Pilgrimage Day 8: A Most Sacred Trust

"When all was finished, and the earthly remains of the Martyr-Prophet of Shiraz were, at long last, safely deposited for their everlasting rest in the bosom of God's holy mountain, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who had cast aside His turban, removed His shoes and thrown off His cloak, bent low over the still open sarcophagus, His silver hair waving about His head and His face transfigured and luminous, rested His forehead on the border of the wooden casket, and, sobbing aloud, wept with such a weeping that all those who were present wept with Him. That night He could not sleep, so overwhelmed was He with emotion. 'The most joyful tidings is this,' He wrote later in a Tablet announcing to His followers the news of this glorious victory, 'that the holy, the luminous body of the Báb...after having for sixty years been transferred from place to place, by reason of the ascendancy of the enemy, and from fear of the malevolent, and having known neither rest nor tranquillity has, through the mercy of the Abha Beauty, been ceremoniously deposited, on the day of Naw-Ruz, within the sacred casket, in the exalted Shrine on Mt. Carmel..." - Adib Taherzadeh

On the day His blessed life was stolen

Darkness obscured the skies

A gale of dust stole sight from all eyes

The world itself mourned His unjust demise

Anis, His pure and devoted servant

Gave his life to stand by His side

Glorious the manner in which he died

His head on the breast of his loving Guide

Their remains were thrown outside the city

Their bodies mingled into one

Their faces reflecting the Bountiful Sun

Their journey to burial barely begun

The authorities, wishing to quench the Faith’s flame

Protected the bodies from sight

But still they were stolen in the dead of night

By the lovers of His magnificent light

For sixty long years they journeyed far

The hands of His servants protecting this treasure

Their sacrifices and risks impossible to measure

This hidden mystery their deepest pleasure

Until at last the bodies of these blessed souls

Reached their final resting place

Abdu’l-Bahá with tears streaming down His face

Laid Them to rest under the dome of God’s Grace

The commitment and devotion of these few special souls

Is a blessing and bounty given to this world

For though into the path of danger they were hurled

Their actions saw the banner of our Faith unfurled

Lamp outside Abdu'llah Pasha in which the remains of the Bab were kept
hidden for a number of years.