From: Baha’i Stories
One day the youthful Blessed Beauty [Baha'u'llah] was present
at a gathering convened by Mirza Nazar-'Ali, the Sufi murshid (spiritual guide)
who was more highly esteemed at the court of Muhammad Shah [the Persian
reigning monarch] than the prime minister himself, Haji Mirza Aqasi. The
discourse of Mirza Nazar-'Ali had developed to the point of claiming: 'I shall
be the last to hold the seat of mystical learning; the succession of great
occupants will end with me, for I have attained such a degree of resignation
that should Jesus Christ Himself suddenly appear in the doorway, it would cause
no change in my state.'
Everyone nodded and murmured assent except Baha'u'llah, Who
addressed the speaker: 'Jinab-i-Hakim, [your honor, the wise one] I shall ask
you a question, and I urge you to give a truthful reply. If, without your
consent, the curtain should be raised and the royal executioner enter, sword in
hand and advancing towards you, would this affect your composure?'
After a moment's reflection Mirza Nazar - 'Ali replied,
'Yes, it would affect me.'
‘In that case’, Baha’u’llah stated, ‘you should not have
made such a claim.’
(Recorded by Nabil; Stories of Baha’u’llah, compiled by
Ali-Akbar Furutan)
