By: Siyyid Muhammad Tabib-i Manshadi
The Tree of Faith is nourished by the blood of the martyrs.
What follows is the story of a band of selfless, dedicated, love-intoxicated followers of Baha'u'llah who sacrificed the most precious of all things in His service -- life itself.
The momentous events associated with the birth and development of the Dispensation of Baha'u'llah find their origin in the Cradle of His Faith, Iran. Such glorious events have been contrasted by the bitter persecution of a defenseless community which knows no other purpose than to unite the world under the banner of brotherhood and peace. In a number of Tablets, Abdu'l-Baha quotes a well-known poem: "nuk-i khari nist, kaz khun-i shahidan surkh nist" (there is not a spike whose tip is not tinged with the blood of the martyrs). The implications of this line, although far-reaching, find no greater significance than in the city of Yazd and its environs. This area has seen what none other has since the inception of the Faith, when such heroes as the immortal Vahid, Mulla `Aly-i Sabzivari and thousands of others, time and again, stood firm in the face of the onslaught of a vicious enemy and offered life and limb as the greatest testimony of the truth and validity of Baha'u'llah's Cause. In words of the beloved Master, "the martyrs of the land of Ya [Yazd] drank their fill with relish from the draught of glorious martyrdom."
The Baha'i community of Manshad, a small town in the neighborhood of Yazd, stood as a shining example, a community which would ultimately win the immortal crown of fidelity by withstanding the onslaught of a fierce enemies. The heinous events that culminated in the martyrdom of so many of the friends in that blackest of all days started on June 26, 1903.
The story of that pogrom and the events leading up to it is immortalized by the pen of Siyyid Muhammad Tabib-i Manshadi, an eyewitness to many of the episodes. For some of the details, he later closely interviewed all the remaining survivors and thereby completed his brief narration which was made available some 25 years ago, (127 BE), under the title of "Sharh Shahadat-i Shuhady-i Manshad" (Account of Martyrdom of Manshad's Martyrs). The same details and based on the information of the same narrator is also captured by Haj Muhammad-Tahir Malmiri in his immortal "Tarikh Shuhaday-i Yazd", starting on page 432.
The events of Manshad, which will be recounted in this narrative are part and parcel of a much larger and truly massive Baha'i holocaust of 1903 in Yazd and its surrounding towns. It is hoped that in a near future, the full story of Yazd's martyrs and events be also made available in English so that the Baha'i communities everywhere are inspired by the brilliant example of their brothers and sisters at the Cradle of the Faith.
the translator
Aqa Siyyid Muhammad Tabib-i Manshadi, (1863-1918), was a son of Aqa Siyyid Abdu'l-Ghani and Sakinih Khanum. Born in Yazd, he spent his early childhood in that city, completing his early education. Pursuant to a career in medicine, he moved eventually to Tihran where after his concluding his studies, he emerged as a well-trained and knowledgeable medical Doctor (hence the name, Tabib). Returning back to his native land of Yazd, he commenced his medical practice, and it was then that he learned about the Faith of Baha'u'llah and embraced it as a believer.
Around 1886, some five years before the upheaval of Yazd which resulted in bloodshed of the Seven Martyrs of Yazd, Aqa `Ali-Akbar, the martyr, requested Aqa Siyyid Muhammad to settle in Manshad and continue his medical practice in that town. Having accepted this invitation, Aqa Siyyid Muhammad pioneered to Manshad and made that town his home. For a while he resided with his host, Aqa `Ali-Akbar, (whose house presently serves as the Baha'i Center of Manshad's community) and then moved to a house near the Husayniyyih of Manshad, next door to a mosque.
Shortly thereafter, Aqa Siyyid Muhammad married Bibi-Rubabih, a daughter of late Haj Siyyid Husayn-i Banadaki; a union which resulted in two children.
During his life time, Aqa Siyyid Muhammad witnessed several episodes of persecution of the community, the most gruesome of which was the great upheaval of Manshad and Yazd in the year 1321 H, (1903). Many Baha'is during this period drank from the chalice of martyrdom. Miraculously, Aqa Siyyid Muhammad, though well-known as a Baha'i and residing in Manshad, escaped the hands of his persecutors, later, committing to paper his recollections and remembrances of other survivors of that dark period. In addition to his narratives, others by Aqa Siyyid Abu'l-Qasim-i Bayda and Haj Muhammad Tahir-i Malmiri ("Tarikh-i Shuhaday-i Yazd" -- History of Yazd's Martyrs) attest to the selfsame horrors characteristic of the period.
Aqa Siyyid Muhammad died at the age of 56 in the year 1336 H (1918) having remained faithful his entire life. Serving the community of Manshad -- where he had pioneered so many years earlier -- was his greatest desire. He is now buried in a cemetery of that city.
The beloved Master has revealed a magnificent Tablet in his honor which will stand for all time as the testimony to his faith and zeal. May the Grace of Baha'u'llah continue to surround him in all the worlds of God.
(to be continued)
Introduction to Martyrs of Manshad
Next part of Martyrs of Manshad
Table of Contents for Martyrs of Manshad
Translated by, and reprinted with permission of Ahang Rabbani.
This page formatted to HTML and maintained by Al Prosser
now from West Des Moines, Iowa USA.
Drop Al a line at
alprosser19@yahoo.com with any comments.
Back to Al's Home Page