e memorized one of
those verses, and wrote it down in her notebook when she awoke. After the
Bab had declared His mission, and His first book, "The Best of
Stories,"(121) was circulated, Tahirih was reading a section of the text
one day, and she came upon that same verse, which she had noted down from
the dream. Instantly offering thanks, she fell to her knees and bowed her
forehead to the ground, convinced that the Bab's message was truth.

This good news reached her in Karbila and she at once began to teach. She
translated and expounded "The Best of Stories," also writing in Persian
and Arabic, composing odes and lyrics, and humbly practicing her
devotions, performing even those that were optional and supernumerary.
When the evil 'ulamas in Karbila got wind of all this, and learned that a
woman was summoning the people to a new religion and had already
influenced a considerable number, they went to the Governor and lodged a
complaint. Their charges, to be brief, led to violent attacks on Tahirih,
and sufferings, which she accepted and for which she offered praise and
thanks. When the authorities came hunting for her they first assaulted
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha, mistaking her for Tahirih. As soon, however, as they
heard that Tahirih had been arrested they let _Sh_ams go--for Tahirih had
sent a message to the Governor saying, "I am at your disposal. Do not harm
any other."

The Governor set guards over her house and shut her away, writing
Ba_gh_dad for instructions as to how he should proceed. For three months,
she lived in a state of siege, completely isolated, with the guards
surrounding her house. Since the local authorities had still received no
reply from Ba_gh_dad, Tahirih referred her case to the Governor, saying:
"No word has come from either Ba_gh_dad or Constantinople. Accordingly, we
will ourselves proceed to Ba_gh_dad and await the answer there." The
Governor gave her leave to go, and she set out, accompanied by
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha and the Leaf of Paradise (the sister of Mulla Husayn) and
her mother. In Ba_gh_dad she stayed first in the house of _Sh_ay_kh_
Muhammad, the distinguished father of Aqa Muhammad-Mustafa. But so great
was the press of people around her that she transferred her residence to
another quarter, engaged night and day in spreading the Faith, and freely
associated with the inhabitants of Ba_gh_dad. She thus became celebrated
throughout the city and there was a great uproar.

Tahirih also maintained