The Murder of Three Azalis in Akka in 1872 and Baha’u’llah’s Lawh-i Istintaq (“Tablet of the Interrogation”)

One of the saddest events in Baha’u’llah’s life was the murder of three followers of His half-brother Mirza Yahya “Subh-i Azal” in ‘Akka in 1872 by seven Baha’is. Like their master, Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani, “the Antichrist of the Baha’i Revelation” and the instigator of Mirza Yahya, and two others were inveterate enemies of Baha’u’llah and had been discrediting Him and misrepresenting His Cause in Istanbul and Edirne. After they were exiled with Baha’u’llah to ‘Akka, they continued their intrigue. Saddened and angered by this mischief, seven Baha’is who were in Baha’u’llah’s entourage killed the three Azalis. In the wake of this Baha’u’llah, His son Abdu’l-Baha and the seven Baha’is were arrested and interrogated. This talk will give an overview of this event based on Baha’u’llah’s lengthy Lawh-i Istintaq, revealed for that occasion, other Baha’i sources and the minutes of the court proceedings from Syria that are kept at the Ottoman Archives in Istanbul.