In April, 1848, the authorities moved the Bab moved to an even more remote prison fortress in northwestern Iran, Chihriq, which He called the “Grievous Mountain”. Soon the officer in charge, the local people, and the important clerics in the region were moved by the Bab’s holiness.
A seeker travelled all the way from India after having seen Him in a dream.
The authorities decided that the Bab had to be put on trial. All along the road, the Bab’s presence generated excitement as stories of his miraculous deeds were spread among the people. The most prominent clerics in the area and the future King gathered to question the Bab.
The Bab entered and sat in the seat of honor. When questioned about His claim, he answered:
“I am, I am, I am, the Promised One! I am the One whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at whose mention you have risen, whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten.”
The astonished clerics responded with a series of very specific questions on obscure issues not related to the Bab’s claims. A cleric asked that he describe the trial in Qur’anic language, and just as the Bab began to do so, he was cut off by his questioner who mocked him His highly unconventional Arabic.
At that point the Bab uttered the Qur’anic verse, “Far be the glory of thy Lord, the Lord of all greatness, from what they impute to Him, and peace be upon His Apostles!” He then got up and walked out of the trial which descended into chaos.
Both the Bab and Jesus were put on trial. Both proclaimed the Kingdom of God. Both possessed extraordinary wisdom as youth. Both had brief and turbulent ministries. Both were transfigured. Both were executed. Both gave a mission to their apostles.
Jesus’s commission to His Apostles:
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
The Bab’s address to the Letters of the Living:
“O My beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery.… Ponder the words of Jesus addressed to His disciples, as He sent them forth to propagate the Cause of God. In words such as these, He bade them arise and fulfil their mission: ‘Ye are even as the fire which in the darkness of the night has been kindled upon the mountain-top. Let your light shine before the eyes of men. …..’ O My Letters! Verily I say, immensely exalted is this Day above the days of the Apostles of old….. You are the first Letters that have been generated from the Primal Point, the first Springs that have welled out from the Source of this Revelation. Beseech the Lord your God to grant that no earthly entanglements, no worldly affections, no ephemeral pursuits, may tarnish the purity, or embitter the sweetness, of that grace which flows through you. I am preparing you for the advent of a mighty Day. Exert your utmost endeavour that, in the world to come, I, who am now instructing you, may, before the mercy-seat of God, rejoice in your deeds and glory in your achievements. The secret of the Day that is to come is now concealed. It can neither be divulged nor estimated. The newly born babe of that Day excels the wisest and most venerable men of this time, and the lowliest and most unlearned of that period shall surpass in understanding the most erudite and accomplished divines of this age. Scatter throughout the length and breadth of this land, and, with steadfast feet and sanctified hearts, prepare the way for His coming. Heed not your weaknesses and frailty; fix your gaze upon the invincible power of the Lord, your God, the Almighty....’
Click below for photographs of Chihriq and a video on the life of the historical Jesus (the Jerusalem period begins @ 39:30)
