f
Siyyid Kazim-i-Ra_sh_ti; the "Lawh-i-Madinatu't-Tawhid" (Tablet of the
City of Unity); the "Sahifiy-i-_Sh_attiyyih"; the
"Musibat-i-Hurufat-i-'Aliyat"; the "Tafsir-i-Hu"; the "Javahiru'l-'Asrar"
and a host of other writings, in the form of epistles, odes, homilies,
specific Tablets, commentaries and prayers, contributed, each in its own
way, to swell the "rivers of everlasting life" which poured forth from the
"Abode of Peace" and lent a mighty impetus to the expansion of the Bab's
Faith in both Persia and 'Iraq, quickening the souls and transforming the
character of its adherents.

The undeniable evidences of the range and magnificence of Baha'u'llah's
rising power; His rapidly waxing prestige; the miraculous transformation
which, by precept and example, He had effected in the outlook and
character of His companions from Ba_gh_dad to the remotest towns and
hamlets in Persia; the consuming love for Him that glowed in their bosoms;
the prodigious volume of writings that streamed day and night from His
pen, could not fail to fan into flame the animosity which smouldered in
the breasts of His _Sh_i'ah and Sunni enemies. Now that His residence was
transferred to the vicinity of the strongholds of _Sh_i'ah Islam, and He
Himself brought into direct and almost daily contact with the fanatical
pilgrims who thronged the holy places of Najaf, Karbila and Kazimayn, a
trial of strength between the growing brilliance of His glory and the dark
and embattled forces of religious fanaticism could no longer be delayed. A
spark was all that was required to ignite this combustible material of all
the accumulated hatreds, fears and jealousies which the revived activities
of the Babis had inspired. This was provided by a certain _Sh_ay_kh_
'Abdu'l-Husayn, a crafty and obstinate priest, whose consuming jealousy of
Baha'u'llah was surpassed only by his capacity to stir up mischief both
among those of high degree and also amongst the lowest of the low, Arab or
Persian, who thronged the streets and markets of Kazimayn, Karbila and
Ba_gh_dad. He it was whom Baha'u'llah had stigmatized in His Tablets by
such epithets as the "scoundrel," the "schemer," the "wicked one," who
"drew the sword of his self against the face of God," "in whose soul Satan
hath whispered," and "from whose impiety Satan flies," the "depraved one,"
"from whom originated and to whom will return all infidelity, cruelty and
crime." Largely through the efforts of the Grand Vizir