life. To know and love God, to mirror forth His attributes and to prepare
the way for His coming Manifestation--these were the sole aim and object of
His being. For Him life had no terrors and death no sting, for love had
cast out fear, and martyrdom itself was but the rapture of casting His all
at the feet of His Beloved.

Strange! that this pure and beautiful soul, this inspired teacher of
Divine Truth, this devoted lover of God and of His fellowmen should be so
hated, and done to death by the professedly religious of His day! Surely
nothing but unthinking or willful prejudice could blind men to the fact
that here was indeed a Prophet, a Holy Messenger of God. Worldly greatness
and glory He had none, but how can spiritual Power and Dominion be proved
except by the ability to dispense with all earthly assistance, and to
triumph over all earthly opposition, even the most potent and virulent?
How can Divine Love be demonstrated to an unbelieving world save by its
capacity to endure to the uttermost the blows of calamity and darts of
affliction, the hated of enemies and the treachery of seeming friends, to
rise serene above all these and, undismayed and unembittered, still to
forgive and bless?

The Bab has endured and the Bab has triumphed. Thousands have testified to
the sincerity of their love for Him by sacrificing their lives and their
all in His service. Kings might well envy His power over men's hearts and
lives. Moreover, "He Whom the Lord shall make manifest" has appeared, has
confirmed the claims and accepted the devotion of His forerunner, and made
Him partaker of His Glory.

CHAPTER 3: BAHA'U'LLAH: THE GLORY OF GOD

O thou who art waiting, tarry no longer, for He is come. Behold His
Tabernacle and His Glory dwelling therein. It is the Ancient Glory, with a
new Manifestation.--BAHA'U'LLAH.

Birth and Early Life

Mirza Husayn 'Ali, Who afterwards assumed the title of Baha'u'llah (i.e.
Glory of God), was the eldest son of Mirza Abbas of Nur, a Vazir or
Minister of State. His family was wealthy and distinguished, many of its
members having occupied important positions in the Government and in the
Civil and Military Services of Persia. He was born in Tihran (Teheran),
the capital city of Persia, between dawn and sunrise on the 12th of
November, 1817.(11) He never attended school or college, and what little
teaching He received was given at home. Nevertheless, even as a child He
showed wonder