…most of the favoured ones of
God offered up their lives as martyrs in the field of sacrifice. He Who is the
resplendent Morn of divine guidance, the Exalted One [the Bab] sank below the
horizon of sacrifice. Quddus sought companionship with the Beloved through glorious
martyrdom. Mulla Husayn opened a new gate to the field of martyrdom. Vahid
distinguished himself as a peerless figure in the arena of sacrifice. Zanjani
[Hujjat] offered up his life as a martyr upon the plain of tribulation. The
King of Martyrs hastened forth to the place of sacrifice. The Beloved of
Martyrs was enraptured with ineffable gladness when he offered up his life for
the sake of God. Ashraf attained the heights of honour as he unflinchingly set
his face towards the arena of sacrifice. Badi, as he breathed his last,
exclaimed: 'Magnified be my Lord, the Most Glorious!' The martyrs of the land
of Ya [Yazd] drank their fill with relish from the draught of glorious
martyrdom, and the martyrs of Shiraz laid down their lives in the arena of ardent
love to the tune of sweet and wondrous melodies. Those massacred in the land of
Nayriz were inebriated with the brimful cup of sacrifice, and the martyrs of
Tabriz were seized with ecstatic joy and unleashed new energies in the field of
sacrifice. Those who renounced their lives in Mazandaran exclaimed: 'O Lord!
Destine for us this cup that brimmeth over with the choice wine'; while the
martyrs of Isfahan laid down their lives with utmost joy and radiance.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a
Tablet; compilation: ‘Fire and Light’, prepared by the Baha’i World Center; The
Baha’i World 1979-1983)
