Suppose you and I had been born in Persia more than a
hundred years ago. Suppose we had grown up as Muslim children, hearing the
beautiful words of the Qur'an. Suppose we were playing with our cousins and
friends, learning to wash before prayers, turning toward Mecca, bowing our
heads to the ground on our own prayer rugs. Suppose we were content.
Then we heard about a young Man. This young Man spoke with
such power and with such love that our parents took us to listen to Him. When
we heard His voice and saw His tender young face, would we see that He had come
to change the world?
Suppose the people in our neighborhood were afraid of this
young Man, Who called Himself the Báb, which means the ‘Gate’. Suppose we heard
shouting from groups of people outside the walls of our home “We are going to
find Bábís and drag them through the streets!" What would we feel? Would
we want to be part of the small group of devoted Bábís?
Maybe we could get a better idea if we could get a glimpse
of what people saw when they actually met the Báb. Here are three stories about
the Báb in the words of those who loved Him when He was a child and a grown
Man.
