Life in ‘Akka: confinement, care, and widening horizons

Notwithstanding this the owner of the house was still distrustful and dissatisfied, until a Greek doctor in Akka who was also related to him, implored on their behalf, saying, 'The Consul and I will be responsible.' At last they satisfied him and we came and lived in the small house adjoining this. The owner of the house carefully nailed up the doors connecting the two houses, both in the upper and lower floors, so that there should be no going and coming between the two houses.

Less than a fortnight afterwards we heard a knocking at the door. On opening it we found the wife of the owner of the house who had come to visit the ladies. She asked, 'Why do you not come to visit us?' They answered, 'You have nailed up the doors between the houses.' She said, 'Ah! We did not know you, at first, but now the doors must be opened, both upstairs and downstairs, and you can fetch water (from our house).'

When we first came here we were put into the barracks. In ten or fifteen days we began to fall like leaves because of sickness. No one remained upon his feet except myself and the late Agha Riza. I used to cook a kettle of soup for them to eat in the daytime and a kettle of rice for the night.

Later, when the order was issued to banish this Youth, all were filled with dismay. The officials in charge of My expulsion declared, however: "These others have not been charged with any offence and have not been expelled by the government. Should they desire to accompany you, no one will oppose them." These hapless souls therefore paid their own expenses, forsook all their possessions, and, contenting themselves with Our presence and placing their whole trust in God, journeyed once again with Him until the fortress of 'Akka became the prison of Baha.

At the eighth hour of the day, the friends of God who were in the market were all arrested, and suddenly soldiers surrounded the Most Pure House and likewise stood guard at the doors of other homes of the friends, and conditions became so severe that women and children were prevented from entering or leaving, and that night most went without food. Outwardly it was not at all clear what they intended. Some said we would be sent to the Sudan toward Abyssinia, some said we would be drowned in the sea, and there were various other claims.

When the two despotic governments decided to exile us from Adrianople to Acca, there was such a manifestation of sorrow and anxiety that neither the word nor pen can describe it adequately. The floodgate of unutterable grief was set loose.

Very soon they will expel Us from this land and they will incarcerate Us there. In truth that city is decrepit, unclean; its air is bad, its waters are polluted and foul-smelling, and they wish to shut from His Face all bounties and gifts which have been ordained for His Self by God, the Omnipotent, the Almighty, the All-knowing.

Soon will they imprison Baha in the fortress of 'Akka with utmost humiliation. Verily it is the most unsightly of the world's cities in appearance, the most detestable in climate, and the most putrid in water.

Now and then we urged him to ride at least for a few miles but never did he accept it.

on August 5th 1868 A.D. we were exiled from Adrianople to Acca. We travelled in carriages as far as Gallipoli, guarded by a company of Turkish soldiers with their lieutenant Hassan Effendi. After spending a few days in Gallipoli we all embarked on the steamer of the Austrian Lloyd Company for Acca by way of Smyrna and Alexandria.

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

Then on an Austrian vessel They proceeded toward Akka. Near that celestial city it stopped, and the Ancient Beauty came by rowboat. Four persons were prevented from accompanying Them: his honor Sayyah, Mishkin-Qalam, Aqa Muhammad-Baqir, and Aqa Abdul-Ghaffar - upon them be the Glory of God and His praise.

We disembarked from the ship, and with Us the whole band of Our companions save only four, who were prevented by the oppressors from accompanying Us, and whose hearts so blazed forth that one of them, in his grief at separation from Us, cast himself from the first deck of the ship into the sea.

Most mighty minister, most great and noble ambassador, May your prosperity continue, I wish to say that my affairs have so fallen out that pen and tongue, writing and utterance are alike powerless to (describe them).

To give a brief account, we resided for six years in Edirne on the orders of the Ottoman government; nothing contrary to the laws (of the state) was ever manifested by me or my followers, as all the people of Edirne bear witness and confess. Nevertheless, three months ago, officials of the Ottoman state suddenly surrounded our house, seized all the belongings of my followers in the bazaar, and took them to the government building. After this, a man came from the governor and informed us that, on the orders of the Sultan, I had to go with (my wives?) and children to Gallipoli. They gave us no further notice than that. All the belongings of my followers were sold for a paltry price at the decree of the military commanders, but they did not even give us an opportunity to collect the money. After this, they brought me to Gallipoli, along with seventy men, women, and small children. Following our arrival, a special official, 'Umar Effendi Binbashi (= bigbashi; major), arrived from Istanbul with five sergeants. They issued a decree to the effect that orders had been given for six individuals to go to Acre (with us?), and for five to go to Cyprus; I had no claim on the rest -- they were to be free to choose for themselves. It afterwards became apparent that he had arranged things, for he took the money for the steamer from everyone and brought all of us to Acre, which has the worst water and the worst air in the world -- except for four individuals, who were taken to a ruined fortress in Cyprus.

No sooner had we arrived in Acre than they imprisoned us in a ruined barracks, even the women and six-month old children, and they forthwith shut the doors of entry and exit. We have now been imprisoned in the ruined barracks for fifty days, and, on account of the badness of the water and air, we have all been stricken by serious illnesses, such that, after two days, three people died without a physician or food or medicine. Up until now, we have not learnt the nature of our crime. There has been no enquiry. But neither wrongdoing nor acts contrary to the laws have ever been witnessed from us.

If it be supposed that our crime is that of being Babis, this was known from the start, and the Ottoman government officials were aware that we were Babis. It was not something that was kept concealed. Nevertheless, I was summoned by the government, and I came with a number of my followers from Baghdad to the court of his highness the Sultan, in the utmost sincerity. In spite of this, a new tribulation befell us every day, until things culminated in this mighty ordeal.

If they accuse us of some other crime, let them hold a tribunal and question us. When investigations have been held, it will be clear and apparent that we have not transgressed the laws. All the consuls resident in Edirne on behalf of the great powers are aware (of this) and all have borne witness that we have not committed any wrong. What we want is to know just what our crime has been, but they have not once mentioned it so that we might be informed. We beseech your excellency to turn your attention towards us, so that the breezes of the grace and bounty of his imperial highness the Sultan may blow upon us. Our fundamental aim is perchance to find shelter from these widespread tribulations in the shade of the protection of the most mighty, great, and noble Emperor, may his exalted shadow endure, and that we may occupy ourselves in prayer for his eternal rule.

Among the news which has reached us by way of the telegraph is that in Baghdad thirty of my well-known adherents have been sent to Jazira without (having committed) any crime or offence, and my property has all been impounded. I ask you to make enquiries of (your) consul in Baghdad, that it may be made known that all these things have happened without the slightest explanation. We all wait expectantly for the sun of bounty to rise up from the horizon of the grace and justice of the Monarch of the Age, the most great Emperor of the Era, through the attention of your excellency.

I remain obedient to your command.

'Abdu'l-Baha: "It was on his way to 'Akka. He Himself did not land but we all went ashore. Those who were taking care of us were quite sure we would not escape. We went and looked around."

O thou who gazest upon the Countenance! Know thou that We arrived at the fortress of 'Akka with seventy souls, and it was the most desolate of all lands.

Upon arriving in Akka, we saw soldiers lined up on both sides of the gate, with two soldiers for each one of us. In this manner they took us to the fortress and closed the door upon us - there was neither food nor water until morning. We observed that just as had been revealed in the divine Tablet, the hooting of owls could truly be heard from the walls.

Yes, in the morning they came and said that no one was permitted to leave this barracks. Four people could go to the bazaar with soldiers to get whatever bread and water they needed. These were not to speak with anyone, not to associate with anyone, only to buy bread and water.

It was about 4 p.m. when we reached Acca.

As we entered the place we found the inhabitants of Acca, without exception, sickly looking people of sallow, yellow complexion, a good many unable to walk and hence strewn on the narrow streets. Even the soldiers and officers, who possessed privileges, looked ill.

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.

Having arrived in Acca they found there were not enough rooms in the barracks to imprison us separately so they put us all in two rooms with no furniture at all. The court of the barrack had a most gloomy aspect. There were three or four fig trees over the branches of which several ominous owls screeched all night. Every one got sick and there were neither provisions nor medicine.

When we arrived in Acca it was found there were not enough rooms in the barracks to imprison us separately, so they put is all in two rooms with no furniture at all. The court of the barracks had a most gloomy aspect. There were three or four fig trees on the branches of which several ominous owls screeched all night. Every one got sick, and there were neither provisions nor medicine. At the entrance of the barracks there was a morgue. It was a horrible looking room, yet I lived there two years in the utmost happiness.

Imagine the conditions and surroundings when we were exiled by the Turkish Government and were imprisoned in the barracks of 'Akka; Baha'u'llah occupied one room; His family and several other families were forced to occupy one room.

In these days, the case of these prisoners has become extremely serious. Hour by hour, the severity of our condition increases. They have imprisoned nearly seventy individuals, all of whom are in discomfort and ill, yet they will not allow anyone to go out to obtain medicine or food, nor have they yet given us even a dinar for our expenses. A few days ago, a pasha came to my son and said they had telegraphed to say that some (of us) would be given one franc per day, others half a franc.

Say: O people of the Bayan! That which was present at that moment before His face was but a piece of bread and a small amount of cheese.

… Say: Days passed over Us when nothing was present before Us with which to feed ourselves, if ye but know. … Once We wore silk after it was presented before Us, and once We found no garment to change into, and We mentioned it not to anyone and concealed it to preserve God's Cause, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting, though in His hand was the key to the treasures of the heavens and earth, as ye yourselves have witnessed and do witness.

In Akka there was a well that supplied water to four places: the mosque, the barracks, the governor's house, and the public bath. The rest had to bring water from outside the city. There was a person who supplied water - he would give water to the barracks for half an hour and then there would be none, whereas previously there had always been water. We would give this person gifts and tea, but it had absolutely no effect.

It was a two story house, having two rooms on the lower and four rooms on the upper floor but they were very small indeed. On the other hand or party was composed of many people and we wondered how could all these souls be accommodated in this small house. Finally 13 of us agreed to live in one room. they lived and slept and worked in this one small room. We lived in this house well-nigh for 20 years.

… At the end of 20 years we rented a much larger house but it had no bath. I went to Baha'u'llah and asked permission to build one. The more I begged the stronger was his refusal. I said only with fifty pounds a little, comfortable bath can be build but he did not give his consent.

"We were thrown into the barrack with no permission to have intercourse with the outside world!"

The Correspondent could not believe in such a cruel treatment. "Do you mean the barrack?" he exclaimed in incredulously. "The barrack where the criminals are imprisoned? Do you mean that? How is that? What was your crime?" he asked indignant against the tyrants.

Then the public speaker went behind a podium and read the royal decree, which was in Turkish. In essence, it said that the family of Baha'u'llah would be imprisoned in 'Akka forever and that they would not have the right to leave the city.

After hearing this edict I laughed. Those present were quite surprised and asked me, 'Why do you laugh?' I said, 'This passage has no meaning. If we are to remain in the city forever, we must also live forever. But we are not going to live eternally.'

Then when the matter of imprisonment became prolonged, I petitioned the Blessed Beauty the first time, a second time, and a third time to leave the prison and honor the Mansion of Mazra'ih with His presence, but He would not accept. After that I did not dare to repeat the request. However, I informed the Mufti and sent him into the Blessed Presence. He went, knelt, and began kissing the feet of the Blessed Beauty, saying, "O my Lord, will you not come out? The air in the garden is pleasant and the view is beautiful." He answered, "I am a prisoner and the government would not approve." The Mufti said, "They all agree." The Mufti persisted with complete humility and supplication until finally the Blessed Beauty consented to leave the prison.

For the Most Great Name was held prisoner and confined nine years in the fortress-town of 'Akka; and at all times, both in the barracks and afterward, from without the house, the police and farrashes had Him under constant guard. The Blessed Beauty lived in a very small house, and He never set foot outside that narrow lodging, because His oppressors kept continual watch at the door.

… Although the royal farman specifically decreed that Baha'u'llah was to be held in solitary confinement within the 'Akka fortress, in a cell, under perpetual guard; that He was never to set foot outside; that He was never even to see any of the believers--notwithstanding such a farman, such a drastic order, His tent was raised in majesty on the heights of Mount Carmel.

Through planning and giving gifts to the officers, I was able to win the entrance of some of the believers and bring them into Baha'u'llah's presence. With great kindness I dealt with a certain Bayk-bashi - may God's bounties surround his departed soul - and also won the affection of some other officers. At nights they would go and secretly bring in the friends.

Thou art the first one to attain the divine presence in His Most Great Prison.

O Nasru'llah! Thou art he who turned towards the Most Exalted Horizon when the Wronged One was imprisoned in Akka. Thou didst enter and behold, and didst hear the Call when it was raised between earth and heaven.

When We entered, We found some of the loved ones standing by the door and others waiting in prison. We glorified God before their faces and sat for a time.

Is there a way for me, O my God, to the fortress which Thou hast made a prison for the Manifestation of Thyself?

… O Lord! This is one dead who desireth the breaths of Thy revelation and what would give him life through the eternity of Thy might and sovereignty; and this is one non-existent who seeketh existence from the heaven of Thy bounty and the sea of Thy generosity and the sun of Thy grace; and this is one poor whom Thou seest clinging to the hem of Thy riches and holding fast to the cord of Thy bestowals; and a sinner who desireth the ocean of Thy forgiveness; and one deaf who desireth to hear Thy most sweet call which hath been raised from the direction of Thy prison.

Thou wert with Us in thy childhood and grew to maturity beneath the sheltering grace of God, the Lord of the worlds, and thou didst migrate with the Wronged One until imprisonment ended in the Most Great Prison.

After the Ancient Beauty's arrival, the Pasha and the members of the assembly apologized, saying they were obliged to investigate since three people had been killed and all the inhabitants of the city were fearful and terrified, therefore they must proceed according to law. The poor man seemed to have no knowledge of the law.

In any case, they asked about His blessed name and homeland, explaining that according to law these questions must be asked and recorded. He said: "It is more manifest than the sun." They asked again. He said: "It behooveth not to mention the name. Look at the government decree which is in your possession." Then with utmost courtesy they requested that He Himself tell them. The Temple of Grandeur sat composed upon the chair and spoke with the tongue of power and might: "My name is Baha'u'llah and My country is Nur. Be ye apprized of it."

O My Name! We have lifted the decree of killing lest anyone slay another or oppose another soul, yet despite this supreme prohibition what was destined came to pass. Thy Lord is indeed the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Those who were killed in this land ['Akka], by God, were slain by the swords of their own deeds - to this testifies every informed sage.

God desired your departure from the Land of Mystery lest you hear the great terror in the days when the ungodly seized the gates of the House and the Ancient Beauty departed from it due to what the hands of those who disbelieved in God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting, had wrought.

In the Land of Mystery too, we would meet with some and grant audience to others. But in the Most Great Prison we have met with no one and have completely closed the doors of association. The Master has borne all the hardships for our comfort and ease. He has become an impregnable fortress and a mighty shield before the world and its peoples, bringing us comfort. For us, they first obtained the Mansion of Mazra'ih where we stayed, and then the Mansion of Bahji.

The services and hardships of those days--which were far greater in Adrianople and now several times more so in 'Akka--the Most Great Branch has borne, for in Baghdad we were not outwardly imprisoned, and the Cause of God had not one-hundredth of its present fame, nor did its opponents number one-hundredth of what they do now.

First they secured for us the Mansion of Mazra'ih where we resided, and then the Mansion of Bahji. And they have arisen to serve the Cause and been so confirmed that they have not even the opportunity to come to the Mansion of Bahji weekly, while we commune with the friends and are occupied with the revelation of Tablets and verses, and they are burdened with trials and tribulations, for association with these people brings greater hardship than anything else.

This day, while pacing in the hallway [of the house of 'Abbud], the Master remarked:

This room was the kitchen. The smoke bothered the Blessed Beauty, so I changed its location. For twenty years, the Blessed Beauty resided in this house, and for nine years, He did not descend these stairs.

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One day while he was walking in the house in the course of his conversation he said 'It is now nine years that my eyes have not beheld one blade of grass.' He loved the green pastures, verdant plains blossoming trees and flowering spots; especially the prairie of Acca which was wonderfully green and carpeted with wild flowers during the months of spring. For this reason he often remarked: 'the city is the world of bodies; the country is the world of spirits.'

… Having prepared everything and attended to every detail I went to the Blessed Presence and said: 'A good mansion is made ready for you outside of Acca. … The Blessed Perfection answered 'I am a prisoner. The prisoner is not allowed to go beyond the town of Acca.'

He had a palace called Mazra'ih, about four miles north of the city, a lovely place, surrounded by gardens and with a stream of running water.

I went and called on this Pasha at his home. I said: 'Pasha, you have left the palace empty, and are living in 'Akka.' He replied: 'I am an invalid and cannot leave the city. If I go there it is lonely and I am cut off from my friends.' I said: 'While you are not living there and the place is empty, let it to us.'

We had made every effort to persuade the Blessed Beauty to relocate to the garden [of Mazra'ih], but He refused every time, and would say, 'We are prisoners, and prisoners must be confined.' … After obtaining His permission to attain His presence, the mufti threw himself at the feet of Baha'u'llah and said, 'I have a request to make of You, and I will not rise up from this spot until You agree to do it.' The mufti insisted and implored repeatedly, until at last the Blessed Beauty consented to his request. He left the fortress to which He had been confined and went to the Mansion of Mazra'ih, which had been prepared to receive Him.

"One day I went to His Holy Presence and said: 'The palace is ready and also the carriage to drive you there.' At that time there was no carriage in 'Akka or Haifa. He replied: 'I will not go. I am a prisoner.' Later on I requested again. Again He refused. I went so far as to beg Him a third time.

… However, He lived very simply and economically regarding his own welfare. He had no return from his property at that time. His property was confined to half the village of Adasieh [near Tiberias]. It was in ruins and yielded no revenues.

He hath turned once before and again in these days wherein the gates of the Prison were opened and the Wronged One went forth by a command before which neither the heavens nor the earth can stand.

The Wronged One hath emerged from the prison of Akka, whereupon the Kingdom of Names was stirred and every stone cried out: "God hath fulfilled what He promised in the Book. He, verily, is the Expositor, the All-Informed."

We have emerged from the Most Great Prison and made this palace Our Most Sublime Vision, to the dismay of those who have denied God, the Lord of the worlds.

Yet always we passed our days and nights in a single room, the door of which was usually locked, until the Ancient Beauty, through the blessing of the Most Great Name, opened the prison door, as We had previously announced in the blessed Tablets. After arriving at the garden and renowned mansion, which afforded some relief, news arrived from the prison-land that on several occasions the very prison itself had been dearer and more precious than what came after.

This is the third time that successive migrations have occurred in this supreme migration, yet none have been like unto this one, for it was undertaken with complete volition while its people were rendering the utmost service.

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.

For several days We have worn thy cloak and gone forth, that is, from Our residence to the countryside, and have made mention of the friends with such mention as hath raised high the pavilions of glory and the tabernacle of grace, and hath caused the banner of revelation to be unfurled upon the Mount, whereupon the Tree did proclaim: "The Kingdom belongeth unto God, the Lord of all worlds!"

We left the House, proceeding toward the garden, and on the way We encountered servants who had believed in God, the Single, the All-Informed. There accompanied Us a certain number of those who had acknowledged what God had testified in His Noble Book. We journeyed until We entered the place and drank Chinese tea, and We said: "Praise be to Thee, O God of the worlds!"

On the morning of the blessed Friday We proceeded from the mansion and entered the garden. Every tree uttered a word, and every leaf sang a melody.

… Upon Our being seated, Radiyih, upon her be My glory, attained Our presence on thy behalf, laid the table of God's bounty and in thy name extended hospitality to all present.

The Blessed Perfection always loved this specie of roses. Large bowls containing the same, decorated the table of his room all the time.

Baha'u'llah loved perfumery very much and he always used the attar of the rose.

Often he would order us to go and prepare tea five or six miles away from the city, because one could see there a patch of green or one pine. He would cut the cucumber into two pieces and smell only its odor and enjoy it as though he has eaten it.

While dictating Tablets to his Secretary at a rapid fire rate, he had papers in his hand writing on some entirely different topic and now and then carry an interesting conversation with those who were present and suddenly he would raise his head and point to us from the window a wonderful, tall, noble tree in a garden far away. One occupation would not prevent him from attending to other things.

Abdul Baha: "In the days of the Blessed Perfection this was a place of recreation. He used to sit there (pointing) and the friends used to sit around on those seats. Words and prayers used to be revealed and they were all in the utmost of humility and submissiveness. One day I came here with the Motesareff (Governor). His holiness Baha'u'llah was here and the friends were here. He did not receive the Motesareff. He did not meet him. He did not meet me, either. He said, 'Return with the Motasereff,' and I returned."

Every evening after having partaken of his dinner he would retire inside of His mosquito-net and then send for all the members of the Blessed Household to gather around and converse with him. This delightful nightly gathering of the family before sleep was an essential feature of the spiritual system of education fostered and upheld by the Blessed Perfection.

Generally the meeting lasted one hour during which time he exhorted his hearers and tried to teach them in manifold ways, relating stories, uttering pithy remarks, cracking jokes and expressing truths laconically.

During the days of the Blessed Perfection we celebrated this National New year's day with great elaboration and festivity ... Everybody was in the utmost joy and happiness, attraction and hopefulness. The Newyear's day is a day of pleasure and delight. Although in those days we were prisoners, yet according to our ability the room of Baha'u'llah was decorated with roses and flowers and there were a variety of candies and bonbons which were distributed amongst the friends with his own hands...

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How pleasant it was when we were in prison, when in times of hardship no one would come and we were at peace. I would write letters to the East and West. I planted a garden and built a wooden house within it in 'Akka. Someone thought they would cast us into the sea or send us to the Sahara of Fezzan, but I was resigned.

I planted trees, and they laughed at me saying I was taking needless trouble.

Nowhere do[es] my heart truly rest save in this room where the Blessed Beauty spent His days and nights for many years. When I sit there alone how vividly the living picture is brought before my mind! In the evenings, after I go t[o] bed I lay awake for hours, thinking rapidly over the miraculous events of this Cause, how we were at first brought to Acca and imprisoned in the Barrack, how the breast of Baha'u'llah became the target for the arrows of oppression, how He suffered all these ignominies for our sake, how His Celestial Faith shone bright and luminous through untol[d] miseries and trials and how He conquered the hearts of men!

When we came to Akka there were severe hardships, but how wonderful it was - you don't know how sweet it was because it was in the path of God.

Every morning when I awoke I praised God there was another day to serve Him in His prison. Every night I thanked Him that He had permitted me to serve His Kingdom one more day in His prison. I was in a Turkish prison forty years but every day was a day of perfect joy.

Know thou that upon Our arrival at this Spot, We chose to designate it as the “Most Great Prison”.

O thou who hast turned unto Me! We have named this prison the Most Great Prison, and assuredly this name was not given without cause. However, We have, as a token of Our grace - and verily, I am the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous - concealed its mysteries and future manifestations from the eyes of Our loved ones.

Glory be to Him Who hath made me a prisoner in this land which hath been named the Crimson Spot in the Book of Names and the Most Great Prison in a glorious Tablet.

The enemy finally carried away as captive Him Who is the Manifestation of Thy beauty and the Revealer of Thy signs, and confined Him in the fortress-town of 'Akka, and sought to hinder Him from remembering Thee and from magnifying Thy name.

O thou who soarest in the atmosphere of faithfulness! Know that We have arrived in the fortress of Akka, and the heedless ones have surrounded Us from every direction. They desire to cut off the fragrant breezes of revelation from the universe, but this Youth hath not been deterred by the tribulations that have befallen Him and speaketh at all times that there is no God but Him.

We arrived at the Most Great Prison in the city whose inhabitants were the most wicked of all people, as attesteth to this the Lord of creation in a perspicuous Book. When We arrived, We summoned all to God, thy Lord and the Lord of all worlds, and the call was raised from the precincts of the prison in such wise as to encompass earth and heaven.

This is a city that was once the most desolate of lands. God hath adorned it with this Name through which the Ancient Beauty was established upon the Most Great Throne and the mention of God was exalted between the heavens and the earth.

Praise be unto the Lord of all creation, sanctified from all mention and description, Who, through His complete power and conquering might, hath transformed the prison of 'Akka into the Most Exalted Paradise.

Through His supreme grace, His infinite bounty and His greatest mercy, He hath transformed the circumstances of imprisonment. In truth, He hath adorned hell itself with the ornaments of the paradise of Eden.

Through His will, the Most Great Prison, with all its severity and confinement, became the All-Highest Paradise and the Dawning-Place of His supreme mercy. Those who were forbidden from beholding the paths, mosques, and streets of the city are now observed in complete freedom.

The Most Great Sea was the Blessed Beauty, meaning the Blessed Beauty came to these shores.

When God desires a thing, He need but say unto it "Be" and it is. Praise be to God, title [to the property] was obtained. Blessed is he who has attained unto this Cause, whose decree was established in the days of God, the Lord of the worlds.

At the beginning of arrival in the Most Great Prison in the military barracks, His blessed word, exalted be He: "The River Jordan has joined with the Most Great Sea..." Although for this blessed verse which was sent down from the heaven of divine will there are many meanings, yet one manifestation from the sun of its meanings dawned after the acquisition of this land, for this new land was adorned with the ornament of God's Name and is near to the River Jordan - and this is the river that was recorded and mentioned in the divine Books of old, and perhaps it will join [with the Sea] in the future as well. All knowledge is with God, the Lord of the worlds.

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The appearance of Baha'u'llah changed all things to a condition of improvement. Acca was considered a most terrible place. The atmosphere was considered to be so poisonous that no bird came there. The Prime Minister of Turkey who sent Baha'u'llah to Acca feared that his escort, who was Omar Boy, the major of the Turkish Army, might die after arrival with the exiles, because the air in Akka was so polluted. The prime minister was Ali Pasha.

During the twenty-five years that the Blessed Beauty resided in 'Akka, there was never an outbreak of cholera. Throughout Greater Syria cholera became prevalent four times, even reaching the gates of 'Akka, but it never entered the city, and all the physicians were astonished that 'Akka, which was known as the home of diseases, remained untouched by the illness while other places with better climate were affected.

Until His ascension occurred, there was no cholera anywhere, but then it broke out in 'Akka.

Among the deceptions of Mirza Muhsin Khan, the Iranian Ambassador in Istanbul, was that one time he invited Shakir Pasha, the brother of Grand Vizier Kamil Pasha, to his home and made him understand that he was the foremost admirer of the Most Glorious Station [Baha'u'llah]. Then Shakir Pasha came to me and said the Ambassador had greatly praised and commended you. The Ambassador's purpose was on one hand to portray himself as a supporter of Baha'u'llah while on the other hand to dig a deep pit for Him.

But I dealt with such persons the same way that Sa'id dealt with the blind Shaykh. And I sent one of the government officials in Istanbul named As'ad Bey to the Ambassador who, as appropriate to the conversation, said to him: "I heard you instructed your staff not to tell you the local news of Istanbul containing accounts of murder and plunder and such, because due to weak nerves you cannot bear to hear such fearful and sorrowful news. So in such a state how can you resist Baha'u'llah Who fears neither kings nor governments, but rather stands against the whole world?"

Upon hearing these words the Ambassador sank into worry and dread.

The Blessed Beauty did not make any more public speeches after leaving Baghdad and Adrianople.

Afterward, He was exiled to Iraq, or Mesopotamia, from thence to Constantinople, then transferred to Adrianople and finally to Akka in Syria. He spent twenty-four years in the prison of Akka, where He underwent the severest ordeals and privations without a day or night of relaxation and repose.

Therefore the King of Persia, Nasser-Ud-Din, Shah, endeavored until he succeeded in having him transported to the prison of Acca.

When they banished the Blessed Beauty to Baghdad and Akka, they were certain that this Cause would be completely obliterated and no trace of it would remain.

Likewise when from Adrianople to Akka which was the prison for criminals. When this news reached various places all the friends became distraught. This calamity affected them so much that it cannot be described, and yet this became the greatest cause of the exaltation of God's Cause.

They sent the Blessed Beauty from Constantinople. His cause became elevated and when they sent his to the prison for murderers and highway robbers in Akka, in that prison he raised his banner.

Accordingly, the clergy, or learned men of Persia, being hostile to this holy Cause, so arranged that the Blessed Perfection was sent from Adrianople (the land of Mystery) to Acre, Syria.

In this prison (Acre) the flag of the Gardener of god was raised, the greatness of the Word of God appeared and the Sun of Truth shone in such a degree that all the horizons became clear.

Despite this, they saw that this lamp grew brighter and the power of this Cause grew stronger. Eventually, they sent Baha'u'llah to the prison of 'Akka, but Baha'u'llah, under chains, raised high the call of God and spread His teachings throughout all lands. Although He was imprisoned, He promoted the principles of peace and tranquility.

And when He was transferred from that land to the Most Great Prison, and the ruined fortress became the prison of the Beloved of the world of being, and the utmost abasement and humiliation were imposed, the call of the Cause of God and the voice of the Word of God spread to the countries of Europe and America.

The departure of Muhammad, the Beloved of God, from the city of His birth was the cause of the exaltation of God's Holy Word, and the banishment of the Sacred Beauty led to the diffusion of the light of His divine Revelation throughout all regions.

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.

If He was not banished to Adrianople, the Great Tablets to the Kings and rulers would not have been revealed and then if He was not sent to Acca, the prophesies of the Scriptures would not have been fulfilled and the Principles of this Revelation would not have been promulgated in America and Europe.

Among other things, let them consider the blessed Surih of the Temple, some portions of which were sent from the Land of Mystery to Iraq, while other parts were dispatched after arrival in the Most Great Prison...

The available source contains an omission or incomplete wording; sentence boundaries need review.

"What did Baha'u'llah do after he revealed himself?"

"The first thing he did was to write an epistle to all the kings of the earth and to the pope and to your President, then U.S. Grant, proclaiming the brotherhood of man and the importance of international peace. Soon the followers of the Bab, who had been dwindling away, came and others joined the movement. The government then strove against Baha'u'llah; they banished him to Baghdad, and then to Constantinople and then to Roumelia. In spite of all this tyranny the apostles went abroad and spread the word. At last the authorities imprisoned Baha'u'llah in the Fortress of Akka, in Syria. Even in prison, while under surveillance, he was able to promulgate his teachings and to write his messages to the world ."

[Published in the SFO Bulletin, October 14, 1912.]

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.

Hearken unto My voice from the direction of the Prison, that the call of thy Lord, the All-Merciful, may draw thee to the dawning-place of His most excellent names and bring thee nigh unto a station that hath been recorded in the Tablets.