It would indeed be no exaggeration to say that nowhere in
the whole compass of the world’s religious literature, except in the Gospels,
do we find any record relating to the death of any of the religion-founders of
the past comparable to the martyrdom suffered by the Prophet of Shíráz.
So strange, so inexplicable a phenomenon, attested by eye-witnesses,
corroborated by men of recognized standing, and acknowledged by government as
well as unofficial historians among the people who had sworn undying hostility
to the Bábí Faith, may be truly regarded as the most marvelous manifestation of
the unique potentialities with which a Dispensation promised by all the
Dispensations of the past had been endowed.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)
