Táríkh-i-Jadíd / Táríkh-i Badí‘-i Bayání

A Bold Apologist

[Account of the letter addressed to His Majesty the King by the Letter J.]²⁰²

In like manner some while ago one of the most profoundly learned, earnest, and virtuous of divines addressed to His Majesty the King a letter to this effect:-"Through the machinations of the clergy, and at their command, these <171> people²⁰³ have for a long while been visited with the scourges of wrath and anger. If this bitter animosity and these harsh measures arise from the fact that the clergy regard them as heretics and infidels, then convene an assembly in the presence of some few persons who enjoy the confidence both of the government and the people, so that I your petitioner may make it clear by irrefragable proofs that the clergy are in error, and may banish these dissensions from our midst, in order that His Majesty the King may henceforth refrain from molesting these much-wronged and innocent people."

Certain passages of this document which bear most on the topic before us are as follows:- "Is the measure of peace and security granted to humble and unobtrusive folk to be dependent on the whims of sectarian zealots steeped in selfishness and prejudice and thinly disguising their greed of worldly lucre under a veil of sanctity? Or is it to be dependent on the judgement of His Majesty's trusted advisers, the requirements of the national well-being, and the principles of a just administration designed to increase the prosperity of the country, to suppress sedition, and to promote the welfare of mankind? If the former, then ere long neither state nor people will remain, and we had best abandon forthwith our lives and property, and depart to the realms of non-existence. If the latter, then wherefore all this strife and disputation? I know not what advantage cunning and spiteful men obtain from religion. I swear by God that religion cannot be combined with worldliness, nor true faith with greed of gold. From old time proneness to strife and discord hath been one of the characteristics of the worthless and ignorant. In matters of faith and doctrine hatred and malice should have no place, for religion is a hidden mystery appertaining to the heart, and cannot be placed in dependence on any man's will. The <172> Most Merciful God hath endowed every soul with the means of recognizing Him, and hath rendered it independent of all else. Blind subservience to authority hath never been right, nor are vain fancies a sufficient guide. Every soul must attain to a knowledge of the truth by its own earnest endeavour."

It was therefore decreed by His Majesty the King that a discussion should take place in the house of one of the ministers of state, between several prominent members of the clergy on the one hand, and the learned petitioner on the other, in order that some conclusion might be reached as to the validity of the claims advanced on either side. After much discussion, and re-iterated demands on the part of the clergy for reasons why their authority was disputed, some left the room in anger, and the others declared that they would no longer remain in the same city with their opponent. In consequence of this the King imprisoned that learned and saintly man for a whole year, merely to propitiate the clergy, and to protect the state from the sedition which they would otherwise have stirred up.

The learned Bábí, on his part, wrote an account of the discussion which took place between himself and the clergy in the Arabic language. A perusal of this document will convince all fair-minded persons that the clergy were actuated solely by a selfish desire to retain their supremacy, and that the motive which led them to reject the Lord of the Age was a fear lest their authority might be weakened and their commands and prohibitions made of none effect. To make this clear, we append a translation of this account, rendered in the Persian language by that eminent scholar and illustrious divine Áká Mírzá Abu’l-Fazl²⁰⁴ originally of <173> Gulpáyagán, without either addition or suppression. The account, as rendered by the Mírzá in Persian, runs as follows:-

"This is a true account of what passed between this oppressed servant of God on the one hand, and two factions of the mighty ones of the earth²⁰⁵ on the other, when they brought me in to their assembly with malice and great injustice. When I had entered and seated myself, they first demanded what I sought and intended by the petition which I had submitted to His Majesty the King, and the complaints which I had therein made against the clergy. When they had finished speaking, I answered them as follows.

"'A tradition which hath been handed down from the holy Imáms and the pure ones of God's chosen family saith, "When heresies appear amongst mankind, then let the wise man shew forth his knowledge." Now since I do clearly perceive that heresies and falsehoods have appeared in your midst, and since I find you all pursuing the path of error, I am come to shew forth such knowledge and wisdom as it hath pleased God to bestow upon me, to warn alike the ministers of state and the clergy of their errors, and to call your attention to those ordinances of the Book of God which you have ignored.

"'Now what I have to say to the representatives of the government is this, that kings and rulers have no right to exercise control over anything beyond the outward body of the world. Their function is to maintain order in their realms, to strive to secure the prosperity of their lands, to suppress sedition, to seek after the amelioration of men's condition, and to be diligent in the furtherance of all <174> measures conducive to the tranquillity and welfare of the community and the increase of the national wealth. But kings have no right to interfere with the religious opinions of their subjects, or to seek control over men's beliefs. Because the King hath done this, enmity and war have been rife for nearly thirty years²⁰⁶, during which time nearly a hundred thousand souls have been slain or scattered abroad in distant and foreign lands. Had these been spared, the number of them and their offspring would now have amounted to five hundred thousand, and thereby the prosperity of the country would have been greatly increased, for how much may be effected with even a hundred thousand!

"'To the clergy I have three things to say. First of all, if one appears in great glory and power summoning men to God, if he be not from God does it rest with God to confute him and bring him to naught, or with men?'

"They answered, 'It rests with God.'

"'Then,' said I, 'what say you of him who appeared in the year A.H. 1260, with great glory and cogent proofs, calling men to God, and directing them to the divine law? For the Lord did in no wise confute him, but, on the contrary, exalted his doctrine, made manifest his deeds, and rendered clear his proofs, so that his verses are disseminated throughout the world, and his writings found in every region and quarter.'

"They answered, 'Learned divines, who are God's representatives amidst men, turned away from him and rejected him, even as we also reject him.'

"'Are you then,' said I, 'the representatives of God, <175> the elect of the Sure Faith, the guides to the Straight Path - you, who are devoid of the very rudiments of wisdom, who know no method but conjecture and imagination? How can such as have no certain conviction in minor points of religion and jurisprudence, who can pronounce no final decision, and who regard the Gate of Knowledge as shut²⁰⁷, think themselves entitled to decide on the highest questions relating to the Divine Unity, or to recognize those well-springs of holy inspiration who are the channels whereby God's grace is conveyed to mankind? How can they consider their acceptance or rejection of God's apostles and messengers as a thing to be greatly heeded? Can one so blind that he cannot see his own foot, but stumbles into the pits of error and strays in the valleys of destruction, claim to distinguish between truth and falsehood, or to be a measure for the knowledge of Him who created the heavens, the Lord of the Names and Attributes?'

"When my discourse had reached this point, all were silent in wonder and amazement, and I continued: 'Let us descend, however, from this level, and suppose that these people are in error. Even in this case, what right have you to regard them as unbelievers and to sanction the shedding of their blood, seeing that they make the same profession as the Muslims in what regards the prophetic office of the prophets, the sanctity of the saints, the sufficiency of the Book of God for a proof, and the binding nature of its commands and prohibitions? Yet have you unjustly slain these holy and spiritual men with such cruelty as hath not been witnessed or heard of in any of the heathen tyrants of bygone time.'

"This sect,' answered they, 'maintain that that Holy <176> Being whose coming hath been promised to us hath been born in this time, which assertion is contrary to truth. With those who hold such a belief we will have no dealings.'

"'By what proofs,' I demanded, 'do you make good this assertion? For, according to the established principles of your religion, this is not unbelief.'

"'The proof,' replied they, 'is the self-evident necessity of the matter in the eyes of all adherents of our faith; for if you enquire of even the common folk and tradespeople, they will unanimously declare that the promised advent cannot possibly take place in this age.'

"'Great heavens!' I exclaimed, 'I marvel at a proof so flimsy and weak that a child would laugh at it! The common folk and tradespeople are a branch from your stem; their beliefs are gathered from your discourses, and their errors learned from you. And now you regard these beliefs of theirs as "fundamental principles of faith" which are necessarily true, cling to figments more unsubstantial than a spider's web, and cast yourselves adrift from the "Strong Rope" and "Most Firm Hand-hold"²⁰⁸ of the Lord.'

"When the discussion had reached this point, they, being unable to justify their deeds, sought to repudiate them, saying, 'We have not pronounced the ban of infidelity against this sect, nor have we seen in them any evil, nor do we seek to shed their blood. The author of this bloodshed and these imprisonments, and the cause of this terror and persecution is the King.'

"Why then,' I retorted, 'did ye not enjoin on him the right and forbid him the wrong, seeing that in the Book of God ye are bidden to summon men into the way of <177> righteousness and salvation, and not to hide from them the divine ordinances?'

"Finding my arguments stronger than their own and my faith more firmly established, they remained silent, and I continued, 'There is another point to which I would call your attention. To day the Manifestation of God's command and the Well-spring of His inspiration is apparent in the world, and, with God-given power, hath proclaimed his mission, summoning the great ones of every people and the kings of every nation to enter the Straight Way and to embrace the Firm Faith²⁰⁹. Agreeably to the purport of the blessed verse, "The believers should not march forth all together; and if a troop of every division of them march not forth, it is only that they may study religion,"²¹⁰ was it not incumbent on you to enquire into his doctrine, that your uncertainty might give way to assurance and full conviction? O assembly of divines, why do ye keep men back from the fount of the sweet water of God, and shut them out from the Straight Way of the Lord? Why do ye hide the truth with falsehood, strive to extinguish God's Light, and sell religion for the world? Answer fairly: can Almighty God, under whose absolute control are the souls of all mankind and the uttermost parts of the earth, patiently suffer anyone to maintain successfully a false claim to saintship and authority in such wise that the most discerning minds and the keenest intellects should submit to his sway, as you have seen them do in this case?' <178>

"'Aye,' said one of those present, 'men submitted to his attraction, allowed his claims, believed in him, and made him their refuge, but without proof or token.'

"'Then,' answered I, 'to God is the greater glory for endowing His Manifestation with a majesty so unapproachable and a power so supreme as to be in himself a sufficient proof. He is the realization of the blessed word "O Thou whose essence proveth Thine essence," the mirror of the glorious truth "High is He above all likeness to the manifestations of His Names and Attributes", the fulfilment of the word "Exempt is He from participation in the nature of His creatures", inasmuch as He is independent of all else than Himself and of all which men denote by the term "thing".'

"They replied, 'In proof of your assertion shew us some miracle the like of which no man can perform.'

"'I am but a humble servant of God,' said I, 'and a believer in the King of kings; yet if all of you, great and small, prince and peasant, learned and simple, will agree respecting the sign you desire, and will publicly notify it to all men, and appoint a day for its exhibition, I, by means of that instrument known as the telegraph whereby communication can be established with distant lands, will, on the day so appointed, pray him who is the Manifestation of Divine Power and the Well-spring of Revelation²¹¹ to shew you what you desire.'

"Perceiving by the confidence with which I advanced so bold a challenge that I stood on firm ground, they replied, 'It was you who first provoked this contest, and it is therefore incumbent upon you to shew us some sign on your own part, that we may admit the validity of your claim.' <179>

"'By Him in whose control my spirit lies,' said I, 'I hold myself as nothing more than a believing servant of the Lord of Unity, neither do I claim aught beyond this. But answer me fairly: what greater miracle can there be than that I should thus fearlessly confront you, expose your errors, and dispute with you, undeterred by fear of your malignant hatred, or your notorious eagerness to shed the blood of such as hold this certain truth? For every man of discernment well knows that any one of you who should have reason to believe that he had incurred the enmity of a powerful noble or high officer of the King would be overcome by that dread and fearfulness which are the constant portion of the erring, and would hasten to hide himself like a timid girl.'

"When the discussion had reached this point, my adversaries dispersed from before me and assembled in another place, whither they summoned others of God's servants whom they had arrested and imprisoned with me, and began to ply them with questions. Then they called me into their presence a second time. When I entered, I saw the friends of God sitting abashed and confounded before them. 'Tell me,' cried I, 'of what wrong towards church or state these poor innocents have been guilty, that in the land of Káshán they should have been exposed to the malice and spite of a pack of scoundrels, and that you, instead of succouring the afflicted and protecting the oppressed, should punish and imprison them?'

"Then a certain divine of Káshán, overstepping all bounds of decorum, cried out at me, 'What hast thou to do with these, that thou seekest to defend them and darest call learned and eminent divines "tyrants" and "scoundrels"?'

"Then was I filled with wrath, and sat down on my knees, and thus spake: 'Such words beseem not thee and <180> such as thee, who are unworthy to speak of higher things. It is only the ignorant who dare shew discourtesy to those superior to themselves alike in birth and position, and none but fools fancy themselves wise in the absence of all learning and culture. How can one ignorant alike of the decencies of society and the amenities of discussion, and neglectful of the ordinary rules of good breeding incumbent upon all, account himself wise in matters of faith, and competent to decide as to the repudiation or acceptance of God's elect?'"