Táhirih, seated behind a curtain, would converse with them. One day the great
Siyyid Yaḥyá, surnamed Vahíd, was present there. As he sat without, Táhirih listened to him from behind the veil. I was then a child, and was sitting on her lap. With eloquence and fervor, Vahíd was discoursing on the signs and verses that bore witness to the advent of the new
Manifestation. She suddenly interrupted him and, raising her voice, vehemently declared: “O Yaḥyá! Let deeds, not words, testify to thy faith, if thou art a man of true learning. Cease idly repeating the
traditions of the past, for the day of service, of steadfast action, is come. Now is the time to show forth the true signs of God, to rend asunder the veils of idle fancy, to promote the Word of God, and to sacrifice ourselves in His path. Let deeds, not words, be our adorning!”
In Bada
sht, there was a great open field. Through its center a stream flowed, and to its right, left, and rear there were three gardens, the envy of
Paradise. One of those gardens was assigned to
Quddús,
1 but this was kept a secret. Another was set apart for Táhirih, and in a third was raised the pavilion of
Bahá’u’lláh. On the field amidst the three gardens, the believers pitched their tents. Evenings, Bahá’u’lláh, Quddús and Táhirih would come together. In those days the fact that
the Báb was the
Qá’im had not yet been proclaimed; it was the Blessed Beauty, with Quddús, Who arranged for the proclamation of a universal Advent