The Rise of Baha
7. Alleged Baha’s Inspection of the fortifications in the fort of Sheykh Tabarsi
Baha’s Inspection of the fortifications in the fort of Sheykh Tabarsi and his counsels and exhortations to its defenders devoid of historical foundation.
7.7 Summary
Mirza Jani’s History, the Nuqta-al-Kaf, of 1851, the earliest, fullest and most interesting history of the Primal Point and his immediate disciples, says nothing about Baha’s visit to the fort of Shaykh Tabarsi, his inspection of the fortifications there, and his counsels and exhortations to the defenders of the fort. Mirza Jani deals with the Amul incident and speaks of the legal castigation. He does not specify the exact nature of the legal castigation.
He simply says that Subh-i-Azal and himself were not beaten. The Tarikh-i-Jadid of 1880, which is a recreation of the Nuqta-al-Kaf says nothing about Baha’s visit to the fort of Shaykh Tabarsi, his inspection of the fortifications there, and his counsels and exhortations to the defenders of the fort. The Tarikh-i-Jadid’s account of Baha’s involvement on the way to Shaykh Tabarsi, on the strength of the Nuqta-al-Kaf, appears to be a forgery, as no trace of it appears in the latter.
Sir Abbas Effendi’s the Traveller’s Narrative of 1886 is an official history to supersede Tarikh-i-Jadid, which was suffered to remain in manuscript. In the Traveller’s Narrative the Point’s mission is throughout depicted as paving the way for Baha’s appearance, yet it says nothing about Baha’s visit of Shaykh Tabarsi, his inspection of the fortifications there, his counsels and exhortations to the defenders of the fort, and his involvement on the way to Shaykh Tabarsi.
The Dawn-Breakers Nabil’s Narrative of 1890, by Baha’s historian Nabil, reviewed and approved by Baha and Sir Abdul Baha was suffered to remain in manuscript. The work was originally intended to establish a link by hook or by crook between the Primal Point and Baha, and between Baha and the Primal Point’s immediate disciples, called Letters of the Living, and to create the false impression that Baha held the position of precedence over them all from the outset of Point’s mission. Shoghi Effendi resuscitated the work which had already passed into oblivion, translated the first half of the work, closing with Baha’s expulsion from Iran edited and named it the “Dawn-Breakers, Nabil’s Narrative of the early days of the Bahai Revelation”, a misnomer indeed while the complete work was suffered to remain in manuscript and to pass into oblivion once again.
Nabil’s account of Baha’s visit to the fort of Shaykh Tabarsi, his inspection of the fortifications there, his counsels and exhortations to the defenders of the fort, and his instructions to Mulla Husayn was concocted in Acre to bolster up Baha’s pretensions. This account is not corroborated by any source, even by the Tarikh-i-Jadid. It should be dismissed as devoid of historical foundation.
Letters of the Living, the Primal Point’s 18 disciples who first believed in him included in the Primal Unity, ranked after the Primal Point. Baha submitted to their authority. First and foremost amongst them were the First Letters of the Living Mulla Husayn and the Last Letter of the Living Quddus. It is absurd to allege that Baha issued instructions to Mulla Husayn or to any other Letter of the Living.
The fact that Quddus is stated to have quoted from the Quran that “Baqiyyatullah will be best for you if ye are of those who believe” does not necessarily mean that by ‘Baqiyyatullah’ he had meant none other person than Baha. In Badasht conference, which preceded the Shaykh Tabarsi engagement, the Primal Point was declared to be the Expected Qaim, one of whose titles is Baqiyyatullah. In the circumstances the term ‘Baqiyyatullah’ would fit the Primal Point. In his glossary to the Dawn-Breakers, Nabil’s Narrative, P. 674, Shoghi Effendi states that Baqiyyatullah” is a title both applied to the BÁB and Baha.” It is indeed puerile to seek to pin Baha’s pretensions to a mere statement stated to have been made by Quddus.
In his Historical Epitome of 1904, Mirza Jawad, also had full access to Nabil’s Narrative in manuscript speaks of Baha’s imprisonment and afflictions in Amul. He says nothing about Baha’s having been bastinadoed or scourged. He says nothing about Baha’s inspection of the fortifications of the fort of Shaykh Tabarsi and Baha’s counsels and exhortations to the defenders of the fort. Apparently he did not credit with truth accounts of them in the Nabil’s narrative.
Shoghi Effendi’s god passes by of 1944 is a fourth Bahai official history after the Tarikh-i-Jadid. The Traveler’s Narrative and the Nabil’s Narrative.
Shoghi Effendi’s account of Baha’s inspection of the fortifications of Shaykh Tabarsi, of his exhortations and counsels to the defenders of Shaykh Tabarsi, of his instructions to Mulla Husayn, of his confinement in Amul accompanied by a bastinado, and of the interpretation of the year ‘80’ draw its inspiration from the Nabil’s Narrative, of which the author Nabil, while fully aware, according to him, of Baha’s being a ‘Manifestation’ from the days of Iran, preceded Baha in identical pretensions during Baghdad period of the BÁBi exiles, and later withdrew his pretensions and adhered to Baha.
Shoghi Effendi has rested his account on Nabil’s prejudiced and interested report, unsupported by any other source. Thus by the passage of time, Bahai account s have assumed a chameleonic character, totally divorced from truth. Simple events and incidents are distorted and misrepresented in the furtherance of private ends and personal ambitions.
The cases treated in these pages are glaring examples of misrepresentations of historical facts.
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