The Babi and Baha'i Religion — Page 41
THE B Ā B Ī AND BAH Ā ’ Ī RELIGION 41 Move to Iraq and the reason behind that move. The B a h a ’ i s say that Bah a ’ull a h was exiled to Iraq by the Persian Government, but this does not appear to be correct. The fact seems to be that on coming out of prison, when he saw the intensity of feeling still prevalent in the country against the followers of the movement, he thought it would be risky if he claimed for himself leadership of the movement that had won such odium in the eyes of the common people. He therefore, managed to obtain permission from the king to travel to Iraq, and for holding this view we have the following basis. 1. We learn from the author of Maq a lah Sayy ah that " Hadrat Bah a ’ull a h requested that he be permitted to go on a pilgrimage to the sacred places. After, a few months, having obtained permission from the king and ‘the prime minister, he set out, attended by some minions of the ‘king" 51. 2. Bah a ’ull a h himself writes "In accordance with the permission granted by the king, I proceeded to Iraq" 52. These passages seem to establish that though Bah a ’ull a h was a follower of the B a b i movement which had decided to abandon the Islamic Sharia 51 B a bul Hayy a t , page 47. 52 B a bul H ayy a t , page 128.