The Episode of Nayríz
The incomparable Vaḥíd—Siyyid Yaḥyáy-i-Dárábí—the trusted emissary whom Muḥammad Sháh had sent to investigate the claims of the Báb and who had returned His devoted supporter—was in Yazd in the early weeks of 1850, fearlessly proclaiming the advent of the Qá'im in the person of the Báb. Unwise acts by a purported fellow-believer put his life in danger in that city, and he was forced to leave secretly for Nayríz in the province of Fárs.[FG] On hearing of his approach, the people of his native quarter of Chinár Súkhtih who loved and honoured Vaḥíd, together with a number of the notables of Nayríz, went out to meet him, thus bringing on their families threats of dire punishment by the Governor of Nayríz, Zaynu'l-`Ábidín Khán, who was fearful and desired to prevent Vaḥíd's entry to the town.[17] But these warnings went unheeded; Vaḥíd continued his journey and on arrival at his native quarter, went straight to the Masjid-i-Jum`ih where, ascending the pulpit, he addressed a congregation estimated to have numbered fifteen hundred. He said:
My sole purpose in coming to Nayríz is to proclaim the Cause of God. I thank and glorify Him for having enabled me to touch your hearts with His Message. No need for me to tarry any longer in your midst, for if I prolong my stay, I fear that the governor will ill-treat you because of me. He may seek reinforcement from Shíráz and destroy your homes and subject you to untold indignities.[18]
But the people refused to let him go, for they were willing and prepared, they assured him, to meet any misfortune and hardship that might overtake them.
Zaynu'l-`Ábidín Khán, thwarted in his efforts to prevent Vaḥíd's entrance into Nayríz, and aroused to fury by the influence he was exerting on the populace, schemed to entrap and arrest him. For this purpose he recruited a thousand trained soldiers. Some of those who had joined Vaḥíd now broke away and forsook him, thus adding to the strength of his opponents. The menace posed by the Governor became so severe that Vaḥíd could find no way to secure the safety of his people and himself, other than by taking refuge with seventy-two of his companions in the fort of Khájih outside Nayríz. The Governor sent his brother, `Alí-Aṣghar Khán, to attack this small band with the force he had gathered. They did not succeed, but his brother was killed in the engagement. The Bábís now lived under conditions of siege, and their water supply was cut off. They built a water-cistern, strengthened their fort, and were reinforced by additional residents of Nayríz. Meanwhile, appeals were being made by Zaynu'l-`Ábidín Khán for assistance from Shíráz, until the Governor-General of Fárs, Prince Fírúz Mírzá (the Nuṣratu'd-Dawlih), who had ordered the extermination of the besieged Bábís, sent an army to conclude the affair.[19] Even this large force could not overcome the resistance of the defenders of the fortress. Not only did victory elude it, but heavy losses were suffered.[FH]
What had happened at Shaykh Ṭabarsí was now reenacted in Nayríz. Zaynu'l-`Ábidín Khán and his associates resorted to fraud to overcome the Bábís. They suspended their attack and sent a written message to Vaḥíd, which said, in effect:
Hitherto, as we were ignorant of the true character of your Faith, we have allowed the mischief-makers to induce us to believe that every one of you has violated the sacred precepts of Islám. Therefore did we arise against you, and have endeavoured to extirpate your Faith. During the last few days, we have been made aware of the fact that your activities are untinged by any political motive, that none of you cherish any inclination to subvert the foundations of the State. We also have been convinced of the fact that your teachings do not involve any grave departure from the fundamental teachings of Islám. All that you seem to uphold is the claim that a man has appeared whose words are inspired and whose testimony is certain, and whom all the followers of Islám must recognise and support. We can in no wise be convinced of the validity of this claim unless you consent to repose the utmost confidence in our sincerity, and accept our request to allow certain of your representatives to emerge from the fort and meet us in this camp, where we can, within the space of a few days, ascertain the character of your belief. If you prove yourselves able to demonstrate the true claims of your Faith, we too will readily embrace it, for we are not the enemies of Truth, and none of us wish to deny it. Your leader we have always recognised as one of the ablest champions of Islám, and we regard him as our example and guide. This Qur'án, to which we affix our seals, is the witness to the integrity of our purpose. Let that holy Book decide whether the claim you advance is true or false. The malediction of God and His Prophet rest upon us if we should attempt to deceive you. Your acceptance of our invitation will save a whole army from destruction, whilst your refusal will leave them in suspense and doubt. We pledge our word that as soon as we are convinced of the truth of your Message, we shall strive to display the same zeal and devotion you already have so strikingly manifested. Your friends will be our friends, and your enemies our enemies. Whatever your leader may choose to command, the same we pledge ourselves to obey. On the other hand, if we fail to be convinced of the truth of your claim, we solemnly promise that we shall in no wise interfere with your safe return to the fort, and shall be willing to resume our contest against you. We entreat you to refuse to shed more blood before attempting to establish the truth of your Cause.[20]
Vaḥíd was well aware of the dishonesty of this message; nevertheless, he walked out in person, with five attendants, into the camp of his enemies, where he was received for three days with great ceremony. But all the while they were planning a stratagem to overcome the occupants of the fort. Under duress, they compelled Vaḥíd to write a letter to his people, assuring them that a settlement had been reached, and that they should abandon the fortress and return to their homes. Vaḥíd attempted to caution his companions against this treachery in a second letter which was never delivered to them. Thus, within a month, did the defenders of the fort of Khájih meet the same fate as the defenders of Shaykh Ṭabarsí.
Four years later, a divine of Nayríz,[FI] a man who was just and truthful and courageous, wrote the whole story of that episode high on an inner wall of the Masjid-i-Jum`ih in the Bázár quarter. Although he had to write with circumspection to avoid being denounced, he composed his narrative in such a way that one can, without difficulty, read more of it between the lines. His account bears out the fact that Vaḥíd was given solemn assurances, that he was received with great esteem and reverence, that those who had pledged their word broke their pledges, that the quarter of Chinár-Súkhtih, which was then a stronghold of the Bábís of Nayríz,[FJ] and the quarter of the Bázár were sacked, that houses were demolished, huge sums of money extorted, and Nayríz was reduced to a state of desolation.
The circumstances of Vaḥíd's martyrdom recall the tragedy of Karbilá. All alone, he was assailed in the streets of Nayríz, as Imám Ḥusayn, whose descendant he was, had been assailed on the Euphrates plain. There the body of the Imám had been trampled into the dust by the hooves of horses, and in Nayríz the corpse of Vaḥíd suffered similar indignities. When the victorious army marched back to Shíráz, it took as prisoners women and children, with the heads of the martyrs of Nayríz raised aloft on lances. Damascus had witnessed a similar scene centuries before, when the family of the martyred Ḥusayn, which included his only surviving son, was paraded in its streets, to be led into the court of the tyrant Yazíd, preceded by the head of the Imám and those of his sons and brothers and nephews—the flower of the House of Muḥammad.