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The Persian Ambassador promptly informed the Persian consuls in Iraq and Egypt that the Turkish government had withdrawn its protection from the Babis, and that they were free to treat them as they pleased. Several pilgrims, among whom was Haji Muhammad Isma'il- i- Kashani, surnamed Anis in the Lawh- i- Ra'is, had, in the meantime, arrived in Adrianople, and had to depart to Gallipoli, without even beholding the face of their Master. Two of the companions were forced to divorce their wives, as their relatives refused to allow them to go into exile. Khurshid Pasha, who had already several times categorically denied the written accusations sent him by the authorities in Constantinople, and had interceded vigorously on behalf of Baha'u'llah, was so embarrassed by the action of his government that he decided to absent himself when informed of His immediate departure from the city, and instructed the Registrar to convey to Him the purport of the Sultan's edict. Haji Ja'far- i- Tabrizi, one of the believers, finding that his name had been omitted from the list of the exiles who might accompany Baha'u'llah, cut his throat with a razor, but was prevented in time from ending his life-- an act which Baha'u'llah, in the Suriy- i- Ra'is, characterizes as "unheard of in bygone centuries," and which "God hath set apart for this Revelation, as an evidence of the power of His might." (180:1) On the twenty- second of the month of Rabi'u'th- Thani 1285 A.H. (August 12, 1868) Baha'u'llah and His family, escorted by a Turkish captain, Hasan Effendi by name, and other soldiers appointed by the local government, set out on their four- day journey to Gallipoli, riding in carriages and stopping on their way at Uzun- Kupru and Kashanih, at which latter place the Suriy- i- Ra'is was revealed. "The inhabitants of the quarter in which Baha'u'llah had been living, and the neighbors who had gathered to bid Him farewell, came one after the other," writes an eye- witness, "with the utmost sadness and regret to kiss His hands and the hem of His robe, expressing meanwhile their sorrow at His departure. That day, too, was a strange day. Methinks the city, its walls and its gates bemoaned their imminent separation from Him." "On that day," writes another eye- witness, "there was a wonderful concourse of Muslims and Christians at the door of our Master's house. The hour of departure was a memorable one. Most of those present were weeping and wailing, especially the Christians." "Say," Baha'u'llah Himself declares in the Suriy- i- Ra'is, "this Youth hath departed out of this country and deposited beneath every tree and every stone a trust, which God will erelong bring forth through the power of truth."
(180:2)
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