men's apartments; the
Governor came there, to the door, and he kicked and trampled her so
savagely that she fainted away. Then the Governor shouted to his wife:
"Princess! Princess! Come here and take a look at the Baha'is' Lady of
Light!"

The women lifted her up and put her in one of the rooms. Meanwhile her
brother, dumbfounded, was waiting outside the mansion. Finally, trying to
plead with him, he said to the Governor: "This sister of mine has been
beaten so severely that she is at the point of death. What is the use of
keeping her here? There is no hope for her now. With your permission I can
get her back to my house. It would be better to have her die there, rather
than here, for after all, she is a descendant of the Prophet, she is of
Muhammad's noble line, and she has done no wrong. There is nothing against
her except her kinship to the son-in-law." The Governor answered: "She is
one of the great leaders and heroines of the Baha'is. She will simply
cause another uproar." The brother said: "I promise you that she will not
utter a word. It is certain that within a few days she will not even be
alive. Her body is frail, weak, almost lifeless, and she has suffered
terrible harm."

Since the brother was greatly respected and trusted by high and low alike,
the Governor released _Sh_amsu'd-Duha in his custody, letting her go. She
lived for a while in his house, crying out, grieving, shedding her tears,
mourning her dead. Neither was the brother at peace, nor would the hostile
leave them alone; there was some new turmoil every day, and public clamor.
The brother finally thought it best to take _Sh_ams away on a pilgrimage
to Ma_sh_had, hoping that the fire of civil disturbances would die down.

They went to Ma_sh_had and settled in a vacant house near the Shrine of
the Imam Rida.(115)

Because he was such a pious man the brother would leave every morning to
visit the Shrine, and there he would stay, busy with his devotions until
almost noon. In the afternoon as well, he would hasten away to the Holy
Place, and pray until evening. The house being empty, _Sh_amsu'd-Duha
managed to get in touch with various women believers and began to
associate with them; and because the love of God burned so brightly in her
heart she was unable to keep silent, so that during those hours when her
brother was absent the place came alive. The Baha'i women would flock
there and absorb her lucid and eloquent speech.

In those days life i