Vahid, the great Shi’a cleric who had become a follower of the Bab, ascended the pulpit of the central mosque of the small town of Nayriz in the spring of 1850.
A great crowd gathered and was dumbfounded to hear that there was a new revelation from God and that the Bab was its Messenger. A great excitement spread. Each day that Vahid spoke in the mosque, the audiences grew larger.
The Great Mosque at Nayriz c. Selcuklu Belediyesi
The local governor feared this fervor and how it might affect his position. He recruited local tribesmen to begin attacking the new Babis in town. The first to be harmed was Mulla Abdul-Husayn Nayrizi, a man of great piety who had walked forty miles to meet Vahid and become a believer straightaway after hearing his message. He would be the first in a long line of Babi and Baha’i descendants.
Vahid decided to set up defense in the old unused fort outside of town. Days of sorties by Babis and counter-fire by the soldiers followed. The Babis were filled with a great sense of spiritual destiny.
Ft. Khajih outside of Nayriz
The siege settled into a stalemate which was ended only by the governor’s trickery. Vahid walked out and was taken prisoner. Mulla Abdu’l Husayn’s son was among those killed. Rather than grieve, though, he rejoiced because his beloved son was the greatest sacrifice he could give to the promised one of the age.
Vahid’s body was dragged through the streets and desecrated by mobs. His remains were surreptitiously gathered up and buried secretly.
The prisoners were marched to Shiraz in a gruesome procession that included the severed heads of Babis. The Babi families were broken up and dispersed.
The governor of Nayriz profited handsomely from the resulting pillage.