- 1868-05-00 —
Bahá'u'lláh sent Nabíl-i-A`zam Zarandi to Cairo to enquire after Hájí Mírzá Haydar-`Alí. He was instructed by Bahá'u'lláh to appeal to the officials for the release of several Bahá'ís who had been imprisoned in Cairo at the instigation of their enemies. He was thrown into prison in Cairo for two months and then in the Alexandria jail for a few more months. While there he befriended a Christian cellmate, Fáris Effendi, who soon becomes a Bahá'í. [BKG248, 265–8; EB268; GPB178; "Nabil-e aʿzam Zarandi, Mollā Mohammad," by Vahid Rafati, Encyclopædia Iranica]
- See BKG265–8 for an account of Nabíl's arrest and imprisonment.
- Fáris Effendi was probably the first Christian to become a Bahá'í. [RB3:10]
- Lawh-i-Aqdas ("Most Holy Tablet," otherwise known as "The Tablet to the Christians" late 1870s?) is thought to have been addressed to Dr Fáris Effendi but this cannot be substantiated.
- 1868-08-26 —
The steamer carrying Bahá'u'lláh and His companions docked at Alexandria, early in the morning. [BKG267-2368; RB3:6]
- The exiles changed ships, again onto an Austrian-Lloyd ship. [BKG265]
- Several exiles went ashore to make purchases. One passed by the prison house where Nabil-i Aʿẓam had been detained. Nabíl, watching from the roof of his prison cell, recognized one of the companions of Bahá'u'lláh. [CH65, BKG265, 267; RB3:6]
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Nabíl and Fáris Effendi, a Christian Syrian doctor who had been imprisoned for the non-payment of debt wrote and who had just recently become a Bahá'í, wrote letters to Bahá'u'lláh which were delivered by a Christian youth. The youth returned with a Tablet from Bahá'u'lláh and gifts from `Abdu'l-Bahá and Mírzá Mihdí. [BKG267–8; RB3:6–7]
- It is believed that Faris Effendi was the first Christian to have embraced the Bahá'í Faith. Shortly after His arrival in Akka, Bahá'u'lláh wrote a tablet to Raḍa'r-Rúḥ, a believer from Mashad. In the tablet, Bahá'u'lláh told Raḍa'r-Rúḥ that, while waiting to set sail from the port in Alexandria, He was given a letter by a messenger, which was from a Christian physician known as Faris, who was imprisoned in Alexandria with Nabil-i-Azam. In this letter, Faris declared his belief in Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'u'lláh expresses to Raḍa'r-Rúḥ how thrilled he was to receive this moving declaration from Faris. The Tablet to Rada'r-Rúh has been translated by Nosratollah Mohammadhosseini.
- The ship bearing Bahá'u'lláh and the exiles left Alexandria for Port Said. [BKG268]
- See the story in complete detail written by Christopher Buck serialized on Bahá'í Teachings. The first instalment is called The First Christian to Become a Baha'i.
The second is titled Baha'u'llah's Welcome to the First Christian Baha'i.
The third - The First Christian Baha'i, and His Letter to Baha'u'llah.
The fourth - Baha'u'llah Replies to the First Christian Baha'i—and to All Christians.
And the fifth and final instalment - Baha'u'llah's Most Holy Tablet—to the Christians.
- After his release Nabil travelled to Cyprus and Beirut and then joined the Bahá'u'lláh's exiled community in Akka in late October of 1969. He spent the last two decades of his life in that area. ["Nabil-e aʿzam Zaranadi, Mollā Mohammad," by Vahid Rafati, Encyclopædia Iranica]
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