This honored man,
Mírzá Mihdí, was from Ká
shán. In early youth, under his father’s tutelage, he had studied sciences and arts, and had become skilled in composing both prose and verse, as well as in producing calligraphy in the style known as
shikastih.
1 He was singled out from his fellows, head and shoulders above the rest. When still a child, he learned of the Lord’s Advent, caught fire with love, and became one of those who “gave their all to purchase
Joseph.” He was chief of the yearning seekers, lord of lovers; eloquently, he began to teach the
Faith, and to prove the validity of the
Manifestation.
He made converts; and because he yearned after God, he became a laughingstock in Ká
shán, disparaged by friend and stranger alike, exposed to the taunts of his faithless companions. One of them said: “He has lost his mind.” And another: “He is a public disgrace. Fortune has turned against him. He is done for.” The bullies mocked him, and spared him nothing. When life became untenable, and open war broke out, he left his homeland and journeyed to
‘Iráq, the focal center of the new Light, where he gained the presence of all mankind’s Beloved.