Gracious God! The people of God suffered themselves to be killed rather than kill. During the events that came to pass, they were the embodiments of utter meekness and even interceded on behalf of the murderers before the governor.1 Yet the envy and hatred of the heedless only increased; this bountiful grace held no value in their eyes and brought forth no fruit or result. But on account of the meekness of the people of God and their lack of any aid or helper, he who is the possessor of armaments arose to redress the wrongs.2 Absolute meekness yieldeth many a result and beareth many a fruit.
Reference to the events surrounding the martyrdom of Ḥájí Muḥammad-Riḍáy-i-Iṣfahání in ‘Ishqábád in 1889. The Bahá’í community interceded with the government on behalf of the murderers, and the Czar agreed to clemency for them. See The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf (www.bahai.org/r/684455299).
Reference to Czar Alexander III. The original contains a play on the words siláḥ (armaments) and iṣláḥ (redress the wrongs).
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Last modified: 06 October 2022 10:20 a.m. (GMT)