responsibilities. He recalled the words addressed by Jesus to His
disciples, and emphasized the superlative greatness of the New Day. He
warned them lest by turning back they forfeit the Kingdom of God, and
assured them that if they did God's bidding, God would make them His heirs
and spiritual leaders among men. He hinted at the secret, and announced
the approach, of a still mightier Day, and bade them prepare themselves
for its advent. He called to remembrance the triumph of Abraham over
Nimrod, of Moses over Pharaoh, of Jesus over the Jewish people, and of
Muhammad over the tribes of Arabia, and asserted the inevitability and
ultimate ascendancy of His own Revelation. To the care of Mulla Husayn He
committed a mission, more specific in character and mightier in import. He
affirmed that His covenant with him had been established, cautioned him to
be forbearing with the divines he would encounter, directed him to proceed
to Tihran, and alluded, in the most glowing terms, to the as yet
unrevealed Mystery enshrined in that city--a Mystery that would, He
affirmed, transcend the light shed by both Hijaz and _Sh_iraz.

Galvanized into action by the mandate conferred upon them, launched on
their perilous and revolutionizing mission, these lesser luminaries who,
together with the Bab, constitute the First Vahid (Unity) of the
Dispensation of the Bayan, scattered far and wide through the provinces of
their native land, where, with matchless heroism, they resisted the savage
and concerted onslaught of the forces arrayed against them, and
immortalized their Faith by their own exploits and those of their
co-religionists, raising thereby a tumult that convulsed their country and
sent its echoes reverberating as far as the capitals of Western Europe.

It was not until, however, the Bab had received the eagerly anticipated
letter of Mulla Husayn, His trusted and beloved lieutenant, communicating
the joyful tidings of his interview with Baha'u'llah, that He decided to
undertake His long and arduous pilgrimage to the Tombs of His ancestors.
In the month of _Sh_a'ban, of the year 1260 A.H. (September, 1844) He Who,
both on His father's and mother's side, was of the seed of the illustrious
Fatimih, and Who was a descendant of the Imam Husayn, the most eminent
among the lawful successors of the Prophet of Islam, proceeded, in
fulfillment of Islamic traditions, to visit the Kaaba. He embarked from
Bu_sh_ihr on the 19th of Ramadan (October