Dedication

O SON OF MAN!

Ponder and reflect. Is it thy wish to die upon thy bed, or to shed thy life-blood on the dust, a martyr in My path, and so become the manifestation of My command and the revealer of My light in the highest paradise?

Judge thou aright, O servant!

-- Bahá’u’lláh

Mona Mahmudnizhad, 16, was arrested for being a Bahá’i, and after two years of imprisonment and bitter torment was finally sentenced to be put to death by hanging, in Shiraz, Iran, on June 18th, 1983.

Her father who was a member of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’is of Shiraz was also arrested. During the search of his house, the government authorities found a notebook belonged to Mona in which she had written an essay, titled: “why I became a Bahá’í.” This then became enough reason for her arrest.

During the course of her prosecution, Mona heroically defends her faith in Bahá’u’lláh. This soon evoked violent hostility from the Muslim clergy who taught that the process of Divine revelation ended with Muhammad, and that any assertion to the contrary represented apostasy, punishable by death.

One night in her prison cell, Mona visions Abdu’l-Bahá in a dream offering her the choice of three garments: White, Blue and Red. Abdu’l-Bahá tells her to choose the one color that she desired the most; in response, Mona chooses the “Red.” Suddenly afterwards she wakes up to know that her martyrdom was near.

A few days later the time arrived, and she and nine other imprisoned Bahá’i women were taken for their execution. During this time, they were asked if they had any final wishes, to which, Mona replied that she had two. Her first being to chant this prayer from Abdu’l-Bahá:

He is the All-Glorious! O my God!

May my life be a sacrifice for thy loved ones. Shed this withered blood in the path of Thy friends and make this tired flesh as dust in the pathway of Thy companions. O my God!

(An approximate translation from the original Persian)

Afterward, she asked for her second wish, that she would kiss the noose and put it around her own neck. Thus, she willingly drank from the chalice of martyrdom, and ascended to the realm of the All-Glorious.

The heroic sacrifice of Mona is a legend to be remembered for many years to come. An Exemplar of living a life of selflessness, devotion, and servitude in the path of the All-Merciful.

Thus, this work is dedicated to Mona as a humbled token of recognition and acknowledgement of her heroic sacrifice in the Path of her love for Bahá’u’lláh.

In His service…

Jamsheed Bahar

inthelightofprophecies@gmail.com