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With such overwhelming testimonies establishing beyond the shadow of a doubt the non- complicity of Baha'u'llah, the Grand Vizir, after having secured the reluctant consent of his sovereign to set free his Captive, was now in a position to dispatch his trusted representative, Haji Ali, to the Siyah- Chal, instructing him to deliver to Baha'u'llah the order for His release. The sight which that emissary beheld upon his arrival evoked in him such anger that he cursed his master for the shameful treatment of a man of such high position and stainless renown. Removing his mantle from his shoulders he presented it to Baha'u'llah, entreating Him to wear it when in the presence of the Minister and his counsellors, a request which He emphatically refused, preferring to appear, attired in the garb of a prisoner, before the members of the Imperial government. (105:1) No sooner had He presented Himself before them than the Grand Vizir addressed Him saying: "Had you chosen to take my advice, and had you dissociated yourself from the Faith of the Siyyid- i- Bab, you would never have suffered the pains and indignities that have been heaped upon you." "Had you, in your turn," Baha'u'llah retorted, "followed My counsels, the affairs of the government would not have reached so critical a stage." Mirza Aqa Khan was thereupon reminded of the conversation he had had with Him on the occasion of the Bab's martyrdom, when he had been warned that "the flame that has been kindled will blaze forth more fiercely than ever." "What is it that you advise me now to do?" he inquired from Baha'u'llah. "Command the governors of the realm," was the instant reply, "to cease shedding the blood of the innocent, to cease plundering their property, to cease dishonoring their women, and injuring their children." That same day the Grand Vizir acted on the advice thus given him; but any effect it had, as the course of subsequent events amply demonstrated, proved to be momentary and negligible. (105:2) The relative peace and tranquillity accorded Baha'u'llah after His tragic and cruel imprisonment was destined, by the dictates of an unerring Wisdom, to be of an extremely short duration. He had hardly rejoined His family and kindred when a decree from Nasiri'd- Din Shah was communicated to Him, bidding Him leave the territory of Persia, fixing a time- limit of one month for His departure and allowing Him the right to choose the land of His exile.
(105:3)
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