Monday, August 27, 2018

Arrival of Bahá'u'lláh and the Exiles to the Prison City of ‘Akká On the 31st of August 1868
This coming Friday 31st August 2018  will mark the 150th   anniversary of the coming of The Blessed Beauty (The Glory of God ) in the  Holy Land

Prophesy Fulfilled 

The arrival of Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Akká marks the opening of the last phase of His fortyyear long ministry, the final stage, and indeed the climax, of the banishment in which the whole of that ministry was spent. … “It is difficult,” declares ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “to understand how Bahá’u’lláh could have been obliged to leave Persia, and to pitch His tent in this Holy Land, but for the persecution of His enemies, His banishment and exile.” Indeed such a consummation, He assures us, had been actually prophesied “through the tongue of the Prophets two or three thousand years before.” God, “faithful to His promise,” had, “to some of the Prophets” “revealed and given the good news that the ‘Lord of Hosts should be manifested in the Holy Land.’” Isaiah had, in this connection, announced in his Book: “Get thee up into the high mountain, O Zion that bringest good tidings; lift up thy voice with strength, O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings. Lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah: ‘Behold your God! Behold the Lord God will come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule for Him.’” David, in his Psalms, had predicted: “Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come in. Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts, He is the King of Glory.” “Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined. Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence.”

Amos had, likewise, foretold His coming: “The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.” [God Passes By, page 183-184] By the time of Baha'u'llah's arrival, '‘Akká 's principal importance to the Turkish Empire was that it acted as a prison-city for criminals and political prisoners--the 'Bastille of the Middle East', as it is referred to by one writer. … Aqa Rida depicts '‘Akká as 'a town, with narrow and mean streets, dark and dirty, gloomy and tortuous; without a single dwelling-place worth looking at.' [Balyuzi, King of Glory page 274] Its population in the 1880s was estimated to be about nine thousand. [Tahezadeh,
 Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Vol 3, Chapter 1] ‘

Akká, … had sunk, under the Turks, to the level of a penal colony to which murderers, highway robbers and political agitators were consigned from all parts of the Turkish empire. It was girt about by a double system of ramparts; was inhabited by a people whom Bahá’u’lláh stigmatized as “the generation of vipers”; was devoid of any source of water within its gates; was flea-infested, damp and honey-combed with gloomy, filthy and tortuous lanes. “According to what they say,” the Supreme Pen has recorded in the Lawh-i-Sultán, “it is the most desolate of the cities of the world, the most unsightly of them in appearance, the most detestable in climate, and the foulest in water. It is as though it were the metropolis of the owl.” So putrid was its air that, according to a proverb, a bird
when flying over it would drop dead. [God Passes By page 185-186]

Exile to ‘Akká Explicit orders had been issued by the Sultán and his ministers to subject the exiles, who were accused of having grievously erred and led others far astray, to the strictest confinement. Hopes were confidently expressed that the sentence of life-long imprisonment pronounced against them would lead to their eventual extermination. The farmán of Sultán Abdu’l-’Aziz, dated the fifth of Rabí’u’th-Thání 1285 A.H. (July 26, 1868), not only condemned them to perpetual banishment, but stipulated their strict incarceration, and forbade them to associate either with each other or with the local inhabitants. The text of the farmán itself was read publicly, soon after the arrival of the exiles, in the principal mosque of the city as a warning to the population. [God Passes By page 187] At length we arrived at Haifa, where we had to be carried ashore in chains. Here we remained for a few hours. Now we embarked again for the last bit of our sea journey. The  heat of that month of July was overpowering. We were put into a sailing boat. There being no wind, and no shelter from the burning rays of the sun, we spent eight hours of positive misery, and at last we had reached `’Akká , the end of our journey. [The Chosen Highway page 66] Bahá’u’lláh Himself, as attested by Nabíl in his narrative, had, as far back as the first years of His banishment to Adrianople, alluded to that same city in His Lawh-i-Sáyyah, designating it as the “Vale of Nabíl,” the word Nabíl being equal in numerical value to that of ‘Akká. “Upon Our arrival,” that Tablet had predicted, “We were welcomed with banners of light, whereupon the Voice of the Spirit cried out saying: ‘Soon will all that dwell on earth be enlisted under these banners.’” [God Passes By page 184]

Arrival to ‘Akká Bahá'u'lláh and His companions--seventy in all--disembarked from the ship and were taken ashore in sailing boats. All their belongings were also ferried across with them. There, the prisoners were all counted and handed over to government officials. A few hours later they were all taken aboard a sailing vessel which took them to 'Akká in the afternoon of the same day. As there were no landing facilities at 'Akká, the men had to wade ashore from the boat and it was ordered that the women were to be carried on the backs of men. But at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's insistence the women were carried ashore one by one sitting in a chair which He Himself procured. [Tahezadeh, Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Vol 3, Chapter 1] It was the afternoon of 31 August 1868, …, that Baha'u'llah, with His family and companions, entered the 'Most Great Prison' and were incarcerated in the stronglyfortified citadel. [Balyuzi, King of Glory page 270]

Among these people wild rumours and false accusations were circulating concerning Bahá'u'lláh and His followers as they were about to arrive. The company of exiles, those God-intoxicated heroes who had accompanied their Lord to this most desolate of cities, were considered to be evil men, criminals of the worst type who deserved to be treated most cruelly. It is no wonder, therefore, that great numbers from among the inhabitants of 'Akká had assembled at the landing site to jeer at them and at their Leader whom they referred to as 'the God of the Persians’. [Tahezadeh, Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Vol 3, Chapter 1]

From the Sea Gate to the Prison Cell
In Zuhuru’l Haqq (vol 5 page 97) which is about the history of the Bahai Faith, it is written that the Blessed Beauty, wore a “taj” upon which the muslim confession of faith (shuhada) had been written. Some people of ‘Akká , expecting the “God of the Persians” to come, saw the inscription on the taj of the Blessed Beauty and realised that this Personage was not irreligious and blasphemous Person but a believer in the Prophet Muhammad. It is likely they thought Bahá'u'lláh was a muslim and as He had been sent to the prison city of ‘Akká , it was most likely the Ottoman Empire that had spread the rumours of “God of the Persians”. It is worthwhile to remember that most of the population of the prison city of ‘Akká were themselves sentenced to that city and most likely had some kind of issue with the government. Bahá'u'lláh and His party entered the prison city through the sea gate and were conducted along the narrow and twisting roads of 'Akká to the barracks. The hardships of the long and arduous journey from Adrianople to 'Akká in the burning heat of the midsummer season, with inadequate and primitive facilities on board the ships crowded by so many, had exhausted everyone. [Tahezadeh, Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Vol 3, Chapter 1] The passage into the city occurred through the sea gate, a narrow portal under the muzzle of the heavy cannon guarding the harbor mouth. The gate lay just south of the Khan-i-Avamid; of massive wood faced with overlapping band iron, it opened into a courtyard with stalls for mechanics. The party of exiles, men, women and children, were, under the eyes of a curious and callous population that had assembled at the port to behold the “God of the Persians”, conducted through the city while bypassing the Khans (caravansserais), taken past the police station, and through the thronging market streets, past the White Suq and the Mosque of al-Jassar until finally they came, uneasy and unhappy, to the walls of the barracks. Climbing the high stairs, they passed into the fortress prison through the eastern gateway. [Door of hope page 24)] [A]mong the crowd there were some endowed with a measure of spiritual perception. These, as they gazed upon the countenance of Bahá'u'lláh, were struck by His majesty and witnessed a glory they had never seen before. Among them was a certain Khalíl Ahmad 'Abdú, a venerable old man who used to say to the inhabitants of 'Akká that he could see in the face of Bahá'u'lláh signs of greatness and of majesty and truthfulness. He often said that the people of 'Akká should rejoice and be thankful to God for having ennobled their homeland by the footsteps of this great Personage. He prophesied that through Him the inhabitants would be blessed and prosper, and this of course literally came to pass. Another man in the crowd watching the arrival of the exiles was known as 'Abdu'lláh Tuzih. He saw the radiance, the power, and the glory of Bahá'u'lláh's countenance and was drawn to Him. He later became a believer and his daughter (who was born on the same day that Bahá'u'lláh arrived in 'Akká) was some years later joined in wedlock with Husayn-i-Áshchí, a cook in Bahá'u'lláh's household and one of His devoted servants. [Tahezadeh, Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Vol 3, Chapter 1] Nabil accounts that when Bahá'u'lláh was close to the entrance of the barracks, He stopped and said (not an exact quote and translation but the gist of what was said): This is a strange land. Whatever emanates from the believers in this land, will remain, be established and continue as long as this and the next world exists, even if it is a breath taken or a step taken. On the ground, a twig had fallen down from a tree. The Blessed Beauty continued and said: Even this twig that you see have fallen to the ground, will be mentioned and written about the east and in the west. Beseech God that the behaviour of the believers would be befitting the Days of God so that it would be worthy of being everlasting, sustained and praiseworthy. [Nabil-i-Azam quoted in Zuhurul Haqq vol 5 page 90]

Prison Barracks 
  
We were taken to the old fortress of `’Akká , where we were crowded together. There was no air; a small quantity of very bad coarse bread was provided; we were unable to get fresh water to drink; our sufferings were not diminished. Then an epidemic of typhoid broke out. Nearly all became ill. {The Chosen Highway page 66] It [the barracks] was built in the days of Jazzar Pasha for troops. It is very high and spacious, with a pool of water in the middle, and palms and fig-trees. To the north-west, the upper floor, well-built, contained four or five good rooms with an {ayvan} and there was also a {biruni}: one large room with verandah and other rooms. The Blessed Perfection and His family occupied that section. [Balyuzi, King of Glory page 275] Bahá'u'lláh was placed in a filthy room completely bare and devoid of any furniture. Later He was moved into a room on the upper floor of the barracks; this room, …, was in the days of Bahá'u'lláh unfit for habitation. He Himself has recounted in a Tablet that its floor was covered with earth, and what plaster remained on the ceiling was falling. Bahá'u'lláh's followers were huddled into another room, the floor of which was covered with mud. Ten soldiers were posted at the gate to guard the prisoners. [Tahezadeh, Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Vol 3, Chapter 1] Aqa Mirza Muhammad-Quli and his family lodged on the lower floor. To the north, there were rooms on three floors. Haji 'Ali-'Askar, Amir and Aqa Muhammad-Javad occupied these rooms. In the north-west corner, there were rooms in which we lodged, ... 6 to the west, there was a very good bath. And to the south and east, there was a set of good spacious rooms. One of them was occupied by Jinab-i-Kalim; in another, others of the companions were housed, and most of them remained empty. Siyyid Muhammad and Kaj-Kulah [Aqa-Jan Big] resided here for two or three days, and then asked the government to move them. They were given a room over the second city gate [of '‘Akká ]. [Balyuzi, King of Glory page 275] “The first night,” Bahá’u’lláh testifies in the Lawh-i-Ra’ís, “all were deprived of either food or drink… They even begged for water, and were refused.” So filthy and brackish was the water in the pool of the courtyard that no one could drink it. Three loaves of black and salty bread were assigned to each, … All fell sick, except two, shortly after their arrival. Malaria, dysentery, combined with the sultry heat, added to their miseries. Three succumbed, among them two brothers, who died the same night, “locked,” as testified by Bahá’u’lláh, “in each other’s arms.” The carpet used by Him He gave to be sold in order to provide for their winding-sheets and burial. The paltry sum obtained after it had been auctioned was delivered to the guards, who had refused to bury them without first being paid the necessary expenses. Later, it was learned that, unwashed and unshrouded, they had buried them, without coffins, in the clothes they wore, though, as affirmed by Bahá’u’lláh, they were given twice the amount required for their burial. [God Passes By page 187

The Sufferings of Bahá'u'lláh

 His arrival at the penal colony of ‘Akká, far from proving the end of His afflictions, was but the beginning of a major crisis, characterized by bitter suffering, severe restrictions, and intense turmoil, which, in its gravity, surpassed even the agonies of the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán, and to which no other event, in the history of the entire century can compare, except the internal convulsion that rocked the Faith in Adrianople. “Know thou,” Bahá’u’lláh, wishing to emphasize the criticalness of the first nine years of His banishment to that prison-city, has written, “that upon Our arrival at this Spot, We chose to designate it as the ‘Most Great Prison.’ Though previously subjected in another land (Tihrán) to chains and fetters, We yet refused to call it by that name. Say: Ponder thereon, O ye endued with understanding!” [God Passes By page 185] “None,” He Himself has written, “knoweth what befell Us, except God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing… From the foundation of the world until the present day a cruelty such as this hath neither been seen nor heard of.” “He hath, during the greater part of His life,” He, referring to Himself, has, moreover, recorded, “been sore-tried in the clutches of His enemies. His sufferings have now reached their culmination in this afflictive Prison, into which His oppressors have so unjustly thrown Him.” [God Passes By page 187]