Successive banishments: loss, companionship, and purpose

Thou wert with thy Lord in times of hardship and tribulation until thou wert exiled with Him from the Land of Ta by reason of what the hands of the wicked had wrought. And thou didst arrive with thy Lord in Zawra, the place which the All-Merciful made the seat of His throne for successive years. … And thou didst migrate once again from Iraq with the Luminary of the horizons, and stood before His face morning and evening until thou didst arrive with thy Lord in the Land of Mystery which was named Adrianople, and from thence to the Most Great Prison.

And thou wert with Him for numbered years, and present before the Wronged One morning and evening, until thou didst soar on the wings of longing unto God, the Lord of the Day of the Covenant, and the verses of thy Most Glorious Lord drew thee to the Supreme Paradise - that station wherein naught can be seen save the manifestations of the grace of thy Lord, the All-Bountiful, the Ancient of Days.

Consider how He was driven from His native land with what tribulation and persecution - from Tehran to Iraq, from Iraq to the renowned city, thence to the land of Bulgaria, and thence to this Prison of tribulation. Four times was He rendered homeless.

He was repeatedly plundered and exiled - from Iran to Baghdad, thence to Istanbul, then to Rumelia, and from Rumelia He was banished to 'Akka. He never knew rest.

O servant of Baha! The Ancient Beauty and the Most Great Name (may my spirit be sacrificed for His loved ones) was repeatedly exiled, taken from land to land and country to country.

The Amir-Nizam asked Us one day to see him. He received Us cordially, and revealed the purpose for which he had summoned Us to his presence. 'I am well aware,' he gently insinuated, 'of the nature and influence of your activities, and am firmly convinced that were it not for the support and assistance which you have been extending to Mulla Husayn and his companions, neither he nor his band of inexperienced students would have been capable of resisting for seven months the forces of the imperial government. The ability and skill with which you have managed to direct and encourage those efforts could not fail to excite my admiration. I have been unable to obtain any evidence whereby I could establish your complicity in this affair. I feel it a pity that so resourceful a person should be left idle and not be given an opportunity to serve his country and sovereign. The thought has come to me to suggest to you that you visit Karbila in these days when the Shah is contemplating a journey to Isfahan. It is my intention to be enabled, on his return, to confer upon you the position of Amir-Divan, a function you could admirably discharge.' We vehemently protested against such accusations, and refused to accept the position he hoped to offer Us. A few days after that interview, We left Tihran for Karbila.

We stayed four months in Istanbul and (during that time) I never went anywhere or associated with anyone. After four months, a decree was issued to the effect that we must go to Edirne. We sought to know the reason for this, and various pretexts were advanced, but it became known to us that the real purpose was to carry out the wishes of the Iranian ambassador. I complied (with the decree) and we arrived in Edirne.

Finally imprisoned in Iran, after plunder and pillage and tribulations beyond endurance, He was exiled to Iraq. … Again He was banished to Bulgaria, and after some time was confined in the Most Great Prison, where for nearly twenty-five years He remained the Wronged One of the horizons.

Again they banished Him to Constantinople, and from Constantinople a third time to Rumelia, and afterwards sent Him to the most desolate of the world's fortresses, the citadel of Akka, where they imprisoned Him. No worse place for exile and imprisonment could be imagined than this, nor could there be a more severe banishment than to be exiled four times and finally imprisoned in a fortress like Akka.

Then they turned with blackened faces against faces of light, and banished Us from the Land of Mystery and made Us enter 'Akka. It is the most desolate of the cities of the world. When We entered the prison, its doors were guarded by souls who had never inhaled the fragrance of faith from the Egypt of certitude, nor had the breezes of the All-Glorious ever wafted upon their hearts. Three successive months passed and We did not enter a bath. Thus did it befall the Youth at the hands of those who denied God's favor after its descent.

When we first arrived in 'Akka and entered the army barracks, the government authorities informed us one day that an individual representing Baha'u'llah should go and hear the Sultan's farman.

Therefore, on the third day after our arrival in 'Akka, the governor summoned me, and when I went to him he read to me the text of the Sultan's Farman which had arrived by telegraph. Its contents stated that we were to be imprisoned perpetually.

Again He was sent an exile to Iraq, whence He was banished from land to land, until at last He was incarcerated, for no less than twenty five years, in the fortress-town of Akka.

Sultan Abdu'l-'Aziz banished Us to this country in the greatest abasement, and since his object was to destroy Us and humble Us, whenever the means of glory and ease presented themselves, We did not reject them.

After the Sun of Truth had set below the horizon of Iraq, the people of discord surrounded Him, bound Him in chains, and assailed Him with permissible spears and poisoned arrows. So He left the City of Peace and hastened to the shelter of the tents, and dwelt near the Most Great Prison in safety and peace.

Though you have been persecuted, made homeless, and humiliated, this was in the path of that loving Friend, Who was Himself exiled from Iran to Iraq, from Iraq to the Great City (Constantinople), from thence to Rumelia (Adrianople), and from Rumelia to this afflictive prison.

Until now, whatever has occurred has had the effect of spreading the Cause of God. When the Blessed Beauty left Tehran and when He departed from Baghdad for the Holy Land, it was so devastating that the friends shed tears of blood. Now it has become evident what mysteries were concealed in that event and what victories lay in store; even the prophecies of the holy books regarding the Holy Land and the promised Manifestation were fulfilled through that banishment.

Later, when the Blessed Beauty was exiled, the friends were grief-stricken and disheartened while the enemies rejoiced, saying 'Praise be to God, Baha'u'llah was exiled.' But had the Blessed Beauty not been exiled, the Tablet to the King and the Tablet to Ra'is would not have been revealed and the Cause of God would not have been spread abroad.

It behoves us to ponder awhile that if the emigration of Abraham from Ur to Aleppo in Syria produced such results, what will be the effect of the exile of Baha'u'llah from Tihran to Baghdad, and from thence to Constantinople, to Rumelia, and to the Holy Land!

What outward relation exists between Shiraz and Teheran, Bagdad and Constantinople, Adrianople and Acca and Haifa! God worked patiently step by step through these various cities according to his own definite, eternal plan – so that the prophecies and predictions as foretold by the prophets may become fulfilled.

Verily in the departure of the Ancient Beauty from the Land of Mystery and His entry into the Most Great Prison are signs for the nations, but they do not understand.

Of a certainty, it is difficult to imagine its full effect at the present, but for those endowed with discernment and possessing absolute certitude, such conception poses no obstacle and [its realization] is manifest as the sun.

The Bab was likewise banished from Shiraz to the banks of the river Araxes, but auspicious indeed were the results of His banishment! The Blessed Beauty---may my soul be offered up for His loved ones---was exiled from Persia to Iraq, thence to Constantinople, and later to the Land of Mystery, before being transferred to the Most Great Prison.

During the time Baha'u'llah resided in Mesopotamia he displayed marvelous grandeur and power, notwithstanding the enmity and opposition of the Shah and the noblemen of Persia. Learned men of all nations sought him and were humble in his presence. They received from his holy tongue answers to their questions, and not a single soul left his blessed presence unsatisfied. When the ulama saw that Baha'u'llah exercised such influence in Bagdad they caused him to be exiled to Constantinople. However, he was sent, not as other exiles, but with honorable escort, and the officials en route, including the governor general, showed him great respect.

They subjected Baha'u'llah, therefore, to severe hardships so that He would be forced to seek permission to leave Persia, and they imagined that the lamp of the Cause would be thereby extinguished. But this persecution produced the contrary effect: The Cause grew in stature and its flame waxed brighter. It had until then spread only within Persia; this caused it to spread to other regions. … Finally the Persians said, "None of these locations was a place of humiliation: He must be sent to a place where He will be disgraced and subjected to trials and persecutions, and where His kindred and followers will suffer the direst afflictions." Thus they chose the prison city of 'Akka, which was reserved for rebels, murderers, thieves, and highway robbers, and in this wise they made Him associate with such people.