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On the 8th of July, 1850, the Báb, deprived of His turban and sash, was taken on foot from the prison-fortress in Chihriq to the barracks in Tabríz, where He would again be confined. 

That day witnessed an enormous commotion in the city of Tabriz. As the Báb approached the courtyard of the barracks, a young follower of the Báb, Muhammad-Ali Zunuzi, suddenly leaped forward. Breathless and exhausted, he flung himself at the feet of the Báb and passionately implored to go with Him. 



“Muhammad-’Ali,” answered the Báb, “arise, and rest assured that you will be with Me. Tomorrow you shall witness what God has decreed.” The Báb bestowed upon him the name of Anis, meaning Companion.

Two other companions also rushed forward. These, together with Anis, were seized and placed in the same cell in which the Báb and His amenuensis, Siyyid Husayn, were confined. 

Early in the morning, the Báb was conducted into the presence of the leading mujtahids of the city to obtain the death warrant required for His execution. As the Báb was leaving the barracks, the Báb was asked a question by his Siyyid Husayn. The farrash-bashi, the head prison guard, interrupted and severely rebuked the amenuensis.

 The Báb addressed the farrash-bashi: “Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish to say, can any earthly power silence Me. Though all the world be armed against Me, yet shall they be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the last word My intention.”

 

The farrash-bashi delivered his Captive into the hands of Sam Khan, assuring him that he could proceed with his task. The young Anis Zunuzi begged to be allowed to remain with his Master. He was delivered into the hands of Sam Khan, who was ordered to execute him also.

 

Sam Khan, in the meantime, found himself increasingly affected by the treatment that had been meted out to His gentle prisoner. He was seized with great fear lest his action should bring upon him the wrath of God. “I profess the Christian Faith,” he explained to the Báb, “and entertain no ill will against you. If your Cause be the Cause of Truth, enable me to free myself from the obligation to shed your blood.”

 

“Follow your instructions,” the Báb replied, “and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you from your perplexity.”

 

There had crowded onto the roof of the barracks, as well as the tops of the adjoining houses, about ten thousand people, all of whom were witnesses to the sad and moving scene that followed.

 

The Báb and His companion were suspended together to await their execution. As soon as they were fastened, a regiment of soldiers ranged itself in three files of two hundred and fifty men, each of which was ordered to open fire in turn until the whole detachment had discharged their guns. The smoke of the firing of the seven hundred and fifty rifles was such as to turn the light of the noonday sun into darkness. 

 

As soon as the cloud of smoke had cleared away, an astounded multitude looked upon a scene which their eyes could scarcely believe. Standing before them alive and unhurt was the companion of the Báb, although the Báb Himself had vanished from their sight. The cords with which they were suspended had been rent in pieces by the bullets. 

 

They set out in a frenzied search for the Báb, and found Him seated in the same room which He had occupied the night before, engaged in completing His interrupted conversation with Siyyid Husayn. An expression of unruffled calm was upon His face. His body had emerged unscathed from the shower of bullets which the regiment had directed against Him.

 

“I have finished My conversation with Siyyid Husayn,” the Báb told the farrash-bashi. “Now you may proceed to fulfill your intention.”

 

The man was too much shaken to resume what he had already attempted. He, that same moment, left that scene and resigned his post. Sam Khan was likewise stunned. He ordered his men to leave the barracks immediately, and refused ever again to associate himself and his regiment with any act that involved the least injury to the Báb. 

 

Another regiment was called to carry out the order for execution. On the same wall and in the same manner, the Báb and His companion were again suspended, while the regiment formed its lines. This time their bodies were shattered and blended into one mass of mingled flesh and bone. Surprisingly, their faces were untouched.

 

“Had you believed in Me. O wayward generation,” were the last words of the Báb to the gazing multitude as the regiment was preparing to fire, “every one of you would have followed the example of this youth, who stood in rank above most of you, and willingly would have sacrificed himself in My path. The day will come when you will have recognized Me; that day I shall have ceased to be with you.”

 

The very moment the shots were fired a gale of exceptional severity arose and swept over the whole city. A whirlwind of dust of incredible density obscured the light of the sun and blinded the eyes of the people. The entire city remained enveloped in that darkness from noon till night. 

The bodies of the Báb and his companion were thrown into a moat at the outskirts of the city. During the night they were secretly recovered by His followers. For many years the bodies were hidden, until a befitting final resting place could be found.

'Abdu'l-Baha, the son of Bahá’u’lláh, the Messenger foretold by the Báb, was finally able to lay to rest the mortal remains of the Báb on Naw-Ruz in 1909. 'Abdu'l-Baha personally placed the precious trust in its place in a building he had had constructed on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.

Today, the Shrine of the Báb is one of the most holy places in the Bahá’í world.

The story of the Báb by William Sears: Release the Sun (book, online, 238 pp.)

Film about the Báb: The Gate, Dawn of the Bahá’í Faith, (2018, 60 min.)

Video, The Martyrdom of the Báb (6:38 min.)

Video, Anis Zunuzi by Houri Skuce (62 min.) Transcript (13 pp.)

Film, Dawn of the Light, the Bahá’í Faith (2020, 48 min.)