Devotion for 9Th July

1--The Bab’s spirit to the souls of martyrs of Islam, in the precincts of the shrine of Muhammad where Shaykh Ahmad also lay buried:  (DB 140-41)

“Fear not, I am come into this world to bear witness to the glory of sacrifice.  You are aware of the intensity of My longing; you realize the degree of My renunciation.  Nay, beseech the Lord your God to hasten the hour of My martyrdom and to accept My sacrifice.  Rejoice for both I and Quddus will be slain on the altar of our devotion to the King of Glory.  The blood which we are destined to shed in His path will water and revive the garden of our immortal felicity.  The drops of this consecrated blood will be the seed out of which will arise the mighty Tree of God, the Tree that will gather beneath its all-embracing shadow the peoples and kindreds of the earth.  Grieve not, therefore, if I depart from this land, for I am hastening to fulfill My destiny.”

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2-Bab’s last words to Quddus in Bushihr, bidding Quddus to depart for Shiraz:  (DB 142-143)

“The days of your companionship with Me are drawing to a close.  The hour of separation has struck, a separation which no reunion will follow except in the Kingdom of God, in the presence of the King of Glory.  In this world of dust, no more than nine fleeting months of association with Me have been allotted to you.  On the shores of the Great Beyond, however, in the realm of immortality, joy of eternal reunion awaits us.  The hand of destiny will ere long plunge you into an ocean of tribulation for His sake.  I, too, will follow you; I, too, will be immersed beneath its depths.  Rejoice with exceeding gladness, for you have been chosen as the standard-bearer of the host of affliction, and are standing in the vanguard of the noble army that will suffer martyrdom in His name.  In the streets of Shiraz, indignities will be heaped upon you, and the severest injuries will afflict your body.  You will survive the ignominious behavior of your foes, and will attain the presence of Him who is the one object of our adoration and love.  In His presence you will forget all the harm and disgrace that shall have befallen you.  The hosts of the Unseen will hasten forth to assist you, and proclaim to all the world your heroism and glory.  Yours will be the ineffable joy of quaffing the cup of martyrdom for His sake.  I, too, shall tread the path of sacrifice, and will join you in the realm of eternity.”

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 3---

The Bab 

Dignity and Detachment

When the Bab was given money from the government to use en route to Tabriz, “He refused to expend on Himself the funds provided by the government for the expense of that journey.  All the allowances that were given by the State He bestowed upon the poor and needy, and devoted to His own private needs the money which He, as a merchant, had earned in Bushihr and Shiraz.”

The Bab

Loyalty:

 “His (Bab’s) alluring charm, combined with a compelling dignity and unfailing benevolence, had, by this time, completely disarmed and transformed His guards.  They seemed to have abdicated all their rights and duties and to have resigned themselves to His will and pleasure.”

Then, when the guards could not find the Bab one night, Muhammad Big, their leader, remonstrated them saying, “Why feel disturbed?  Are not His magnanimity and nobleness of soul sufficiently established in your eyes to convince you that He will never, for the sake of His own safety, consent to involve others in embarrassment?  He, no doubt, must have retired, in the silence of this moonlit night, to a place where He can seek undisturbed communion with God.  He will unquestionably return to His tent.  He will never desert us.”

The Bab

Thoughtfulness and Kindness:

The Bab met the escort sent by Husayn Khan to bring him to Shiraz, saying:  “The governor has sent you to arrest Me.  Here am I; do with Me as you please.  By coming out to meet you, I have curtailed the length of your march, and have made it easier for you to find Me.”

   When the escort did not want to bring him in, the Bab said, “I prefer to deliver Myself into your hands, rather than subject you and your companions to unnecessary annoyance for My sake.”

  The escort followed the Bab into Shiraz “in an attitude of respectful devotion.  By the magic of His words, He had disarmed the hostility of His guards and transmuted their proud arrogance into humility

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Ages rolled away, until they attained their consummation in this, the Lord of days, the Day whereon the Day Star of the Bayán manifested itself above the horizon of mercy, the Day in which the Beauty of the All-Glorious shone forth in the exalted person of … the Báb. No sooner did He reveal Himself, than all the people rose up against Him. … "God," said He, "is My witness, O people! I am come to you with a Revelation from the Lord, your God, the Lord of your fathers of old. Look not, O people, at the things ye possess. Look rather at the things God hath sent down unto you. This, surely, will be better for you than the whole of creation, could ye but perceive it. Repeat the gaze, O people, and consider the testimony of God and His proof which are in your possession, and compare them unto the Revelation sent down unto you in this Day, that the truth, the infallible truth, may be indubitably manifested unto you..." The more He exhorted them, the fiercer grew their enmity, till, at the last, they put Him to death with shameful cruelty

-Bahá'u'lláh: Gleanings, Pages: 144-149


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5--

Tablet Concerning

the Day of the

Martyrdom of

His Holiness,

the Exalted One

Translated from the Persian into English byKhazeh Fananapazir

He is the All-Glorious!O thou honoured 'Alí Akbar!
This day is the day of the Martyrdom of His Holiness, the Exalted One, may our heart be sacrificed for His sanctified blood.
This Day is the day in which this "Sun of Truth" concealed itself behind the clouds of providence.
This Day is the day in which this luminous Orb did set!
This Day is the day in which that Body, pure and without blemish or spot fell upon and rolled onto the blood soaked earth
This Day is the day in which His chest and His heart, immaculate and pure like unto a spotless mirror, was riddled by thousands of bullets!
This Day is the day in which that "Divine Lamp" became severed from Its physical frame!
This Day is the day in which the cries and lamentations of the Concourse on high are raised
This Day is the day in which the inhabitants of the Kingdom of God weep and moan, the eyes in tears and their hearts torn!--Abdul-Baha
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