Returning from his pilgrimage to Mecca with the Báb in the
spring of 1845, and his subsequent expulsion from Shiraz by the order of its
“villainous” governor, Quddus proceeded towards his native town of Barfurúsh
(currently known as Babul) in the province of Mázindarán, in northern Iran. On
his way he travelled through various town and cities, such as Kirmán, Yazd,
Ardikán, Nayin, Ardistán, Isfáhán, Káshán, Qum, and Tihrán. In each of these
cities, notwithstanding the obstacles that beset his path, he succeeded in
instilling into the understanding of his hearers the principles which he had so
bravely arisen to advocate. Nabil, the great Baha’i historian relates how he
heard Bahá’u’lláh’s faithful brother, Áqáy-i-Kalím, describe his meeting with
Quddus in Tihran:
“The charm of his person, his extreme affability, combined
with a dignity of bearing, appealed to even the most careless observer. Whoever
was intimately associated with him was seized with an insatiable admiration for
the charm of that youth. We watched him one day perform his ablutions, and were
struck by the gracefulness which distinguished him from the rest of the
worshippers in the performance of so ordinary a rite. He seemed, in our eyes,
to be the very incarnation of purity and grace.”
In Tihrán, Quddús was admitted into the presence of
Bahá’u’lláh after which he proceeded to Mázindarán, where, in his native town
of Barfurúsh, in the home of his father, he lived for about two years, during
which time he was surrounded by the loving devotion of his family and kindred.
(Adapted from ‘The Dawn-Breakers’, by Nabil, translated and edited by Shoghi
Effendi)
