Before Baha'u'llah
became a follower of the Báb, he had a home in the country, surrounded by many
acres of land, and a palace in the city of Tihran which had beautiful gardens
around it. To take care of all of this, many servants were needed, and one of
these was an African by the name of Isfandiyar. He was very happy to work for
Baha'u'llah and His family, and he did everything he could to please them. He was very fond of
the children -- 'Abdu'l-Baha, who was then about eight years old; Bahiyyih
Khanum, who was six; and the baby, Mirza Mihdi, who was only
two. He was also devoted to Asiyih Khanum, the children's beautiful young
mother.
When Baha’u’llah became known as a follower of the Báb, many
people who had pretended to be His friends, but who really envied Him, turned
against Him. They told the Shah that Baha’u’llah was his enemy, and that He was
secretly planning to become King Himself. Other people were against Baha’u’llah
because they thought that the teachings of the Báb were against their religion.
Finally Baha’u’llah was thrown into prison, although He had
done nothing to deserve it. His palace was broken into, and most of the
valuable furniture, rugs, pictures, and things were stolen. When this happened,
all the relatives of the family and all of the servants ran away, for fear they
might be attacked by the robbers, or that they might even be put into prison.
The only one who stayed to help Asiyih Khanum and the children was Baha’u’llah’s
brother, Mlrza Musa. He helped Asiyih Khanum to find a small house to rent in a
different part of the city, where Baha’u’llah’s enemies would not be likely to
find them, and they moved to it at night.
