Nabil, in The Dawn-Breakers, describes the encounter that took place in Najaf between Mulla Aliy-i-Bastami, one of the Letters of the Living, and Shaykh Muhammad-Hasan. During the meeting, Mulla Ali announced the manifestation of the Bab and extolled the potency of His Revelation. At the instigation of the shaykh, Mulla Ali was forthwith pronounced a heretic and expelled from the assembly. He was put on trial, transported to Istanbul, and condemned to hard labour. (243:1)

179. a sifter of wheat and barley
This is an allusion to Mulla Muhammad Ja'far Gandum-Pak-Kun, the first person in Isfahan to accept the Faith of the Bab. He is mentioned in the Persian Bayan and praised as one who "donned the robe of discipleship". In The Dawn-Breakers, Nabil describes the unreserved acceptance of the Message by the "sifter of wheat" and his zealous advocacy of the new Revelation. He joined the company of the defenders of the Fort of Shaykh Tabarsi and perished during that siege. (243:2)

180. Take heed lest the word "Prophet" withhold you from this Most Great Announcement
Baha'u'llah cautions people "of insight" not to allow their interpretations of the Holy Scriptures to prevent them from recognizing the Manifestation of God. Followers of each religion have tended to allow their devotion to its Founder to cause them to perceive His Revelation as the final Word of God and to deny the possibility of the appearance of any subsequent Prophet. This has been the case of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Baha'u'llah denies the validity of this concept of finality both in relation to past Dispensations and to His own. With regard to Muslims, He wrote in the Kitab-i-Iqan that the "people of the Qur'an ... have allowed the words 'Seal of the Prophets' to veil their eyes", "to obscure their understanding, and deprive them of the grace of all His manifold bounties". He affirms that "this theme hath ... been a sore test unto all mankind", and laments the fate of "those who, clinging unto these words, have disbelieved in Him Who is their true Revealer". The Bab refers to this same theme when He warns: "Let not names shut you out as by a veil from Him Who is their Lord, even the name Prophet, for such a name is but a creation of His utterance." (243:3)

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