The Bab’s first visit to Tabriz created “an intense excitement on the part of the populace”

His [the Prime Minister’s] orders to ‘Alí Khán, the warden of the fortress of Máh-Kú, were stringent and explicit. On His way to that fortress the Báb passed a number of days in Tabríz, days that were marked by such an intense excitement on the part of the populace that, except for a few persons, neither the public nor His followers were allowed to meet Him. As He was escorted through the streets of the city the shout of “Alláh-u-Akbar” resounded on every side. So great, indeed, became the clamor that the town crier was ordered to warn the inhabitants that any one who ventured to seek the Báb’s presence would forfeit all his possessions and be imprisoned. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 2, ‘God Passes By’)

The results of the Báb’s isolation and incarceration in Ádhirbáyján

And yet, the foolish and short-sighted Hájí Mírzá Áqásí [Persia’s Prime Minister] fondly imagined that by confounding the plan of the Báb to meet the Sháh face to face in the capital, and by relegating Him to the farthest corner of the realm, he had stifled the Movement at its birth, and would soon conclusively triumph over its Founder. Little did he imagine that the very isolation he was forcing upon his Prisoner would enable Him to evolve the System designed to incarnate the soul of His Faith, and would afford Him the opportunity of safeguarding it from disintegration and schism, and of proclaiming formally and unreservedly His mission. Little did he imagine that this very confinement would induce that Prisoner’s exasperated disciples and companions to cast off the shackles of an antiquated theology, and precipitate happenings that would call forth from them a prowess, a courage, a self-renunciation unexampled in their country’s history. Little did he imagine that by this very act he would be instrumental in fulfilling the authentic tradition ascribed to the Prophet of Islám regarding the inevitability of that which should come to pass in Ádhirbáyján. Untaught by the example of the governor of Shíráz, who, with fear and trembling, had, at the first taste of God’s avenging wrath, fled ignominiously and relaxed his hold on his Captive, the Grand Vizir of Muhammad Sháh was, in his turn, through the orders he had issued, storing up for himself severe and inevitable disappointment, and paving the way for his own ultimate downfall. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 2, ‘God Passes By’)

Features of the concluding years of the Báb’s Ministry

These concluding years of His [the Báb’s] earthly life will go down in history as the time when the new Dispensation attained its full stature, when the claim of its Founder was fully and publicly asserted, when its laws were formulated, when the Covenant of its Author was firmly established, when its independence was proclaimed, and when the heroism of its champions blazed forth in immortal glory. For it was during these intensely dramatic, fate-laden years that the full implications of the station of the Báb were disclosed to His disciples, and formally announced by Him in the capital of Ádhirbáyján, in the presence of the Heir to the Throne; that the Persian Bayán, the repository of the laws ordained by the Báb, was revealed; that the time and character of the Dispensation of “the One Whom God will make manifest” were unmistakably determined; that the Conference of Badasht proclaimed the annulment of the old order; and that the great conflagrations of Mázindarán, of Nayríz and of Zanján were kindled. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 2, ‘God Passes By’)

Three locations in Persia – the circumstances they provided

Shíráz had been the memorable scene of the Báb’s historic Declaration; Isfáhán had provided Him, however briefly, with a haven of relative peace and security; whilst Ádhirbáyján was destined to become the theatre of His agony and martyrdom. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 2, ‘God Passes By’)

Comparison of the ministry of the Báb to the most critical stages of Baha’u’llah’s and ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s

It corresponds to the most critical stage of the mission of Bahá’u’lláh, during His exile to Adrianople, when confronted with the despotic Sultán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz and his ministers, ‘Álí Páshá and Fu‘ád Páshá, and is paralleled by the darkest days of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá’s ministry in the Holy Land, under the oppressive rule of the tyrannical ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd and the equally tyrannical Jamál Páshá. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 2, ‘God Passes By’)

The Báb’s “six year ministry”

It comprises His nine months’ unbroken confinement in the fortress of Máh-Kú, and His subsequent incarceration in the fortress of Chihríq, which was interrupted only by a brief yet memorable visit to Tabríz. It was overshadowed throughout by the implacable and mounting hostility of the two most powerful adversaries of the Faith, the Grand Vizir of Muhammad Sháh, Hájí Mírzá Áqásí, and the Amír-Niẓám, the Grand Vizir of Násiri’d-Dín Sháh. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 2, ‘God Passes By’)

The “most dramatic, and in a sense the most pregnant phase” of the Báb’s ministry

The period of the Báb’s banishment to the mountains of Ádhirbáyján, lasting no less than three years, constitutes the saddest, the most dramatic, and in a sense the most pregnant phase of His six year ministry. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 2, ‘God Passes By’)

The pretext the Prime Minister used to not allow a planned meeting between the Báb and Muhammad Shah

All-powerful and crafty, that minister had, on the pretext of the necessity of his master’s concentrating his immediate attention on a recent rebellion in Khurásán and a revolt in Kirmán, succeeded in foiling a plan, which, had it materialized, would have had the most serious repercussions on his own fortunes, as well as on the immediate destinies of his government, its ruler and its people. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

Muhammad Shah, under the influence of his Prime Minister, sent a courteous letter to the Báb and exiled Him to Máh-Kú

This was, shortly after, followed by a letter which the Sháh had himself addressed to the Báb, dated Rabí‘u’th-thání 1263 (March 19–April 17, 1847), and which, though couched in courteous terms, clearly indicated the extent of the baneful influence exercised by the Grand Vizir on his sovereign. The plans so fondly cherished by Manuchihr Khán were now utterly undone. The fortress of Máh-Kú, not far from the village of that same name, whose inhabitants had long enjoyed the patronage of the Grand Vizir, situated in the remotest northwestern corner of Ádhirbáyján, was the place of incarceration assigned by Muhammad Sháh, on the advice of his perfidious minister, for the Báb. No more than one companion and one attendant from among His followers were allowed to keep Him company in those bleak and inhospitable surroundings.  

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

Persia’s Prime Minister altered plans for the Báb to meet Muhammad Shah

At the distance of less than thirty miles from the capital, however, in the fortress of Kinár-Gird, a messenger delivered to Muhammad Big, who headed the escort, a written order from Hájí Mírzá Áqásí instructing him to proceed to Kulayn, and there await further instructions. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The nephew of Isfahán's late Governor encouraged the Sháh to issue a second summon for the Báb to be sent to Tihrán

The ruthless and rapacious Gurgín Khán, the deputy governor, induced the Sháh to issue a second summons ordering that the captive Youth be sent in disguise to Tihrán, accompanied by a mounted escort. To this written mandate of the sovereign the vile Gurgín Khán, who had previously discovered and destroyed the will of his uncle, the Mu‘tamid, and seized his property, unhesitatingly responded. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Governor of Isfahán expressed his desire to assist with the spread of the new religion

It was in those days that the host expressed the desire to consecrate all his possessions, evaluated by his contemporaries at no less than forty million francs, to the furtherance of the interests of the new Faith, declared his intention of converting Muhammad Sháh, of inducing him to rid himself of a shameful and profligate minister, and of obtaining his royal assent to the marriage of one of his sisters with the Báb. The sudden death of the Mu‘tamid, [the Governor] however, foretold by the Báb Himself, accelerated the course of the approaching crisis. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Governor of Isfahán conceived a plan to protect the Báb

The Mu‘tamid, in his great embarrassment, and in order to appease the rising tumult, conceived a plan whereby an increasingly restive populace were made to believe that the Báb had left for Tihrán, while he succeeded in insuring for Him a brief respite of four months in the privacy of the ‘Imárat-i-Khurshíd, the governor’s private residence in Isfahán. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The ecclesiastical leaders of Isfahán issued a document “denouncing the Báb as a heretic and condemning Him to death”

Meanwhile the mujtahids and ‘ulamás, dismayed at the signs of so pervasive an influence, summoned a gathering which issued an abusive document signed and sealed by the ecclesiastical leaders of the city, denouncing the Báb as a heretic and condemning Him to death. Even the Imám-Jum‘ih was constrained to add his written testimony that the Accused was devoid of reason and judgment. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The King of Persia summoned the Báb to Tihrán

The Sháh himself was induced to summon the Báb to his capital. Manuchihr Khán, bidden to arrange for His departure, decided to transfer His residence temporarily to his own home. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Prime Minister became fearful of the Báb’s popularity in Isfahán

The overbearing and crafty Hájí Mírzá Áqásí, fearful lest the sway of the Báb encompass his sovereign and thus seal his own doom, was aroused as never before. Prompted by a suspicion that the Báb possessed the secret sympathies of the Mu‘tamid, [the governor of Isfahán]and well aware of the confidence reposed in him by the Sháh, he severely upbraided the Imám-Jum‘ih for the neglect of his sacred duty. He, at the same time, lavished, in several letters, his favors upon the ‘ulamás of Isfahán, whom he had hitherto ignored. From the pulpits of that city an incited clergy began to hurl vituperation and calumny upon the Author of what was to them a hateful and much to be feared heresy. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The ecclesiastical authorities in Isfahán were alarmed because of the “popularity enjoyed by the Báb, His personal prestige, and the honors accorded Him by His countrymen”

These evidences of the growing ascendancy exercised by an unlearned Youth on the governor and the people of a city rightly regarded as one of the strongholds of Shí‘ah Islám, alarmed the ecclesiastical authorities. Refraining from any act of open hostility which they knew full well would defeat their purpose, they sought, by encouraging the circulation of the wildest rumors, to induce the Grand Vizir of the Sháh to save a situation that was growing hourly more acute and menacing. The popularity enjoyed by the Báb, His personal prestige, and the honors accorded Him by His countrymen, had now reached their high watermark. The shadows of an impending doom began to fast gather about Him. A series of tragedies from then on followed in rapid sequence destined to culminate in His own death and the apparent extinction of the influence of His Faith. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Christian governor of Isfahán embraced Islam as a result of a “dissertation” that the Báb revealed at his request before “a brilliant assemblage of the most accomplished divines”

The wise and judicious Manuchihr Khán could not resist the temptation of visiting so strange, so intriguing a Personage. Before a brilliant assemblage of the most accomplished divines he, a Georgian by origin and a Christian by birth, requested the Báb to expound and demonstrate the truth of Muhammad’s specific mission. To this request, which those present had felt compelled to decline, the Báb readily responded. In less than two hours, and in the space of fifty pages, He had not only revealed a minute, a vigorous and original dissertation on this noble theme, but had also linked it with both the coming of the Qá’im and the return of the Imám Husayn—an exposition that prompted Manuchihr Khán to declare before that gathering his faith in the Prophet of Islám, as well as his recognition of the supernatural gifts with which the Author of so convincing a treatise was endowed. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The enthusiastic people of Isfahán wanted to see the Báb

The tumultuous enthusiasm of the people of Isfahán was meanwhile visibly increasing. Crowds of people, some impelled by curiosity, others eager to discover the truth, still others anxious to be healed of their infirmities, flocked from every quarter of the city to the house of the Imám-Jum‘ih. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Báb revealed a commentary on a surih of the Qur’an at the request of the Imám-Jum‘ih of Isfahán

It was at the request of this same prelate [the Imám-Jum‘ih of Isfahán] that the Báb, one night, after supper, revealed His well-known commentary on the súrih of Va’l-‘Asr. Writing with astonishing rapidity, He, in a few hours, had devoted to the exposition of the significance of only the first letter of that súrih—a letter which Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsá’í had stressed, and which Bahá’u’lláh refers to in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas—verses that equalled in number a third of the Qur’án, a feat that called forth such an outburst of reverent astonishment from those who witnessed it that they arose and kissed the hem of His robe. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Báb’s effect on His host, the Imám-Jum‘ih of Isfahán

So magic was His charm that His host, forgetful of the dignity of his high rank, was wont to wait personally upon Him. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Báb’s effect on the people of Isfahán

…such was the spell He [the Báb] cast over the people of that city that, on one occasion, after His return from the public bath, an eager multitude clamored for the water that had been used for His ablutions. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Báb was a guest of the Imám-Jum‘ih of Isfahán for 40 days

The first forty days of His sojourn in Isfahán were spent as the guest of Mírzá Siyyid Muhammad, the Sulṭanu’l-‘Ulamá, the Imám-Jum‘ih, one of the principal ecclesiastical dignitaries of the realm, in accordance with the instructions of the governor of the city, Manuchihr Khán, the Mu ‘Tamidu’d-Dawlih, who had received from the Báb a letter requesting him to appoint the place where He should dwell. He was ceremoniously received… 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

September 1846: The Báb left Shiraz and proceeded to Isfahán

Miraculously preserved by an almighty and watchful Providence, the Báb proceeded to Isfahán (September, 1846), accompanied by Siyyid Kázim-i-Zanjání. Another lull ensued, a brief period of comparative tranquillity during which the Divine processes which had been set in motion gathered further momentum, precipitating a series of events leading to the imprisonment of the Báb in the fortresses of Máh-Kú and Chihríq, and culminating in His martyrdom in the barrack-square of Tabríz. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)

The Báb’s farewell to His wife and mother

Well aware of the impending trials that were to afflict Him, the Báb had, ere His final separation from His family, bequeathed to His mother and His wife all His possessions, had confided to the latter the secret of what was to befall Him, and revealed for her a special prayer the reading of which, He assured her, would resolve her perplexities and allay her sorrows. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (Chapter 1, ‘God Passes By’)