es, they conveyed
Tahirih, _Sh_amsu'd-Duha and the Leaf to the house of the Mufti, and here
they remained three months until word as to their case was received from
Constantinople. During Tahirih's stay at the Mufti's, much of the time was
spent in conversations with him, in producing convincing proofs as to the
Teachings, analyzing and expounding questions relative to the Lord God,
discoursing on the Resurrection Day, on the Balance and the
Reckoning,(111) unraveling the complexities of inner truths.

One day the Mufti's father came in and belabored them violently and at
length. This somewhat discomfited the Mufti and he began to apologize for
his father. Then he said: "Your answer has arrived from Constantinople.
The Sovereign has set you free, but on condition that you quit his
realms." The next morning they left the Mufti's house and proceeded to the
public baths. Meanwhile _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad-i-_Sh_ibl and _Sh_ay_kh_
Sultan-i-'Arab made the necessary preparations for their journey, and when
three days had passed, they left Ba_gh_dad; that is, Tahirih,
_Sh_amsu'd-Duha, the Leaf of Paradise, the mother of Mirza Hadi, and a
number of Siyyids from Yazd set out for Persia. Their travel expenses were
all provided by _Sh_ay_kh_ Muhammad.

They arrived at Kirman_sh_ah, where the women took up residence in one
house, the men in another. The work of teaching went on at all times, and
as soon as the 'ulamas became aware of it they ordered that the party be
expelled. At this the district head, with a crowd of people, broke into
the house and carried off their belongings; then they seated the travelers
in open howdahs and drove them from the city. When they came to a field,
the muleteers set them down on the bare ground and left, taking animals
and howdahs away, leaving them without food or luggage, and with no roof
over their heads.

Tahirih thereupon wrote a letter to the Governor of Kirman_sh_ah. "We were
travelers," she wrote, "guests in your city. 'Honor thy guest,' the
Prophet says, 'though he be an unbeliever.' Is it right that a guest
should be thus scorned and despoiled?" The Governor ordered that the
stolen goods be restored, and that all be returned to the owners.
Accordingly the muleteers came back as well, seated the travelers in the
howdahs again, and they went on to Hamadan. The ladies of Hamadan, even
the princesses, came every day to meet with Tahirih, who remained in that
city two months.(112) There she dism