What follows is my provisional translation (in other words, not official or authorized; see here for more) of a Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the original text of which appears in INBA, vol. 88, pp. 231–234. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave a eulogy for the three brothers mentioned in this Tablet—Ḥájí Ḥasan-i-Tabrízí, Ḥájí Ja‘far-i-Tabrízí, and Ḥájí (or Mashhadí) Taqíy-i-Tabrízí—in Memorials of the Faithful, ch. 46. Drawing on that eulogy and also Fáḍil Mázandarání, Táríkh-i-Ẓuhúru’l-Ḥaqq, vol. 6, pp. 17–18, Moojan Momen has written the following brief account of their lives:
A number of the Baha’is of Tabriz became companions-in-exile of Baha’u’llah. Among them were three brothers who were pedlars. The eldest, Haji Hasan Tabrizi, went to Shiraz as soon as he heard the claim of the Bab. When he arrived there communications with the Bab were not possible and so he was directed to Mulla Husayn Bushru’i. He met Baha’u’llah at Kirmanshah in 1851 – Baha’u’llah was sent to Karbala by Mirza Taqi Khan [Amir Kabir] in 1851 and returned in 1852 just before the attempt on the life of the shah. Later he visited Baha’u’llah several times in Baghdad and lived there for a time. On his return to Tabriz he was so enthusiastic about the Baha’i Faith that he made enemies and in the end one of his relatives killed him. The other two brothers, Haji Taqi and Haji Ja‘far Tabrizi, travelled to Edirne to see Baha’u’llah and settled there. When the Ottoman government ordered Baha’u’llah’s departure from Edirne, Haji Ja‘far thought he was to be left behind and cut his own throat in despair. He was saved from death and the two brothers joined Baha’u’llah in ‘Akka a few months later.
(The Bahá’í Communities of Iran, vol. 1, p. 375)
I have not been able to identify the son of Ḥájí Taqí, to whom this Tablet is addressed.
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He is the All-Glorious
O remnant of three great souls! Thy distinguished uncle, the honorable Ḥájí Ḥasan, burned fervently day and night, with a face like unto a luminous moon, in the assemblages of ardent lovers and gatherings of enamored adorers. At times he would be enkindled like a flame from the intensity of the fire of the love of God, burning away the veils of the torpid, while at others he would begin to wail and moan, his tearful eyes raining even as a vernal shower. Though he never studied or took lessons in any school, he spoke sweetly with knowledge and understanding; though he grew and developed in a commercial office, in the company of the erudite he talked with the utmost eloquence and clarity. He was a believer in the Primal Point, may my spirit be a sacrifice for Him, and then came to believe in the Ancient Beauty, may my soul be offered up for His resting-place. He surrendered both his life and his substance, giving up glory and good repute. He became a token of holiness, planting the banner of unity. He was articulate and accomplished—a clear summoner to the truth. Eventually, in Azerbaijan, the malevolent lay in wait and secretly martyred that yearning lover of the Beauty of Him Who is the Ever-Living, the Incomparable. But today, in the midmost heart of the Abhá Kingdom, he singeth the anthem of the Concourse on High with joyful ecstasy and blissful rapture. “Think not that those slain on the Path of God are dead; nay, they are alive with their Lord and well sustained.”[1] Peace be upon him the day he was born, the day he was martyred, and the day he was raised up in the Kingdom of Abhá[2]—and glory rest on him also.
The second of thy distinguished uncles, Ḥájí Jaʻfar, was filled with fervor and ardor, and even as a fiery brand, his heat affected friend and stranger alike. Having become intoxicated from the chalice of love for the Peerless Beloved, he forsook his home and achieved the honor of attaining the Holy Presence[3] in the Land of Mystery,[4] where he lived for a time in consummate elation and gladness. When the Daystar of the world was banished to this Most Great Prison and Ḥájí Jaʻfar was barred therefrom, he took up a dagger at once and cut his throat with his own hand,[5] offering his blood at the feet of the Delightful, but the time ordained for his death had not yet come, rather was it destined that he be imprisoned with the One Who bore the Greatest Name. Thus, in a miraculous turn of events, his laceration mended and his wound healed, and in this penitentiary of tribulation—this Most Great Prison—he lived in the most difficult hardship. In the end, he quaffed the cup of death with absolute felicity. Blessedness is his, as well as a fair haven,[6] and seated now “upon a seat of truth in the presence of the potent King,”[7] he is happy as can be.
As to thy distinguished father, that quintessence of virtue and emblem of guidance, Mashhadí Taqí—upon him be the glory of God, the All-Glorious—having been led aright by thine uncle, the aforementioned Ḥájí Ḥasan, he set his face toward the Manifest Horizon and benefited from an immense bounty. He illumined his face with the lights of guidance and made his heart a rose-garden with the signs of godliness and fragrant flowers of purity. Day and night he was occupied with the mention of God, removed and distant from all else. He possessed a heart brimming with light and a spirit teeming with joy. He, too, reached the Land of Mystery and discovered the secret of the truth. He spent his days and nights keeping silent and holding his peace, and in gatherings he would listen and comprehend. He had eyes that were shut to the world and its peoples, and a heart replete with pious fear of God. Eventually taken captive, he, too, was incarcerated with Ḥájí Ja‘far in this Most Great Prison. For several years he lived in adversity and affliction, and yet with perfect contentment and resignation he gave thanks for his trials and tribulations. Finally, while in prison, oppressed to the utmost and afire with the greatest ardor—his eyes weeping, his heart burning—he ascended to the Kingdom of God. At this very moment, while seated upon the throne of ancient glory and enjoying the soul-stirring savors of holiness, he is addressing thee, saying:
“O my son! I was a thrall at the Threshold and a servant to the friends. For a number of years I lived on the earth, striving with heart and soul in servitude to God, and through the grace and bounty of the Ancient Beauty, I hastened to the Kingdom of Abhá with a face as radiant as the Sun, leaving thee behind as my memento. O my son! Ignite my lamp in the realm below, that in the Most Exalted Kingdom, surrounded by the Concourse on High, I may mention thee with purity and sanctity and implore thy confirmation. O my son! Light my candle and adorn my tree with fruit; make my edifice to flourish, and my foundation to be firmly fixed. O my son! Cause my stream to flow and my quarter to thrive and prosper. O my son! Be thou a servant to the Testament and a sign of the bounty of the Daystar of the world. Cleave tenaciously to the Covenant and receive amply the bestowals of God. O my son! Be thou a blooming hundred-petaled rose in my garden and a melodious nightingale upon my bed of flowers, that thy revitalizing song, even as the cry of the leviathan of the ocean of love, might ascend to the Supreme Horizon and reach the ears of the denizens of the Abhá Kingdom—that in the company of celestial souls I may swell with pride in thee, and that in the cloisters of the Kingdom I may occupy myself with thy remembrance.”
Convey the Abhá greetings of this servant to Jináb-i-Mihdí-Qulí and Jináb-i-Taqí, the remnants of that soul who hath ascended to the Kingdom of God. Glory rest on thee and on all who have turned towards the Lord, the Generous, the All-Praised.
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[1] Qur’án 3:169.
[2] cf. Qur’án 19:15.
[3] Meaning the presence of Bahá’u’lláh.
[4] The Turkish city of Edirne, formerly known as Adrianople.
[5] In His Súriy-i-Ra’ís, Bahá’u’lláh refers to this attempted suicide by Ḥájí Ja‘far-i-Tabrízí as “an act unheard of in bygone centuries and which God hath set apart for this Revelation as an evidence of the power of His might.” Shoghi Effendi has also mentioned this in God Passes By. Additional information on Ḥájí Ja‘far-i-Tabrízí can be found in H.M. Balyuzi, Bahá’u’lláh: The King of Glory, pp. 258–59 and 474.
[6] cf. Qur’án 13:29.
[7] Qur’án 54:55.
A typescript of the original Persian and Arabic text of this Tablet appears below (all punctuation and vocalization mine).
Adib Masumian 