Tihran. Lord Palmerston’s letters to him (F.O. 248/134) state that his dispatches concerning the Báb and the Bábis were ‘laid before the Queen’.
My deep gratitude goes to Abul-Qasim Afnan, who has unstintingly made available to me the chronicle-history and the autobiography of his father, the late Haji Mirza Habib’u’llah, as well as letters written by and to the relatives of the Báb, together with many other documents of inestimable value.
It should be borne in mind that apart from quotations from the Writings of the Báb, speeches attributed to Him or to anyone else in these pages must not be taken as exact reportage of words spoken at the time. They only convey the sense and purport of what was said on those occasions. Obviously no one was taking notes. It is possible, however, that a few short sentences here and there, which immediately engrave themselves on the mind, are exact utterances, the very words spoken.
As the bibliography indicates I have consulted a number of books; but of printed works, the main sources have been God Passes By and Nabil’s Narrative, The Dawn-Breakers. I am much indebted to the Baha’i Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, for permission to quote from these and other sources, as well as to Cambridge University Press, the Public Record Office, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., A. & C. Black Ltd., Faber & Faber Ltd., William Heinemann Ltd., Methuen & Co. Ltd., and World Order, A Baha’i Magazine. Full acknowledgment is made in the bibliography and notes.
I am profoundly grateful to the Hands of the Cause Paul Haney and Abul-Qasim Faizi for reading the manuscript and for their review and advice. As in the past Marion Hofman’s generous help has smoothed the path to publication. My indebtedness to her is immense. And without my wife’s assistance and support I could not have completed my task.
I should also like to thank Miss Dorothy Wigington, Mr. Farhang Afnan and Mr. Rustom Sabit for their care n reading the proofs, and Mr. Horst W. Kolodziej for his excellent reproduction of a number of old documents and photographs.
Finally, a word as to the Prologue; this in my view provides a necessary background for the story of the Báb. But should the reader find in it too many unfamiliar facts, he nay turn immediately to the first chapter."
H.M. Baluzi, London October 1972