Memorials of the Faithful
Jamshíd-i-Gurjí
while Muḥammad-‘Alí, according to the envoy, was a ravening lion. These two respected men were first imprisoned and caged; then they were sent out of Turkish territory, under guard to the Persian frontier. They were to be delivered over to the Persian Government and crucified, and the guards were threatened with terrible punishments should they once relax their vigilance and let the prisoners escape. For this reason, at every stopping place the victims were kept in some almost inaccessible spot. Once they were thrown into a pit, a kind of well, and suffered agonies all through the night. The next morning Jam
shíd cried out: “O you who oppress us! Are we
Joseph the Prophet that you have thrown us in this well? Remember how He rose out of the well as high as the full moon? We too walk the pathway of God, we too are down here for His sake, and we know that these depths are the heights of the Lord.”
Once arrived at the Persian frontier, Jam
shíd and Muḥammad-‘Alí were handed over to Kurdish chiefs to be sent on to
Ṭihrán. The Kurdish chiefs could see that the prisoners were innocent men, kindly and well-disposed, who had fallen a prey to their enemies. Instead of dispatching them to the capital, they set them free. Joyfully, the two hastened away on foot, went back to
Bahá’u’lláh and found a home close by Him in the
Most Great Prison.
Jamshíd spent some time in utter bliss, receiving the grace and favor of Bahá’u’lláh and ever and again being admitted to His presence. He was tranquil and at peace. The believers were well-pleased with him, and he was well-pleased with God. It was in this condition that he hearkened to the celestial bidding: “O thou soul who art well-assured, return unto thy Lord, well-pleased with Him, and well-pleasing unto Him.”1 And to God’s cry: “Return!”
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