"To this end he conferred with one of My servants and sought to win him over to his own designs; whereupon the Lord despatched unto Mine assistance the hosts of the seen and the unseen, protected Me by the power of truth, and sent down upon Me that which thwarted his purpose. Thus were foiled the plots of those who disbelieve in the verses of the All-Merciful. They, truly, are a rejected people. When news spread of that which the promptings of self had impelled My brother to attempt, and Our companions in exile learned of his nefarious design, the voice of their indignation and grief was lifted up and threatened to spread throughout the city. We forbade, however, such recriminations, and enjoined upon them patience, that they might be of those that endure steadfastly."
Comments:
• From the Endnotes section of the book we understand that this is a reference to the shocking plot that Mirza Yahya attempted to perform involving one of the believers by the name of Ustad Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Salmani, the barber. The incident took place in Adrianople sometime after Yahya’s first attempt to kill Baha’u’llah with his own hands by poisoning Him with a deadly substance.
• Here is how the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, describes the poisoning incident:
“Desperate designs to poison Bahá'u'lláh and His companions, and thereby reanimate his own defunct leadership, began, approximately a year after their arrival in Adrianople, to agitate his mind. Well aware of the erudition of his half-brother, Aqay-i-Kalim, in matters pertaining to medicine, he, under various pretexts, sought enlightenment from him regarding the effects of certain herbs and poisons, and then began, contrary to his wont, to invite Bahá'u'lláh to his home, where, one day, having smeared His tea-cup with a substance he had concocted, he succeeded in poisoning Him sufficiently to produce a serious illness which lasted no less than a month, and which was accompanied by severe pains and high fever, the aftermath of which left Bahá'u'lláh with a shaking hand till the end of His life. So grave was His condition that a foreign doctor, named Shishman, was called in to attend Him. The doctor was so appalled by His livid hue that he deemed His case hopeless, and, after having fallen at His feet, retired from His presence without prescribing a remedy. A few days later that doctor fell ill and died. Prior to his death Bahá'u'lláh had intimated that doctor Shishman had sacrificed his life for Him. To Mirza Aqa Jan, sent by Bahá'u'lláh to visit him, the doctor had stated that God had answered his prayers, and that after his death a certain Dr Chupan, whom he knew to be reliable, should, whenever necessary, be called in his stead.”(Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, pp. 165-6)
• In the book called, The Child of the Covenant, Adib Taherzadeh explain that: “Despite this heinous crime, Bahá'u'lláh advised His followers not to spread the news of the poisoning. But Mirza Yahya lost his nerve and shamefully accused Bahá'u'lláh of trying to poison him, and as a result, the story had to be told. The believers and those who were in close contact with them then became aware that the poison administered by Mirza Yahya had been the cause of Bahá'u'lláh's serious illness. The contrast between light and darkness, between truth and falsehood, Bahá'u'lláh's sin-covering eye and Mirza Yahya's corruption and wickedness, was evident to all.” (Adib Taherzadeh, The Child of the Covenant, p. 117)
• This was the background against which Mirza Yahya attempted his second sinister design to kill Baha’u’llah – this time trying to do it in the public bath through Ustad Muhammad-'Aliy-i-Salmani, a barber who served in the household of Bahá'u'lláh and was His bath attendant. It should be mentioned that “ Public baths, known in the West as Turkish baths, were the only type available to people in those days because houses had no baths built in them. These baths, with their warm and steamy atmosphere, were used by people as a place to wash and relax for hours. This meant that a public bath was a place for social occasions where people gathered, exchanged news and discussed many topics. In these baths people were not fully naked and wore loin-cloths. Often, friends used to go to the bath on the same day in order to spend time together. The baths provided customers with attendants who washed them and performed other services such as the applying of henna, shaving and massaging. Important people usually had their own bath attendants.” (Adib Taherzadeh, The Child of the Covenant, p. 118)
• Adib Taherzadeh has provided a summary translation of the memoirs of Ustad Muhammad-‘Aliy-i-Salmani in which he describes this shameful incident:
One day I went to the bath and awaited the arrival of the Blessed Beauty. Azal [Mirza Yahya] arrived first. I attended to him and applied henna. He began to talk to me. For some time he had been trying hard to make me his follower but he was doing this in a secret way. He said to me: 'Last night I dreamt that someone had a sweeping brush in his hand and was sweeping the area around me.' [The connotation of these words in Persian is that Bahá'u'lláh was a humble servant of Mirza Yahya] He gave me to understand that this person was the Blessed Beauty. From the tone of his conversation, I knew that he wanted me to do something for him but he did not tell me anything ...
I was deep in my thoughts concerning the words of Azal. I did not understand his purpose in implying that the Blessed Beauty was sweeping the floor around him. However, it was quite clear that he wanted me to carry out a special task for him. At the same time I noted that Haji Mirza Ahmad was trying to convert me to follow Azal. During the course of several days he persisted in trying to win me over.
He said, 'A certain Mirza Na'im, the former Governor of Nayriz, killed many believers and perpetrated many crimes against the Cause.' He then praised courage and bravery in glowing terrns. He said that some were brave by nature and at the right time they would manifest that quality in their actions. He then continued the story of Mirza Na'im. 'From the persecuted family of the believers there remained a young boy aged ten or eleven. One day, when Mirza Na'im went into the bath, this boy went in with a knife. As he was coming out of the water, the boy stabbed him and ripped his belly open. Mirza Na'im screamed and his servants who were in the ante-room rushed in. They went for the boy, attacked and beat him. Then they went to see how their master was. The boy, although wounded, rose up and stabbed him again.' Azal praised courage again and said, 'How wonderful it is for a man to be brave. Now, see what they are doing to the Cause of God. Everybody harms it, everyone has arisen against me, even my brother. I have no comfort whatsoever and am in a wretched state.' His tone implied that he, the nominee of the Báb, was the wronged one, and his Brother (I take refuge in God!) was the usurper and aggressor. Then he once more praised courage and said that the Cause of God needed help. In all this talk, the tone of his remarks, the story of Mirza Na'im, the praise of courage and his encouragement to me, he was in fact telling me to kill Bahá'u'lláh.
The effect of all this upon me was so disturbing that in all my life I had never felt so shattered. It was as if the whole building was falling upon my head. I was frightened; without uttering a word I went out to the ante-room: My mind was in a state of the utmost agitation. I thought to myself that I would go inside and cut Azal's head off regardless of consequences. Then I thought, to kill him is easy but perhaps I would offend the Blessed Beauty. One thing which prevented me from carrying out my intention was the thought that if I killed him and then went into the presence of the Blessed Beauty, and He asked me why I had killed him, what answer could I give?
I returned to the bath and being extremely angry, I shouted at him, 'Go and get lost, clear of!' He whimpered and trembled and asked me to pour water over him. I complied. Washed or unwashed he went out in a state of great trepidation and I have never seen him since.
My state of mind, however, was such that nothing could calm me. As it happened, that day the Blessed Beauty did not come to the bath, but Aqa Mirza Musay-i-Kalim [Bahá'u'lláh's faithful brother] came. I told him that Azal had set me on fire with his sinister suggestion. Aqa Mirza Musa said: 'He has been thinking of this for years, this man has always been thinking in this way. Do not pay any attention to him.' He counselled me to disregard the whole thing and went inside the bath.
However, when my work was finished in the bath, I went to the Master ['Abdu'l-Bahá] and reported to Him what Mirza Yahya had told me, and how I was filled with rage and wanted to kill him ... the Master said, 'This is something that you alone know. Do not mention it to anyone, it is better that it remain hidden.' I then went to Mirza Aqa Jan, reported the details of the incident, and asked him to tell Bahá'u'lláh. He returned and said, 'Bahá'u'lláh says to tell Ustad Muhammad-'Ali not to mention this to anyone.'
That night I collected all the writings of Azal and went to the tea-room [Reception room of Bahá'u'lláh where the believers usually gathered] of Bahá'u'lláh's house and burnt them all in the brazier. Before doing so, I showed them to seven or eight of the believers who were present. They all saw that they were the writings of Azal. They all protested to me and asked me the reason for doing this. I said, 'Until today I esteemed Azal highly, but now he is less than a dog in my sight.'[In Persian, this designation is much more insulting than it sounds in English]
Because of Bahá'u'lláh's sin-covering eye and His loving kindness towards Mirza Yahya and because Yahya was Bahá'u'lláh's half-brother, the faithful believers treated him with respect and consideration. But after these vicious attacks on Bahá'u'lláh, it was natural for them to turn their backs on him. After Salmani failed to keep the details of the incident to himself, the news spread and created a great upheaval in the community.
At this point Bahá'u'lláh decided to formally declare to Mirza Yahya as the nominee of the Báb, His claim to be the Author of a new Revelation, 'Him Whom God shall make manifest', as foretold by the Báb. Of course, Mirza Yahya was well aware of Bahá'u'lláh's declaration in the Garden of Ridvan and the Tablets subsequently revealed by Him. But now the time had come for the Supreme Manifestation of God to formally announce His station to the one who was nominated y the Báb to be the leader of His followers until the advent of 'Him Whom God shall make manifest'. (Adib Taherzadeh, The Child of the Covenant, pp. 118-120)
• The exceptionally ungrateful and hostile behavior of Mirza Yahya is beyond comprehension. It’s amazing how his “arrogance and pride” drove him to such extreme measures!
• It is also noteworthy that there is this reference in the Bible, apparently about Mirza Yahya:
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God¨ (King James Bible, 2 Thessalonians)
