About April 10, 1848 the Báb was transferred to the fortress of Chihriq

Secret agents, however, charged to watch ‘Alí Khán, informed Hájí Mírzá Áqásí of the turn events were taking, whereupon he immediately decided to transfer the Báb to the fortress of Chihríq (about April 10, 1848), surnamed by Him the Jabal-i-Shadíd (the Grievous Mountain). There He was consigned to the keeping of Yahya Khán, a brother-in-law of Muhammad Sháh. 

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

Among the eager and devout pilgrims who were allowed to be admitted at the gates of the fortress was Mullá Husayn

Among them was the dauntless and indefatigable Mullá Husayn, who had walked on foot the entire way from Mashad in the east of Persia to Máh-Kú, the westernmost outpost of the realm, and was able, after so arduous a journey, to celebrate the festival of Naw-Rúz (1848) in the company of his Beloved. 

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

Despite severe restrictions the inhabitants of the village of Máh-Kú “were gradually subdued by the gentleness of the Báb, were chastened by His modesty, were edified by His counsels, and instructed by His wisdom” – including the warden of the fortress.

Secluded on the heights of a remote and dangerously situated mountain on the frontiers of the Ottoman and Russian empires; imprisoned within the solid walls of a four-towered fortress; cut off from His family, His kindred and His disciples; living in the vicinity of a bigoted and turbulent community who, by race, tradition, language and creed, differed from the vast majority of the inhabitants of Persia; guarded by the people of a district which, as the birthplace of the Grand Vizir, had been made the recipient of the special favors of his administration, the Prisoner of Máh-Kú seemed in the eyes of His adversary to be doomed to languish away the flower of His youth, and witness, at no distant date, the complete annihilation of His hopes. That adversary was soon to realize, however, how gravely he had misjudged both his Prisoner and those on whom he had lavished his favors. An unruly, a proud and unreasoning people were gradually subdued by the gentleness of the Báb, were chastened by His modesty, were edified by His counsels, and instructed by His wisdom. They were so carried away by their love for Him that their first act every morning, notwithstanding the remonstrations of the domineering ‘Alí Khán, and the repeated threats of disciplinary measures received from Tihrán, was to seek a place where they could catch a glimpse of His face, and beseech from afar His benediction upon their daily work. In cases of dispute it was their wont to hasten to the foot of the fortress, and, with their eyes fixed upon His abode, invoke His name, and adjure one another to speak the truth. ‘Alí Khán himself, under the influence of a strange vision, felt such mortification that he was impelled to relax the severity of his discipline, as an atonement for his past behavior. Such became his leniency that an increasing stream of eager and devout pilgrims began to be admitted at the gates of the fortress. 

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

No one was allowed to see the Báb for the first two weeks at Máh-Kú – other than His amanuensis and his brother

Upon His arrival in Máh-Kú, surnamed by Him Jabal-i-Básiṭ (the Open Mountain) no one was allowed to see Him for the first two weeks except His amanuensis, Siyyid Ḥusayn, and his brother. So grievous was His plight while in that fortress that, in the Persian Bayán, He Himself has stated that at night-time He did not even have a lighted lamp, and that His solitary chamber, constructed of sun-baked bricks, lacked even a door, while, in His Tablet to Muhammad Sháh, He has complained that the inmates of the fortress were confined to two guards and four dogs. . 

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

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’)