By: Siyyid Muhammad Tabib-i Manshadi
On that same day, Siyyid Ali, out of fear of events, decided to leave Manshad and headed towards Yazd. On the way, while passing through the villages of Tazarjan and Taft, three men from that area saw and recognized him. Siyyid Ali was summarily arrested, his hands tied behind him, and taken to Tazarjan where they sought the permission of visiting Mirza Ibrahim, the Imam Jum`ih of Yazd, to kill their prisoner. The Imam Jum`ih replied that since he was not familiar with the character of the Siyyid, it is not possible for him to issue such a warrant, advising them to take the Siyyid back to Manshad and inquire from the people of that town of him. Two hours before sunset, the men entered the town of Manshad, bringing with them Siyyid Ali., deciding earlier to take him to Muhammad-i Kalantar and let him pronounce a decision.
When they came to the town square, the Siyyid escaped from the hands of his three captors and hid himself behind a palm tree. By now a group of town's people had heard of their arrival and had come to see them, circling the tree surrounding the Siyyid who was holding fast to it as a refuge. As the men prepared to take his life, a villager cried out that the tree that he had embraced was sacred and his life should be spared until he releases the tree. Heedless of man, Siyyid Ali was shot dead. Others continued to repeatedly fire at his motionless body. That evening, the his wife removed her husband's remains from the scene and buried it in their home. He was thirty-five years old.
The three men who had brought Siyyid Ali and instigated his murder, now returning home decided before leaving to shed the blood of this servant. With this intention in mind they headed towards my home. I was all alone when the three men entered my house. Since at the time I did not know them nor was aware of their intentions, I greeted them warmly. A waterpipe was offered and tea was served. Afterwards, I asked them where they were from and what business brought to Manshad, to which they related to me the story of Siyyid Ali's martyrdom. Upon hearing this, I was overwhelmed by sorrow and grief. Seeing my condition, the men immediately left my house. Outside, I heard one of them mention that since I had been so extremely kind and hospitable, they did not have the heart to take my life.
That same afternoon, as the mob finished killing Siyyid Ali, they returned to the home of Muhammad-i Kalantar, where Siyyid Baqir was being held from earlier that day pending execution of his order of imprisonment. It was late in the afternoon when they took him to a farm field known as Turkish farm. There, he was martyred as a result of gun shot wounds. Later the believers took the remains and buried it next to the gravesite which contained the headless body of Aqa Ghulam-Husayn killed earlier in the day -- his companion and fellow martyr. Siyyid Baqir was fifty-one years old.
The following day, Sunday, Aqa Muhammad had taken refuge in his home when around noon time I saw three men headed in that direction. I was grieve stricken, knowing their intent to commit yet another murder of some innocent Baha'is but didn't know where they were going. As the men came upon the home of Aqa Muhammad, they entered the house, brought him out and took him to town's square. Aqa Muhammad requested that they delay their perfidious act for an hour so that he may say farewell to his wife and young children and see them for one last time. The men paid no attention to his plea, answering only with gunfire. Tying a rope around his feet, they dragged him beck home, where later that evening his wife brought the body inside and laid it to rest. He was twenty-three years old.
The following Wednesday, Mulla Baba'yi (a brother of the famous martyr Razyu'l-Ruh and father of recently martyred Aqa Muhammad) having found shelter in a friend's home. One of the neighborhood's woman learned of his whereabouts and informed Manshad's populous. Soon, a mob and many onlookers totaling over two hundred descended upon the house where Mulla Baba'yi had taken refuge. Several men entered the home and began searching the rooms. when one of them came upon the room where Mulla Baba'yi and his son, Aqa Javad sitting in the dark corner. He cried that we must shoot him right here, but apprehensive of the harm that may befall his son, Mulla Baba'yi quickly surrendered. Mulla's hands were tied behind his back and with bare head and foot, along with his son, were led to another section of town to the home of Hajji Siyyid Husayn to be killed. Mulla Baba'yi who in the dense of crowd could not see his son asked Siyyid Husayn that if they have as yet not killed his son to bring him near for one last glance at him. Siyyid Husayn agreed and brought the son near. When Mulla's eyes fell upon him, his last spoken words were instructions for Aqa Javad, should he survive, to arrange for the payment of a debt to a certain individual. Bidding him farewell, the Mulla left the boy to the care of the Siyyid Husayn, expressing the wish that he not be obliged to speak again and remained silent.
Although the crowd wanted to kill the boy, Siyyid Husayn intervened, shielding the body from bodily harm by taking him inside the home. It was around noon that the crown moved Mulla Baba'yi once again towards Bazaar. With his hands still firmly tied behind him, he endured every manner of insult, injury and defamation. On the way, he was repeatedly stoned. A rock hurled towards him fractured his forehead, from which a fountain of blood gushed forth, covering his radiant countenance. Time after time, he was assaulted, until his white beard was soaked by his blood. Paraded as such for a time in the bazaar, he was later taken behind the home of martyred Aqa Ali-Akbar. During this entire time, his gaze remained fixed in the direction of the Qiblih, the Sacred Threshold of his Beloved. Not one word was uttered by him in the face of his ordeal, so poignantly did he exemplify the lesson of true faith and sacrifice.
In the midst of the chaos, someone retrieved a can of kerosine from a nearby shop, pouring it over Mulla Baba'yi and setting him ablaze. While burning, those who carried guns began to shoot. Others were satisfied with clubbing and stoning him. Dragging him by his bound feet, he was taken to the home of a fellow believer, Siyyid Taqi, where he was later buried. Mulla Baba'yi, whose body and soul were ablaze with the love of His Beauty, was sixty-five years old at the time of martyrdom.
(to be continued)
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Translated by, and reprinted with permission of Ahang Rabbani.
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