It was inevitable that soon the jealousy of the clergy would be aroused. Áqá Muḥammad-Mihdí,[CQ] the son of the renowned Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ibráhím-i-Kalbásí, began to use the pulpit to insult and disparage the Báb. When Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí heard of the situation in Iṣfahán, he wrote to upbraid the Imám-Jum`ih for having harboured the Báb. The Grand Vizier was afraid that Manúchihr Khán, because of the confidence that Muḥammad Sháh reposed in him, might succeed in arranging a meeting between the Báb and the monarch. The hold which Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí had on Muḥammad Sháh was chiefly due to the quasi-religious nature of their relationship. He was the murshid (spiritual guide) and his king was the muríd (disciple). The Imám-Jum`ih, still loyal, took no step in opposition, but endeavoured to reduce the number of visitors.
As the clamour of the opponents increased, Manúchihr Khán thought of a scheme to silence them. He invited the leading divines to meet the Báb at his home and argue their case. Ḥájí Siyyid Asadu'lláh, the son of the celebrated Ḥájí Siyyid Muḥammad-Báqir-i-Rashtí, declined the invitation and advised the rest to do the same:
I have sought to excuse myself and I would most certainly urge you to do the same. I regard it as most unwise of you to meet the Siyyid-i-Báb face to face. He will, no doubt, reassert his claim and will, in support of his argument, adduce whatever proof you may desire him to give, and, without the least hesitation, will reveal as a testimony to the truth he bears, verses of such a number as would equal half the Qur'án. In the end he will challenge you in these words: 'Produce likewise, if ye are men of truth.' We can in no wise successfully resist him. If we disdain to answer him, our impotence will have been exposed. If we, on the other hand, submit to his claim, we shall not only be forfeiting our own reputation, our own prerogatives and rights, but will have committed ourselves to acknowledge any further claims that he may feel inclined to make in the future.[6]
Only Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ja`far-i-Ábádi'í took Ḥájí Siyyid Asadu'lláh's advice and kept away. In the presence of Manúchihr Khán, Mírzá Ḥasan-i-Núrí was the first to pose a question. Mírzá Ḥasan was a follower of the Ishráqí school (Platonism), and his question concerned certain elements of the philosophy of Mullá Ṣadrá contained in his celebrated work: the Ḥikmatu'l-`Arshíyyah (Celestial or Divine Philosophy).[7] The Báb's answers, even though couched in simple terms, were beyond the grasp of Mírzá Ḥasan's mind. 'The Foolish One of the Learned' was the next to face the Báb, and he began to probe into points of Islamic jurisprudence. Unable to withstand the force of the Báb's exposition he started a verbal assault which the Governor quickly brought to an end. Sensing the mood of the audience, Manúchihr Khán deemed it prudent that the Báb should stay under the protection of his roof and not return to the house of the Imám-Jum`ih, where he had been a guest for forty days.
The next move came from the divines. Like their compatriots in Shíráz, they gathered together and passed a verdict on the Báb which carried with it the sentence of death. Both Ḥájí Siyyid Asadu'lláh-i-Rashtí and Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ja`far-i-Ábádi'í refused to be identified with it, but the Imám-Jum`ih, with an eye to his position, wrote:
I testify that in the course of my association with this youth I have been unable to discover any act that would in any way betray his repudiation of the doctrines of Islam. On the contrary, I have known him as a pious and loyal observer of its precepts. The extravagance of his claims, however, and his disdainful contempt for the things of the world, incline me to believe that he is devoid of reason and judgment.[8]
Muḥammad Sháh had already instructed Manúchihr Khán to send the Báb to Ṭihrán. The transforming power of the Báb can now be discerned. Manúchihr Khán had served the Qájár monarch faithfully at all times. His generalship had helped to secure Muḥammad Sháh's position. But, once conquered by the Báb and won over to His Cause, Manúchihr Khán unhesitatingly availed himself of the Sháh's command, not to send the Báb immediately to the capital which would have put Him at the mercy of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí, but to shield Him from His enemies. Under public gaze the Báb was escorted out of Iṣfahán, guarded by five hundred horsemen. Nabíl-i-A`ẓam writes:
Imperative orders had been given that at the completion of each farsang[CR] one hundred of this mounted escort should return directly to Iṣfahán. To the chief of the last remaining contingent, a man in whom he placed implicit confidence, the Mu`tamid confidentially intimated his desire that at every maydán[CS] twenty of the remaining hundred should likewise be ordered by him to return to the city. Of the twenty remaining horsemen, the Mu`tamid directed that ten should be despatched to Ardistán for the purpose of collecting the taxes levied by the government, and that the rest, all of whom should be of his tried and most reliable men, should, by an unfrequented route, bring the Báb back in disguise to Iṣfahán. They were, moreover, instructed so to regulate their march that before dawn of the ensuing day the Báb should have arrived at Iṣfahán and should have been delivered into his custody.... At an unsuspected hour, the Báb re-entered the city, was directly conducted to the private residence of the Mu`tamid, known by the name of `Imárat-i-Khurshíd [the Sun-House], and was introduced, through a side entrance reserved for the Mu`tamid himself, into his private apartments. The governor waited in person on the Báb, served His meals, and provided whatever was required for His comfort and safety.[9]
`Abdu'l-Bahá states in A Traveller's Narrative that Manúchihr Khán gave secret orders for the return of the Báb when He and His escort had reached Múrchih-Khár, some thirty-five miles to the north of Iṣfahán.[10]
Wild rumours began to circulate regarding the fate of the Báb. It was believed that He had been executed in Ṭihrán. To allay the fears of the Bábís of Iṣfahán the Báb allowed Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Qazvíní, Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí and Shaykh Ḥasan-i-Zunúzí to be brought to meet Him. He entrusted them with the task of transcribing His Writings. Not long afterwards, He instructed them to tell the other Bábís who had moved to Iṣfahán to leave the city and go northwards, to Káshán, or Qum or Ṭihrán.