Another terrible Tablet of Baha’u’llah I wish to nominate is the Lawh-i Istintáq, also known as the Tablet of Inquisition. The reasons are more serious and macabre than for other tablets discussed.
The tablet deals with the murder of 3 Azali’s (Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani, Aqa Jan Kaj-Kulah and Mirza Rida-Quli Tafrishi) in Akka by a gang of 7 Baha’is — the intimate companions of Baha’u’llah — shortly after their arrival in Akka.
What’s striking about this Tablet is that despite all the posturing by Baha’is about this situation, and the suggestion that the 7 Baha’is were not under Baha’u’llah’s explicit or implied instruction to commit a triple homicide, Baha’u’llah actually outed himself with this verse: –
“Verily the Mute [al-akhras, Isfahani] called himself ‘Quddus’ and hath claimed what the Evil Whisperer (al-khannas) claimed for himself. The other one [Aqá Ján] called himself the ‘Sword of Truth’ (sayfu’l-haqq);; he said: ‘I, verily, am the conqueror of the cities’. God hath sent the one who hath smitten upon his mouth, so that all may firmly believe that through this Satan’s tail hath been cut off by the sword of the Merciful (sayfu’r-rahmán).”
– Baha’u’llah, Lawh-i Istintáq
Clearly, Baha’u’llah was pleased and believed they got what they deserved. This is further evidence that Baha’u’llah was at the very least complicit in serious criminal behaviour throughout his life. He deserved every minute of his jail time and exile and deserved far worse treatment than he actually received.
This is another tablet that Baha’is are ashamed to translate and distribute.
The story of the murder of Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahani, Aqa Jan-i-Kaj-Kulah, and Mirza Rida-Quliy-i-Tafrishi by a group of 7 Bahai’s in Akka is well-documented in Baha’i history (e.g. Baha’u’llah: The King of Glory by Hasan M. Balyuzi)
We know that Baha’u’llah denied wrongdoing, and publicly denounced the murders, but in the Tablet of Interrogation he clearly states that the three murdered men deserved it (See above)
Here, I’ve asked ChatGPT for its opinion on this situation and on the moral implications of Baha’u’llah’s writings:
https://bahaism.blogspot.com
