Over the years many Bahá’ís have had the privilege of Pilgrimage to the Mansion of Bahjí and the adjacent building housing the resting place of Bahá'u'lláh, the most recent Prophet of God. Also, a few Bahá’ís have had the bounty of serving at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Even fewer have had the honor and privilege of managing and undertaking maintenance work and repairs at The Mansion of Bahjí and Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and in doing so developing an intimate personal relationship with the most Holy Spot for all Baha’is. My turn to immerse myself in this privilege came during the 1990s when I served at the Holy Threshold for 6.5 years.
When I read the story about two Bahá’ís who followed Bahá'u'lláh from Akko to Bahjí the night He took up residence in the Mansion I felt compelled to honor these first Bahá’í pilgrims by writing a poem about the event. My daughter Shadi has put the poem to music in her recently recorded album, Daughters of the Kingdom.
The Story
The Holy Land was part of the Turkish Empire in September 1878 when Bahá'u'lláh, its noble and illustrious prisoner, took up residence in the Mansion of Bahjí for the remainder of His days on this earthly plane. He was buried there upon His passing in 1892. Bahá'u'lláh stated that Bahjí is the most sublime vision for all mankind. Today Bahjí, its magnificent gardens and Bahá'u'lláh's Shrine, adjacent the Mansion, is the point of adoration and pilgrimage for all Bahá’ís.
Bahá'u'lláh had been living in another Mansion called Mazareh about 10 kilometres north of Akko. His beloved son and successor, Abdu’l-Bahá was living in Akko. Abdu’l-Bahá rented, and then later purchased the Mansion of Bahjí which is closer and more convenient to Akko. Also, the Mansion’s scale and dimensions were more befitting of Bahá'u'lláh's station.
As September in the Holy Land is hot and humid any travel movement is best in the early morning or evening. So it was 2 hours after sunset that Bahá'u'lláh and His secretary rode their donkeys through Akko's streets through the land gate of the ancient fortress and on to the Mansion of Bahjí about 4 kilometres away to take up residence.
The story of the events described in the song are to be found in Adib Taherzadeh's 4th volume of his books titled The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. The two Followers, the poet, Nabil-Azam and the historian Haji Muhammad-Tahir-i-Malmiri (who is Adib Taherzadeh's father) were two people enraptured by the sight and presence of Bahá'u'lláh, typical of his followers they were the planets to His sun, captivated in His orbit. They waited by their window overlooking the street near the Akko Land Gate to see him ride by, on the spur of the moment, and without His permission they followed Bahá'u'lláh from Akko to Bahjí keeping a respectful distance.
When he arrived in the Holy Land, Haji Muhammad-Tahir and a fellow pilgrim had delivered a gift from devoted Bahá’ís. It was a special oil lantern with 3 wicks which was placed in the Mansion’s window as a beacon to follow that night. Upon arrival Bahá'u'lláh entered the mansion, so Haji Muhammad-Tahir and Nabil decided to prayerfully circumambulate the mansion. As they proceeded, they realised that “the walls of the Mansion were packed with people” devoted prayerful souls had assembled against the four walls of the Mansion of Bahjí. They heard their murmuring so they moved about 30 paces away and continued to circumambulate in prayer. Since they knew no others would be in their position they concluded that the souls they saw that night were the souls of all the previous Prophets of the past and the Concourse on High whom were also circumambulating the Throne of their Lord.
They returned home spiritually ablaze, unable to sleep, keeping vigil through the night. Nabil writing poems about the sights they had witnessed that night and about other events in the life of Bahá'u'lláh. Muhammad-Tahir spent the night in discussion with Nabil about what they had witnessed and making tea to keep them awake. In the morning they sent the poetry and a gift of cones of sugar to Bahá'u'lláh and a message describing the mysterious events they’d witnessed.
My parents in-law, Zoghieh and Yaghoub Toloui (left and middle), visiting the Mansion of Bahjí on Pilgrimage in 1954
When Bahá'u'lláh received the note, poems, and the sugar cones, He revealed a Tablet in their honor and conferred the title of Bulbul (Nightingale) on Nabil and Bahhaj (Blissful) on Muhammad-Tahir. He graciously accepted their Pilgrimage to the mansion.
reasons I wrote the poem 'The Followers'.
- I believe it is important to honor the devotion of the Bahá’ís who had the bounty of being in His presence and developed an all-consuming passion towards Bahá'u'lláh.
- These two followers were privileged to be the first Bahá’í pilgrims to the most holy spot in our Faith.
- Bahá’ís, such as Nabil and Muhammad-Tahir, who gained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh sometimes recounted events which would be regarded as supernatural, paradoxically in a Faith that argues that religion and science must agree. However, there are occasions when exceptions arise and apparently inexplicable, irrational events occur.
“The early believers who had the inestimable bounty of attaining His presence sometimes witnessed supernatural events at one time or another through His special favours, events which completely overwhelmed their souls and which they recorded in their memoirs. But these may be considered as personal experiences only; they are not valid for others.
The story of Haji Muhammad-Tahir and Nabil falls into this category. They had the vision in which they saw the souls of the Prophets and the company of the Concourse on High circling around the mansion at the time that Bahá'u'lláh ascended the throne of His sovereignty in that hallowed spot. But such a soul stirring experience is valid for those two privileged souls only. It can never be adduced as conclusive proof of the station of Bahá'u'lláh… If miracles take place they are proof only for those who witness them.
Those who attained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh with pure hearts and spiritual vision had the bounty of being able to recognize Him through ‘His own Self’. As a result a result of coming into contact with His Person these believers became a new creation completely detached from the things of this world, intoxicated by the wine of His presence and carried away into new realms of the spirit. They enjoyed such nearness to the Blessed Beauty that they became intimates of His mysteries. Some of them saw glimpses of His hidden glory and power and were awestruck at the revelation of His supreme station.”
- Adib Taherzadeh, Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 4, Chapter 7, Page 113.
Bahá’ís believe we are not spiritually equipped to understand the spiritual world our souls enter after we die, nor do we understand the progress of souls in the spiritual afterlife. So we attach the imagery of this world to assist us to appreciate the afterlife. A Bahá’í principle is the divine mystical linkage that exists between all God’s Prophets and other Holy Souls who have progressed to the spiritual world. Bahá’ís accept this principle through their faith in Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá’ís name this collection of Prophets and Holy Souls in the next world the “Concourse on High”.
Written by Paul Toloui-Wallace
Click Here for Lyrics, to Listen and Download 'The Followers'