A letter from a Baha’i family in Shiraz
December 18th, 2007Baha’i human rights are practically non-existent in Iran. In the Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights we actively tackle these issues and condemn them. Recently we have received a copy of a letter in Farsi from a Baha’i family in Shiraz whose son has been in imprisoned. It’s important that this letter gets circulated so that people understand what Baha’is in Iran are going through. Omid G who is also a staff member at Mideast Youth helped spread the word by translating this from Farsi:
O God, what can I write? Who can I write to? What recourse have I? I have no one but you, I have no helper except you. I am helpless in every way. All I have is to seek your protection, to beg for your help. You are my helper. You are the All-Knowing and are aware of what is in every heart. By your own Lordship, ordain whatever you know to be best for these dear prisoners whose only crime has been serving the human race and those who are in need. I am a father who rises early every morning and with a hopeful heart, goes to visit the holy places to pray for the safety and release of these precious prisoners and to pray for all of humanity. I beg Him to grant perseverance to my family and I and to all other families who have loved ones that have been imprisoned for the crime of serving humanity. I beg Him to grant these loved ones strength and perseverance to get through this divine test with pride. O God, as I write this letter, my son’s picture is before me and I am thinking of what two other families, like me, are going through and how concerned they must be for their loved ones. What can we do? We must be content with the good-pleasure of God. Let me say a few words about my son, Sasan. According to everyone, he was one of the most lovable individuals in this community, always sharing in the joys and sorrows of others, a friend and mentor to other youth his age, and always eager to help others in their time of need in any way possible.
It’s me. A mother. A mother to who God gave three children, Sasan being my oldest son. I want to write about the day that God gave me Sasan. Before Sasan was born, two of my previous children had died of illnesses. The day Sasan was born, I placed him in the care of God. When his uncle read the verse (the prayer that is recited into the ears of newborn babies) into Sasan’s ear, I made an oath to raise him in such a way that he will follow only the right path. After Sasan, God gave me two daughters who I raised in the same way. Ever since he was a child, Sasan was a lovable boy. In the early years of the revolution, when they expelled all the children from school, Sasan was likewise expelled. His teachers loved him so much that they wept for him. As he grew older, the love and attraction those around him had for him increased. He grew more sincere, more selfless. Every night, well into the late hours, he would serve and look after the youth his age and others in the community with the most tender-care.
I would sit at home waiting for him to return, counting the minutes. As soon as I heard the door, I would warm up his food. How many a night did I stay up late waiting for him to put his key in the door and say, ‘Mom, Dad, I’m home.’ Its now 16 days that my son has been sitting alone in the corner of a prison cell in these autumn nights while his father, sister and I wait eagerly for him to return. Lord, are service, being kind, and caring for others a crime? Do his father and I deserve in our old age to sit in anticipation of him to return to us? Every day, we count the seconds until Tuesday when we can see our son for 4-5 minutes from behind a glass. God, at this age, I long to see my son wearing a tuxedo, but alas, he is wearing a prison uniform—a uniform with the scales of justice on it, but alas, these are the scales of injustice, not justice. O God, hear my cry for help and release my son. Bring back those nights when I would stay up late eagerly waiting for him for return.
We are Sasan’s sisters, one 3 years younger and the other 6 years younger than him. However, neither our age difference—nor even our gender difference—has ever posed an obstacle in our relationship with Sasan. Each of us loves Sasan in her own special way. I am the older sister. Prior to my marriage, Sasan would help me in every way and take care of me. After my marriage, he would continue to help me in every way as before. He loves my husband like a brother. He does everything in his power for me. If I were to write about it all, this letter would become too long. I will hand the pen over to my younger sister, who misses him more than anyone else these days. She also performed some of the same services that Sasan was rendering.
I am the younger sister. I was also imprisoned for a week and know the kind of place that prison is. God only knows how close I am to Sasan. If I ever sensed that Sasan was sad or upset, I too became upset. I wouldn’t sleep at night until Sasan returned home. I’d call him more than three times a day on his phone. But, it has now been some time since we heard his voice, his laughter, his jokes here at home. At night, I sit and wait hoping that he will return at some late hour. But when I see his picture, I remember that he is in prison because of his convictions, because of his country, because of his countrymen. I sometimes cry, I cry from missing him, but I also yearn, I yearn for the innocent youth who are imprisoned for their country. God help me because I feel that the load of responsibility that Sasan had taken on his shoulders is now being placed on mine since my older sister is married and lives far from us. Lord, grant patience to my father and mother so they may witness their children’s success with their own eyes. O God, every day, I stretch out my arms to you and pray to you to administer justice to them. Be their shield and protector. As I write these words, my mother has been staring at Sasan’s picture. She says nothing. My father recites prayers under his breath. Whatever you have decreed Lord is certainly what is best. Have mercy on these three families and grant them strength and perseverance.
More information on Baha’i human rights abuses within Iran is available here.
Loading ...
Loading...
The verse that is read in newborn Baha’is ear’s is this:
“Verily, thou hast come by the command of God! Thou hast appeared to speak of Him and thou hast been created to serve Him Who is the Dear, the Beloved!”
It could very well be suitable for a Jew, Christian, Muslim.
It is but one story we have read tonight and I may add, probably at great risk of the family who wrote it.
350,000 more stories like this…
About the name “Sasan”
The ancestry of Bahá‘u‘lláh reaches back to the dynasties of ancient Persia. One of the most meaningful lines of descent to students of the Bible comes from the marriage of King Cyrus of Persia to a woman named Rahab, who was a descendant of King David of Judah. Bahá’u’lláh’s relationship to this marriage is through their son, Sásán, the patriarchal ancestor of the Sásánian dynasty of Persian kings.
Hasan Balyuzí, the eminent historian of Bahá’u’lláh’s life, wrote: “It is to Yazdigird III, the last Sásánian monarch to occupy the throne of Irán, that the genealogy of Bahá’u’lláh can be traced…”
Balyuzí substantiated this statement that Bahá’u’lláh was a descendant of Sásániam kings by citing the results of the research of Mírzá Abd’l-Fadl, and eminent Bahá’í teacher and scholar:
“Mirza Abu’l-Fadl writes that he was, in the course of his investigation, particularly impressed by the fact that so severe and unsympathetic a critic of the Bahá’í Faith…as Ridá-Qulí Khan-i-Hidáyat…had admitted in (The Book of Ancestry), that the Núrís of Mázindarán are descended from Chosroes I, the renowned Sásánian monarch known as ‘Adil (The Just). And final confirmation came from Hají Mírzá Rida-Qulí, a half-brother of Bahá’u’lláh, who told Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl categorically, in answer to his query, that the Núrís possessed a genealogical table tracing their line back to Yazdigird the Sásánian.”
Among the genealogies published by the meticulous Muslim historian at-Tabarí in his comprehensive history of prophets and kings was that of the Sásánian dynasty of Persian kings. It traced their lineage back to Sásán the Great, son of the legendary Persian king, Bahman, and then further back to King Lohrásb, who lived shortly before the time of the Prophet Zoroaster:
“Firúz, son of Yazdigird, son of Bahrám, son of Yazdigird, son of Shápúr, son of Hormuz, son of Narsí, son of Bahrám, son of Hormuz, son of Shápur, son of Ardashír, son of Bábak, son of Sásán I, son of Bahman, son of Isfandiyar, son of Gushtásb, son of Lohrásb.” ~ from The Ancestry of Bahá’u’lláh, by Phil Turner, from The Greater Covenant in the Bible: A Study Guide
Aside from that which is a matter of record in Persian histories, it is stated in the Old Testament — established today, among all European peoples, as a sacred and canonical Text — that in the time of Cyrus, called in Iranian works Bahman son of Isfandiyar, the three hundred and sixty divisions of the Persian Empire extended from the inner confines of India and China to the farthermost reaches of Yemen and Ethiopia. (Abdu’l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 7)
Elsewhere in his history, at-Tabarí spoke of the mother of Sásán. He described her as a descendant of the kings of Judah:
“The mother of Bahman’s son was the slave Rahab bint Pinchas, of the children of Rehoboam b. Solomon b. David. Bahman appointed Rahab’s brother Zerubabel b. Shealtiel king over the Israelites, transferred to him the office of the exilarch, and returned him to Palestine, upon Rahab’s request. Bahman died and left (the following) offspring: two sons, Darius the Great and Sásán, and daughters Khumani, who ruled after him, and Franik and Bahman Dukht.”
The circumstances of Zerubbabel’s appointment described above identify Bahman unmistakably. The Persian king who appointed Zerubabbel and ordered his return to Jerusalem was Cyrus the Great, according to chapters 1 and 2 of the book of Ezra. A Christian historian of a later period confirmed the veracity of at-Tabarí’s statement. Bar-Hebraeus (Arabic Ibn al-‘Ibrí), who became the assistant patriarch of the Eastern Jacobite Church in the city of Marágheh is Adhirbáyján in 1264 AD, left this record:
“Cyrus the Persian reigned thirty-one years, and conquered Iraq, Khurásán, Armenia, Syria and Palestine, and invaded India, killing their king. This Cyrus married the sister of Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, son of Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, the king of Judah. And after he married her, she became highly esteemed in his sight, and he said to her, ‘Ask of me whatever you want,’ so she asked for the return of the children of Israel to Jerusalem and that he grant them permission to rebuild it…And because of the mixing of Cyrus with the offspring of David, Isaiah the prophet said of him before he was born, ‘God said to his anointed one, Cyrus, by whose right had I have been strengthened…”[See Isaiah 45:1]
~ from The Ancestry of Bahá’u’lláh, by Phil Turner, from The Greater Covenant in the Bible: A Study Guide
I almost fell off the chair laughing… India was born in 1947. Didn’t realize Cyrus invaded India after 1957 >.>
Ohh during Cyrus’ time, there were HUNDREDS of kingdoms in South Asia… Cyrus invaded few of them -.-… I wonder what other parts of this spam is factual…
You know he was talking about moguls and their little fiefdoms.
Moguls weren’t around when Cyrus was alive, South Asia was scattered with small kingdoms and tribal nations. It was 1500 year after Cyrus that the Mughal Empire was established.
Correction… 2000 years after Cyrus that the Mughal Empire was established…. I am assuming that around 500 BC is when Cyrus lived… right? Moghal Empire existed from 1520s-1850s.
“potato” “patato” So the point is, I think the term India was used just like Iraq, Armenia and Iran are used…using modern terminology to describe historic regions.
Jina,
Honestly, you bring up a good point. It is an important distinction to make between ancient and modern terms. However, Omid is also right. You did it in a sarcastic and petty way. Also, you refer to that previous message as spam, which, by all definitions, it clearly is not. We all make reference in errors. There is no need to be rude about it.
No, Iraq is generally refers to as Mesopotamia/Babylon etc in history books and Iran as Persia when the ancient world is the context. So find another potato example…
And defending that error is more annoying than actually making it. Spam…
I wasn’t being sarcastic or petty, I was getting annoyed by the typical ignorance exhibited by people.
Yet again the original post is lost in pointless ego raves…
I would say the person who keep defending a mistake would be the one with ego.
Is that how many Baha’is there are in Iran?
More or less…
I am talking to to Sasan’s mother, to the sister, to his beloved ones who are awaiting his return. I am talking to you as a fellow Iranian to a fellow Iranian, as a human being to another human being, consider me, a random Iranian some one who shares the sorrow of dealing with discrimination. There is no reason why an Iranian should be deprived of his/her rights inside his/her country, nor a man in his country any where in the world. As human beings we are all free to choose our path, if we do not choose it and if it is merely imposed upon a person, then we cannot call it a faith, not a path, not even a way of life. We all know about the verse in the holy scriptures that Bahais and muslims share : There is no compulsion regarding faith..
I respect your religion, even I do not know much about the faith, I just know some people of the faith and I have found them admirable cultivated people. As a MidEastern I denounce any maltreatment to the followers of your faith, or any other faith. O G-d bring justice to our trobuled land…
Sasan, we pray for your reteurn brother!
It is interesting that we pray for the safety of the friends who are arrested, endangered, or have no rights throughout the “Muslim” world, but the Master also prays for the loudness of their enemies:
Day by day the majesty of Christ grew in splendor and effulgence. Therefore, my purpose is to warn and strengthen you against accusations, criticisms, revilings and derision in newspaper articles or other publications. Be not disturbed by them. They are the very confirmation of the Cause, the very source of upbuilding to the Movement. May God confirm the day when a score of ministers of the churches may arise and with bared heads cry at the top of their voices that the Bahá’ís are misguided. I would like to see that day, for that is the time when the Cause of God will spread. Bahá’u'lláh has pronounced such as these the couriers of the Cause. They will proclaim from pulpits that the Bahá’ís are fools, that they are a wicked and unrighteous people, but be ye steadfast and unwavering in the Cause of God. They will spread the message of Bahá’u'lláh.(Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 429)
In Persia the mullas went so far as to proclaim from the pulpits against the Cause of Bahá’u'lláh casting their turbans upon the ground — a sign of great agitation — and crying out, “O people! This Bahá’u'lláh is a sorcerer who is seeking to mesmerize you; he is alienating you from your own religion and making you his own followers. Beware! lest you read his book. Beware! lest you associate with his friends.”
Bahá’u'lláh, speaking of these very ones who were attacking and decrying Him, said, “They are My heralds; they are the ones who are proclaiming My message and spreading My Word. Pray that they may be multiplied, pray that their number may increase and that they may cry out more loudly. The more they abuse Me by their words and the greater their agitation, the more potent and mighty will be the efficacy of the Cause of God, the more luminous the light of the Word and the greater the radiance of the divine Sun. And eventually the gloomy darkness of the outer world will disappear, and the light of reality will shine until the whole earth will be effulgent with its glory.” (Abdu’l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 436)
Jina!
The name India goes way back, even before 1947! As you most probably know its name is derived from Indus, which is derived from the Old Persian word Hindu, the historic local appellation for the Indus River (see Oxford english dictionary).
Hindustan, a term used historically (2000years+!) by Iranians/Persians, and translated into English as “India” mainly referred to what’s now northern India (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/266465/Hindustan)