http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/books/A-E/B/browne/material/msbr3.htm
Abbas Effendi the Murderer: Chief Exemplar of the Baha'i Technique
From the statement of one Mirza Hasan Khurasani (undated but located
sometime between June 1898 and November 1900) in possession of
Ibrahim
George Khayrullah who forwarded it to Professor Edward Granville
Browne at Cambridge University on February 26, 1901, together with
other related items, who translated them all in his Materials for the
Study of the Babi Religion (Cambridge: 1916), pp.154-167.
"I came here especially to bring you back to your allegiance to Abbas
Effendi, and am prepared to stay ten years if necessary. If you
return
to Abbas Effendi, I will cause the American believers to follow you
as
head in everything even better than heretofore. If you will not
listen
to me and become a follower of Abbas, your abode will be in the
bowels
of the earth. I come here because of pity for you, and to save you.
If
you will not listen, your life will be short. If Abbas Effendi should
give me the word to cut you to pieces, or tear your eyes out, or to
kill you, I will do so at once. I fear not the consequences to
myself.
You know that I am from Khurasan, and that the sword of Khurasan is
so
powerful that if a blow is struck with it, it will cut from above the
stars to the depth of the earth, and will cut even the fishes of the
sea.'
"He then repeated to me the fate of Mirza Yahya of Jedda, and
offered
me a copy of a pamphlet published by himself entitled ‘the Great
Miracle of Abbas Effendi.' The above is the substance of what he said
to me on Friday, November 30, 1900.
"On Saturday, December 1st, 1900, Mirza Hassan-i-Khurasani again
called in the company of Mirza Asadu'llah, and their interpretor
Mirza
Husayn [Ruhi]. We all discussed the difference of faith for about
eight hours in the presence of my son-in-law Amir Hani Shihab and his
wife Mrs Shihab (my daughter), also my daughter Labiba, and my son
George Kheyrullah M.D. During this discussion Mirza Hasan-i-Khurasani
mentioned to those present that the day before, while talking to me
alone, he had plainly told me the consequences of not acceding to
their wishes. Upon this I repeated to all present the threatening
words he had uttered the day before, and he acknowledged before all
that he had said the words above reported to me.
"I.J.K." [Kheyrullah's initials]
Enclosed with this were translations of two letters and the original
Arabic of a third written from Akka by one Mahmud, a partisan of
Muhammad Ali, to Ibrahim Khayru'llah. The first two both seem to have
been written at Akka on October 20, 1900, and received a month later
by Khayr'ullah at Chicago. The shorter one is a s follows:
"Lately, in this present week, three American ladies and a
gentleman
arrived by the regular steamer via Beyrout, and are stopping at the
Kraft, a German hotel at Haifa. Up to the present time they have not
spoken to any of the Unitarians , because they are prevented in the
ways you know."
The longer letter, of which I have somewhat emended the style
(which
is clumsy and loaded with parentheses) runs as follows:
"He is Al-Bahiyyu'l-Abha, Great is His Splendour!
{Here follow the usual compliments, etc.]
"I have already informed you that some of the followers of Abbas
Effendi, our opponents, have left here for America. One of them is
Mirza Asadu'llah of Isfahan, of whose cunning and shrewdness of
intrigue you cannot fail to be aware, and who is the brother-in-law
and secretary of Abbas Effendi, and in all matters his most trusted
and confidential agent. To no one else does Abbas reveal his hidden
secrets, and these people are the most unscrupulous, and will
hesitate
at nothing and fear no consequences, being resolved to accomplish
their purpose and spread abroad their vicious principles, even by the
shedding of blood and the destruction of lives by hidden methods and
secret intrigues. This obliges me to explain to you a certain cruel
deed which they accomplished not long since. It is one of their many
deeds which inspire detestation and break the heart with horror.
"Now therefore I say that there was in the port of Jedda a
certain
man of the Unitarians named Mirza Yahya, who was the son-in-law of
one
Hajji Mirza Husayn of Lar, the Persian vice-consul at Jedda, a
merchant noted for his wealth. As is well known to you these people
take great and exquisite pains to attract to themselves persons of
wealth and influence. When, therefore, they discovered that Mirza
Yahya openly confessed his faith, and that he was of the part of the
true Unitarians, and was wont to discuss with his father-in-law the
questions at issue and the differences between the two parties, they
were afraid that in the future the words of the son-in-law would
influence the father-in-law, to wit the Hajji above mentioned, and
eventually be the cause of depriving them of his money and wealth.
They were moreover convinced of the impossibility of bringing Mirza
Yahya over to their faction.
"One of the followers of Abbas Effendi named Mirza Mansur, who
is now
in India, was therefore commanded by his master to proceed to Jedda
and there conspire with the Hajji above mentioned for the destruction
of Mirza Yahya. At that time the said Hajji was also at Akka, but
whether the plot was concocted there or at Jedda I am unable to say.
To be brief, one night Mirza Mansur succeeded in administering to
Mirza Yahya a poison which killed him at once. The subtlety of this
plot lay in the perpetration of this horrid deed in such a city as
Jedda (where the crime would pass easily unnoticed, as, in fact, was
the case).
"Before the conspiracy had accomplished its purpose, Abbas
Effendi
had written written from Akka to one of his friends informing him
that
some calamity would befall Mirza Yahya, and that he would be
punished.
Hajji Mirza Hassan of Khurasan published in Cairo a pamphlet
concerning this event and the ‘Great Miracle' wrought herein by Abbas
Effendi. It is unnecessary to send you this lengthy pamphlet, our
object being merely to make known to you the character of these
peoples' intrigues. You must employ every needful precaution, for,
should they be unsuccessful or disappointed in inducing you to return
to their party, they will endeavour by every means and without
scruple
to injure you. Concerning what befell Mirza Yahya we have heard from
certain persons who were at Jedda at the time that as he had no
heirs,
and as his father-in-law, the said Hajji, was of Abbas Effendi's
party, and was also the Persian vice-consul at Jedda, no one appeared
to demand an enquiry into the causes of his death.
I therefore entreat you carefully to avoid taking from the
hands of
these people any food, drink, or other thing, although we know that
the Lord (Glory be to Him) is the Protector and Sustainer, and will
without a doubt protect His friends and shelter those who love Him,
especially him who has displayed the greatest energy, and has fought
so faithfully in preaching to the people the Manifestation of His
Most
Great Name al-Abha.
"Mirza Abu'l-Fazl [of Gukpayagan] and Hajji Mirza Hasan [of
Khurasan]
and the others, while they were here recently, did not visit any of
the Unitarians, neither the Blessed Branches (Aghsan) nor the others.
They neither wrote nor spoke to them concerning the differences of
faith, and some of them used even to avert their faces from them if
they happened to pass each other in the street."
The translation of the last of Mahmud's letters, of which the
Arabic
text was communicated to me, is as follows:
"I inform you also of an event which happened in these days,
which is
that Husayn the Confectioner (Shakarij), who has a shop opposite to
the Government House at Hayfa, as you will remember, died of poison
on
the eve of Saturday the 28th of Ramazan in the house of His Holiness
the Most Mighty branch [Al-Ghusn al-A'zam, i.e. Abbas Effendi
Abdu'l-Baha]. He was seen by the municipal doctor, who reported that
he died of poison. This is as much as we heave heard hitherto, but
should we obtain more detailed information, we will, please God,
communicate it to you."
"He who prays for you, Mahmoud. – January 30th, 1901.
It is my good fortune to possess a copy of Hajji Mirza Hasan
Khurasani's pamphlet above mentioned, which, was sent to me on March
12, 1901, by Ibrahim George Khayru'llah. It only contains 27 pages
measuring 5 1/5 by 3 ½ inches, is entitled Risala-I-Bushra wa
Aya-I-Kubra ("the Tract of Good Tidings and the Most Great Sign"),
was
printed at the Hindiyya Press in Egypt, and was completed on Rajab 9,
1316 (November 23, 1898). My copy is signed and sealed on the last
page by the author, so that there is no doubt about its authenticity.
It opens with a brief doxology, in which Abbas Effendi is spoken of
as
"the Lord of the World and Goal of the Peoples, the Most Noble
Mystery
of God [Sirr'ullah], the Most Mighty Branch of God and His Enduring
Proof in the World," designated to succeed himself by Baha'u'llah
since "God, great is His Glory, arrived in the luminous city of
Akka."
Texts from the Kitab-i-Aqdas and from Baha's Testament are cited in
proof of this assertion and the action of those who "broke the
Covenant" (i.e. who sided with Abbas Effendi's half-brother, Muhammad
Ali) is deplored and denounced. "Our object at present," continues
the
author, "is not, however, to discuss these matters, which are not
hidden or concealed from any one, but to gladden the friends the
Friends of God with good tidings of a wonderful event which happened
in the city of Jedda, and of a clear sign and evident miracle from
the
writings of the holy pen of His Holiness Abdu'l-Baha…(may the Life of
the Worlds be a sacrificed to the dust of his footsteps!)." After
this
brief introduction, the author proceeds to describe as follows the
life and death of Mirza Yahya of Isfahan, and the words of Abbas
Effendi wherein that death was foreshadowed.
This Mirza Yahya was originally an Azali, but in the year of
Baha'u'llah's "Ascension" (i.e. death), 1892, he came to Akka, met
Abbas Effendi, by whom he was very warmly received, and wrote a
refutation of Subh-i-Azal. After a while he departed to Jedda (the
port of Mecca on the Red Sea), where he became intimate with a
well-known Baha'i named Hajji Mirza Husayn of Lar, whose daughter he
presently asked and received in marriage. When the dispute between
Abbas Effendi and his half-brother Muhammad Ali became acute, and the
Baha'i community was rent asunder by this schism, Mirza Yahya became
the trusted agent and fervent supporter of Muhammad Ali, in whose
favor he carried on an active propaganda. "It is a curious fact,"
observes the author, "that the ‘Covenant-breakers' (naqizin) became
the devoted admirers and faithful friends of every atheist, Azali and
Sophist, and of such as deny God's Holy Law and and disobey His
command, and are the kind of frienda dn congenial intimates of every
part except the true believers…, so that the truth of the tradition,
‘Infidelity constitutes a single church [i.e. all misbelievers have a
natural sympathy for one another, and form, as it were, a coherent
community]' might become apparent and manifest." So Yahya grew even
bolder in his opposition to Abbas Effendi, "the Great Mystery of God,
and the Branch derived from the Ancient Stock," until God's patience
was exhausted and His Anger moved to destroy the offender, and a
"Tablet" (Lawh) was sent by Abbas Effendi to Hajji Mulla Husayn of
Lar, of which a copy was forwarded to the author enclosed in a letter
dated the 2nd of Jumada 1, 1316 (= September 18, 1898), This
"Tablet,"
which Hajji Mirza Hasan read aloud at the time of its arrival to a
circle of fellow believers in Cairo, is of considerable length and
partly in Arabic. The prophetic threats are contained in the later
Persian portion, of which a translation is here appended.
"The glance of [Divine] Favor embraceth that friend, and all
good is
predestined in respect to him, but a great barrier hath intervened
[between us and him], a formidable obstacle hath appeared; and God
controlleth [men's] secret thoughts. Praise be to God, during the Day
of the Theophany that friend attained to the honour of meeting and
secured the distinction of listening to the address. You will
ultimately appreciate the worth of this Pearl of Great Price of the
Divine Covenant. For the unique Pearl was nourished in the embrace of
the shell of the Most Glorious Kingdom (Malakut-i-Abha) and included
in the range of the Supreme Pen, and hath had no peer or like since
the beginning of Creation. But certain children, having gathered
together, have vainly thought to cast the Joseph of the Covenant into
the Pit of Oblivion, and so themselves to become famous throughout
the
city and the market-place, and to sell this Precious Pearl for a few
dirhams, and to endeavour to give currency to their own potsherds,
heedless of the fact that the Beloved (`Aziz) of the Divine Egypt
hath
come forth from the bottom of the pit in despite of every envious and
obstinate foe, and by the Favor of the Most Splendid Beauty
(Jamal-i-Abha) hath reached the zenith of the moon. Soon you will see
that by the aid of the Most Glorious Kingdom (Malakut-i-Abha) the
Standard of the Promise will wave above the Pole of the Horizons,
while the Lamp of thw Covenant will shine so brightly through the
glass of Contingent Being that the darkness of the Violation of the
Covenant will altogether disappear, and the cry of ‘By God, verily
God
hath prefered Him over all mankind' wil be heard. If a little
consideration and reflection be exercised concerning past events, the
truth of the matter will become plain and proved. Say, ‘O Shaykh,
this
Covenant is the Ligt of the Horizons, and this is the Promise of God,
not the plaything of children.' Say, ‘So shall ye behold yourselves
in
manifest loss, while damage shall result and be evident, and injury
shall shortly overthrow the edifice.' Say, ‘The first hurt, please
God, will be a warning to you, [making you reflect] what was the
cause
of this hurt and what the reason of this loss.' At all events do you
observe with new and sharpened sight, so that you may find your way
to
the aims of these plotters and destroyers. Consider of whom it is
said
in the Quran, ‘They say with their tongues what is not in their
hearts.' Explain for them [the verse] ‘And when they see those who
believe, they say "We believe"; but when they withdraw privily to
their devils, they say, "We are only scoffers!" Elucidate the meaning
of, "But God shall mock at them, an continue them in their impiety;
they shall wander in confusion' Say to him who was alive and is soon
to die: ‘Like the covenant-breakers the children of Israel wrought
for
themselves Samiri and the [Golden] Calf. Was not Joshua the son of
Nun
divinely designated?' Thou didst err and make a grievous mistake when
thou didst so vehemently belittle and contemn the divinely designated
Center [of Authority]. If the eternal Beauty [Baha'u'llah] should say
to thee, ‘How didst thou call the Center of My Covenant, the Branch
derived from my Ancient Stock, him who was explicitly designated in
my
Perspicuous Book, and the Exemplar of that Book, "a [Golden] Calf?"
what answer, O shameful Yahya, wilt thou give? If thou would'st not
be
the salve, why be the sore? Was not the Kitab al-Aqdas revealed
thirty
years ago? Did I not summon all to obey the derived Branch? Did I not
direct all to submission, calling him the Expositor of the
Perspicuous
Book? Did I not awaken most of the Friends, and did I not dissociate
him before all from what is beneath him? Did I not engage his
Covenant
and Compact in the writings of the Supreme Pen, and did I not in
plain
language command all the Branches (Aghsan) and Twigs (Afnan) and
Kinsmen generally to have regard and look to him? What more could I
do? How could I further strengthen the matter? O shameful Yahya, how
could'st thou sanction so cruel a slander against this great
Designate? What hurt had'st thou suffered at his hands that thou
did'st desire for him such abasement, or what injury had'st thou
experienced from him that thou did'st display such great hatred?'
What
answer wilt thou give? At all events, while it is yet time express
regret, and manifest repentance and remorse, and bareheaded in the
mountain and the desert cry out that ye be not touched, and pour
forth
from thine eyes like the Oxus-flood tears and blood, and become the
associate of lamentation and remorse, that perchance the breeze of
forgiveness may blow, the grossness of thy sin may decrease, the
Ocean
of Mercy may be stirred, and the Cloud of Pardon may pour forth its
rain, so that this filfth of Covenant-breaking may be removed. For if
not, then expect the Divine Vengeance, and look for blackness of face
[disgrace] in both worlds. As God liveth, verily humiliation shall
flee from thee by reason of its abudance, and loss shall take refuge
from thee with the All-Merciful, and thou shalt behold thyself in the
lowest depths of Hell. For abasement, remorse and disgrace shall be
the portion of those who violate the Covenant of the High, the
Mighty."
[Abdu'l-Baha Abbas] ´ ´
The author, Hajji Mirza Hasan of Khurasan, next quotes the covering
letter (or "Tablet") addressed to himself by `Abbas Effendi, and
dated
("contrary to what is customary") the 2nd of Jumada 11, 1316
(September 18, 1898). The latter portion of this runs as follows:
"O Friend, you wrote about Yahya, who supposed that `Abdu'l-
Baha was
heedless of his evil intentions and intrigues. Therefore a little
while ago a letter was written to Jedda, of which a copy is enclosed.
Read it, that thou may'st be assured that the clemency of `Abdu'l-
Baha
is great and his patience strong, but that, when the Command comes,
he
speaks and writes and cries, ‘This is the Truth, and after the Truth
is naught save error. O Friend, so proclaim the Covenant that the
deaf ears of the [Covenant-]breakers may hear, and so shine in the
Assembly of Constancy that the blind eyes of the perjured ones may
see. And the Glory [Baha] be upon every one who is steadfast in the
Covenant of they Lord the Mighty." ´ ´
Not long after the receipt of this letter, which was read
aloud to
the faithful in Egypt, a letter dated 27th of Jumada 1, 1316
(=October
13, 1898), a letter dated the 27th of Jumada 1, 1316 (= Ocotober 13,
1898) was received from Hajji Mulla Husayn of Lar from Jedda by Hajji
Mirza Hasan of Khurasan declaring that "God, mighty is His Glory, had
removed Yahya, that incorrigible Covenant Breaker, and had opened
before his face the Door of fierce threats of the All-Glorious Lord,
which are explicitly mentioned in the Two Holy Tablets. The simoon of
Divine Wrath blew, and the gale of Celestial Anger breathed, and his
(Yahya's) darkened spirit, fulfilled with envy and hatred, descended
in the abyss of Hell." Here follows Mulla Husayn of Lar's narrative
of
what took place, as communicated by him in a letter to Hajji Mirza
Hasan of Khurasan:
"Touching the Tablet which was vouchsafed from the Land of
Heart's
Desire, in truth if anyone should possess the eye of discernment,
these same Blessed Words which were thus fulfilled are a very great
miracle. But what profits it, since the discerning eye is lacking?
"I read the Tablet to Mirza Yahya, and he listened. I said:
‘Aussredly thou sayest in they heart, "I do not believe in the words
thereof."' He answered, ‘It is even so; I have no sort of belief
either in him or his father.' I said, ‘If that which has issued from
the Blessed Pen does not speedily overtake you, it were well that
they
should shave off my beard.' Then he rose up and departed to his own
house.
"A few nights later towards the dawn one knocked at the door
of my
house. ‘Who is it?' I cried. Then, seeing that it was a maid-servant,
I added, ‘What wilt thou?' She replied, ‘Mirza Yahya is done for.' I
at once ran thither. Hajji Muhamad Baqir also was present. I saw that
blood was flowing from his (Mirza Yahya's) throat, and that he was
unable to move. By this time it was morning. I at once brought
thither an Indian doctor. He examined him and said, ‘A blood vessel
in
his lung is ruptured. He must lie still for three days and not move,
and then he willrecover.' He then gave him some medicine. The
haemorhage stopped for two days, and his condition improved. In spite
of this he was not admonished to return to the Truth. After two days
there was a second flow of blood from his throat, and he was nearly
finished. The doctor came again and gave him medicine, but ultimately
it profited him nothing. Twice again he vomited undiluted blood, and
then surrendered his spirit to the Angel of Torment.
"This even was in truth a warning to all beholders, that is to
say
such as see and read this Tablet. Please God you have read it in its
entirety and found your way to the meaning thereof. One individual
hath He thus swiftly removed. Assuredly hereafter the Lord wil
accomplish every promise that He hath uttered. I take refuge with God
from the wrath of God. I seek from the Truth that He will aid us to
stand firm in His Covenant and Compact! In a little while the
Covenant-breakers will be overtaken by calamities such that they
shall
flee bare-headed to the mountains and the deserts, but shall find
there no escape."
The author, Hajji Mirza Hasan of Khurasan, here observes that
never
in any previous dispensation was so clear a threat followed by so
swift and condign a punishment, or so explicit a prophecy so speedily
accomplished. For, says he, though God's patience is almost
inexhaustible, there comes an end to it, especially in the case of
such apostates, who sin against the Light, and who do far more harm
to
the cause then the theologians, juriconsults and rulers who
ignorantly
oppose and oppress it. He then quotes another Tablet which was sent
to
him by Abbas Effendi after the death of Mirza Yahya, and which runs
thus:
"Write to Mulla Husayn of Lar that these were the
circumstances
connected with Yahya the shameless, to wit that he wrote a letter to
the leading Covenant Breakers, and made use of a very vile expressing
the Centre of the Covenant [Abbas Effendi] such as none, not even the
lowest, would utter; to wit, an expression which was to the leading
Covenant-breakers as a floral festival, a joy, and the cause of
boundless delight [causing them to say] ‘Praise be to God because
such
souls have appeared who dare to belittle so ignominiously the
Pole-star of the Covenant!' Therefore was the threat of vengeance and
the imminence of the thunderbolt of destruction thus explicitly
given;
for assuredly the Framer of the Covenant and the Protector of the
Compact will vindicate the Centre of the Covenant. These are isolated
events; which these same outward eyes it will be seen in what
abasement and disgrace, and in what calamities, afflictions and
chastisements the ‘quakers' shall be overwhelmed. Say, ‘Wait until
God
shall accomplish His purpose, O Company of Shame, O Faction of
Rebellion, and ye shall see yourselves in the lowest of Hell-fires!'
Upon thee be the Splendour."
Hajji Mirza Hassan of Khurasan concludes his pamphlet by
promising
further details concerning the schism, the obstinacy of Abbas
Effendi's half-brothers, the "boldness and discourtesy" of Mirza Aqa
Jan, and other kindred matters, and, as already noted, dates the
completion of his work the 9th of Rajab, 1316 (November 23, 1898.