Mirza Muhammad-Husayn, King of Martyrs
Born: 1833
Death: 1879
Place of Birth: Isfahan, Iran
Location of Death: Isfahan, Iran
Burial Location: No cemetery details
Mirza Muhammad-Hasan, Beloved of Martyrs
Born: 1834/45
Death: 1879
Place of Birth: Isfahan, Iran
Location of Death: Isfahan, Iran
Burial Location: No cemetery details
Mirza Muhammad-Husayn and Mirza Muhammad-Hasan were given the titles Beloved of Martyrs and King of Martyrs by Bahá’u’lláh.
Mirza Muhammad-Husayn (Beloved of Martyrs) was the older brother by two years and Mirza Muhammad-Hasan (King of Martyrs) and (Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh), they also had a younger brother, Mirza Hasan. They were from Isfahan, wealthy and were successful tradesmen. The year of their births are an estimate as some document that they were 2 years apart or 1 year apart. So I based their birth on that and due to their documented age when they met the Báb and his declaration was in 1844.
But before I continue I want to share an amazing story that has to do with Munirih Khanum.
Their father, Mirza Ibrahim was appointed by the Imam Jum’ih to be the Báb’s host and to provide whatever the Báb may need. Mirza Ibrahim invited the Báb to dinner along with Mirza Sayyid Muhammad (Imam Jum’ih), Mir Muhammad Husayn (Mirza Ibrahim’s brother) (he was also instrumental in the martyrdom of his nephews) along with others you’ll learn about shortly. Mirza Ibrahim was not a Bahá’í at this time. [1]
The amazing beautifully displayed feast was of perfection. Such a feast was not even offered to the officials but this dinner for the Báb was grand. The Beloved of Martyrs and the King of Martyrs were approximately nine and eleven years old. They served the Báb and He paid special attention to them. During the dinner their father turned to the Báb and said, “My brother Mirza Muhammad-Ali has no child. I beg you to intercede in his behalf and to grant his heart’s desire.” The Báb took a portion of a sweet food he had been served and placed it on a platter and handed it to His host, asking him to take it to his sister-in-law. “Let them both partake of this and their wish will be fulfilled.” By this very act it so happened that she later gave birth to Munirih Khanum who married ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.[2]
Back to the brothers. They were very successful and had a trade network with the relatives of the Báb (the Afnan’s) who did trades from Hong Kong to Caucasus. The brothers were kind, selfless, and honest. They often fed the poor. They were very charitable.
Mirza Muhammad-Hasan (King of Martyrs) married Fatimih Begum, the daughter of Shamsu’d-Duha (a post about her appeared yesterday in my Facebook post). The brothers’ honesty caused a few to be greedy and one in particular was Shaykh Muhammad Baqir, an influential Islamic leader who delayed making payments and found a way to destroy the brothers and have them thrown into jail on the grounds that they were Bahá’ís.
After much back and forth, the orders of their execution arrived and these two brothers pleaded with one another to be first to be executed. The younger brother the King of Martyrs was the first to be beheaded followed immediately by the Beloved of the Martyrs. And if that wasn’t enough their feet were tied with ropes and they were dragged through the streets and later Mirza Hasan, their younger brother secretly buried them.[1]
Bahá’u’lláh gave them their names and wrote several tablets over the loss of these two brothers. Lawh-i-Burhan (Tablet of Proof) was addressed to Shaykh Muhammad Baqir, giving him the title of the Wolf, and Muhammad Husayn, the title of She-Serpent…these two along with the Governor of Isfahan were the three main conspirators against the brothers. If you recall the book, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, this was written for the son of Shaykh Muhammad Baqir.[3]
Source:
1 “The King and Beloved of Martyrs” peyman.info
2 “Some Early Pilgrims” penman.info
3 “The Bahá’í Faith in Iran” h-net.org
Images:
Baha’i World Centre Archives
