- 1853-01-12 —
Bahá'u'lláh and His family departed for Baghdád after a one month respite in the home of his half-brother Mírzá Ridá-Qulí. During the three-month journey Bahá'u'lláh was accompanied by His wife Navváb (Who was six weeks from giving birth upon departure.) His eldest son 'Abdu'l-Bahá (9), Bahíyyih Khánum (7) and two of His brothers, Mírzá Músá and Mírzá Muhammad-Qulí. Mírzá Mihdí (2), was very delicate and so was left behind with the grandmother of the child, the mother of Àsíyih Khánum. They were escorted by an officer of the Persian imperial bodyguard and an official representing the Russian legation. [BKG102–5; GPB108; MM31; RoL165]
In a letter sent on behalf of the Universal House of Justice dated 1998-10-14 it is stated that there is very little historical information on who took care of Mírzá Mihdí until he was transported to Baghdad to rejoin the Holy Family.
- CH44–5 says the family had ten days after Bahá'u'lláh's release to prepare for the journey to Iraq.
- 'Never had the fortunes of the Faith proclaimed by the Báb sunk to a lower ebb'. [DB651]
- This exile compares to the migration of Muhammad, the exodus of Moses and the banishment of Abraham. [GPB107–8]
- See BKG104 and GPB108–9 for conditions on the journey. During His crossing of the Atlantic on his way from Naples to New York He said the His feet had become frostbitten during the trip to Baghdad. [SYH52; Light of Faith: A collection of stories by Paris Sadeghzadeh and Behnam Golmohammadi p84-86]
- Bahá'u'lláh's black servant, Isfandíyár, who had managed to evade capture during this dark period, after he had paid all the debts to various merchants, went to Mazandaran where he was engaged by the Governor. Years later when his master made a pilgrimage to Iraq Isfandíyár met Bahá'u'lláh and stated his preference to return to His service. Bahá'u'lláh said that he owed his master a debt of gratitude and could not leave his employ without his permission. It was not granted and Isfandíyár returned to Mazandaran and stayed with the Governor until his passing. [PUP428; SoW IX 28 April, 1918 p38-39]
- Also see A Gift of Love Offered to the Greatest Holy Leaf (compiled and edited by Gloria Faizi, 1982), by Hand of the Cause Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, which includes a brief summary of the character of Isfandiyar and his services to the Holy Family on pages 14-16.
- 1856-03-19 —
Áqá Kalím, Bahá'u'lláh's faithful brother, felt that Bahá'u'lláh should return from his self-imposed exile owning to the state of the community so he sent his Arab father-in-law, Shaykh Sultán, to find Him and try to convince Him to return. He carried letters from several family members, including Mírzá Yahyá, pleading with Him to return. [Bahá'u'lláh and the Naqshbandi Sufis in Iraq, 1854-1856 p20-21]
Bahá'u'lláh returned from Sulaymáníyyih, Kurdistán two years after His withdrawal, a moment Shoghi Effendi has described as "a turning point of the utmost significance in the history of the first Bahá'í century." [GPB127]
Baha'u'llah's return revived and animated the Bábí community.
"He Himself has described the situation which then confronted Him:
We found no more than a handful of souls, faint and dispirited, nay utterly lost and dead. The Cause of God had ceased to be on any one's lips, nor was any heart receptive to its message. [GPB125]
- From this time Bahá'u'lláh started to educate the believers in the principles of the Faith. [GPB127–8; TN39]
- 1856-03-20 —
During Bahá'u'lláh's absence Mírzá Musá rented a house near the Al-Kazimiyya mosque and shrine, in the Kādhimayn district in Baghdad. (It is the burial place of Imam Musa Al-Kadhim and Imam Muhammad Al-Jawad, they are respectively the Seventh and the Ninth of the Twelve Imams.) The house was large, two or three stories, and was made of simple mud brick with a surrounding central courtyard. At some point before His departure on the 22nd of April, 1863, the house was purchased. He later named it "The Most Great House" (Bayt-i-‘Aẓam) and designated it a place of pilgrimage. It is also referred to as the "Throne of His Glory", and the "Lamp of Salvation between earth and heaven". [CEBF66; Bahaipedia]
- After His departure the House was held in the names of various custodians and allowed to fall into disrepair. [CEBF66]
- Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet to be used when making a pilgrimage to the House. [GWB111-114; 114-115]
- 1872-12-00 —
Munírih Khánum arrived in `Akká. She stayed in the house of Mírzá Músá for five months. [MKBM44]
- Note: BKG347 suggests she arrived some time after February 1873.
- 1887-00-00 —
Mírzá Músá, Áqáy-i-Kalím, Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh, the faithful brother of Bahá'u'lláh, passed away in `Akká. [BBD166; BKG369; DH57]
- He was buried in the Bahá'í section of the Muslim cemetery. [DH81]
- He was designated by Shoghi Effendi as one of the 19 Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh. [BBD166; BW3:80–1]
- See Bahá'í Chronicles for a brief biography as well as MoF86-90.
- 1955-06-03 —
Shoghi Effendi announced to all National Assemblies that Majdi'd-Din, "the most redoubtable enemy of 'Abdu'l-Baha" and "the incarnation of Satan", someone who played a leading role in the kindling of the hostility of 'Abdu'l-Hamíd and Jamál Páshá and who was the instigator of Covenant-breaking and archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, died at the age of one hundred after being struck with paralysis affecting his limbs and his tongue. [MBW87-88, 94]
- He was the son of Bahá'u'lláh's only full brother Mírzá Músá, also know as Áqáy-i-Kalím. He was married to Samadiyyih, Bahá'u'lláh's daughter from his second wife Fatimih Khanum making him brother-in-law to Mírzá Muhammad `Alí.
- Both Majdi'd-Dín and Samadiyyih were eventually declared Covenant-breakers for supporting Mírzá Muhammad `Alí. Majdi'd-Din was a scribe for Bahá'u'lláh. It was he who on June 6th or 7th, 1892, read the Kitáb-i-'Ahd to a large crowd in front of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh in which Bahá'u'lláh appointed 'Abdu'l-Bahá as his successor. [CBN No69 Oct 1955 p2]
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