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Not long after Baha'u'llah's arrival in Kurdistan, Shaykh Sultan has related, He was able, through His personal contacts with Shaykh Uthman, Shaykh Abdu'r- Rahman, and Shaykh Isma'il, the honored and undisputed leaders of the Naqshbandiyyih, the Qadiriyyih and the Khalidiyyih Orders respectively, to win their hearts completely and establish His ascendancy over them. The first of these, Shaykh Uthman, included no less a person than the Sultan himself and his entourage among his adherents. The second, in reply to whose query the "Four Valleys" was later revealed, commanded the unwavering allegiance of at least a hundred thousand devout followers, while the third was held in such veneration by his supporters that they regarded him as co- equal with Khalid himself, the founder of the Order. (122:1) When Baha'u'llah arrived in Sulaymaniyyih none at first, owing to the strict silence and reserve He maintained, suspected Him of being possessed of any learning or wisdom. It was only accidentally, through seeing a specimen of His exquisite penmanship shown to them by one of the students who waited upon Him, that the curiosity of the learned instructors and students of that seminary was aroused, and they were impelled to approach Him and test the degree of His knowledge and the extent of His familiarity with the arts and sciences current amongst them. That seat of learning had been renowned for its vast endowments, its numerous takyihs, and its association with Salahi'd- Din- i- Ayyubi and his descendants; from it some of the most illustrious exponents of Sunni Islam had gone forth to teach its precepts, and now a delegation, headed by Shaykh Isma'il himself, and consisting of its most eminent doctors and most distinguished students, called upon Baha'u'llah, and, finding Him willing to reply to any questions they might wish to address Him, they requested Him to elucidate for them, in the course of several interviews, the abstruse passages contained in the Futuhat- i- Makkiyyih, the celebrated work of the famous Shaykh Muhyi'd- Din- i- 'Arabi. "God is My witness," was Baha'u'llah's instant reply to the learned delegation, "that I have never seen the book you refer to. I regard, however, through the power of God, ... whatever you wish me to do as easy of accomplishment." Directing one of them to read aloud to Him, every day, a page of that book, He was able to resolve their perplexities in so amazing a fashion that they were lost in admiration. Not contenting Himself with a mere clarification of the obscure passages of the text, He would interpret for them the mind of its author, and expound his doctrine, and unfold his purpose. At times He would even go so far as to question the soundness of certain views propounded in that book, and would Himself vouchsafe a correct presentation of the issues that had been misunderstood, and would support it with proofs and evidences that were wholly convincing to His listeners.
(122:2)
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