AN INTERNATIONAL RECORD Prepared under the supervision of The Universal House of Justice VOLUME XI14 111, 112, 113, 1$4, 125, 116, 117, 118 AND 119 OF THE BAHA'I ERA 1954-1 963 THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE Haifzi, Israel 1970 VAL~YU'LLAH VAP.QA were both staunch believers of the Cause, 1884-1955 which they most earnestly served. 1 had three brothers. (i'v1~7 mother gave birth to four children.) n he eldest was named Mirzh Profoundly grieved loss outstanding Hand GAziz,ul!a KhBn, second was named Cause God, exemplay @ustee Buyc% dis- Rf&ul&&, who was nlartyred, the third was tinguishd representative most venerable myseif, md the was called ~~d~~~~~~, community Bahk'i world, aorthy son brothel \vho died in childhood. As a we twin irnmortal martyrs Faith, dearly beloved in Tabriz in the household our disciple Center Covenant. Shining record matcrnai grmdnzo&er in love and services extending over half century emiched hazmony and in ease and honor, annals heroic formative ages Bahii'i Dispensa- happiness was, however, upset and tion. His reward Abha Kingdom inestimable. sllattercd in consequeilce of- some false Advise erect my be'a1E reports submitted by certain enenlies of the his graxJe. His mantle as trustee funds uuq6g Cause the Prince Regent, Mu?afFai'd-Dia now faIls on 'Aii Mubarnmad, his son. In- Sha, eR3ct that Mirza GAbdu9ilhb struct Row$ani Tihran arrange befittmg kBn, my granaatlIer., who was then a memorial. gatherings capital provinces honor membez. was acting the memory mighty pillar cradle Faith Bah6'u'- Government and had put house at Newl~a~~Ohtedtrustee Ptrqliq disposd of Baha'is gz.thesing tbcre to con&uc- elevated rank Hand Cause. anti-government activities. My gxandhther SraoGal was obliged, therefore, to escape to Tihrh, November 15, 1955. and in his absence, my grandn~other,who wes a fanatical Muslim, found tkopportunity to exert her enmity by opposing my father SO Auto b iogruplzy sirongly and relentlessly as to compel lrim to "Some time ago the Spiritual Assembly of leave his home and native to~vn,acco~npanied the Bahit'is of TihrBn asked mc to write my by his two cldest sons. My junior brother, autobiography for them. 111 reply, X explained Badj'uiUh, and nayself, being too small, were that during my youth I had had the privilege left behind with our mother in tke smI~ouse and honor to be in the blessed presence of where my gsandmother lived. This did nat, His Holiness "bdu'l-Baha and to be one of however, appease my grand~nother.She had His attendants during ETis visit to America. such a deep hatred of the Cause that she I had Jways seen aud witnessed Exis utter began to make evil suggestions to me against self-abrlegatio~lin words and deeds. When X my father and ro sow the seeds of hatred and stop to ponder. the resplendent servies enmity in ~nysoul against him. She &as able rendered by the early believers of the Faith to impress my tender soul to sucl~an extent and tllcir heroic sacrifices, I do not see how that in my Islaillic prayers, which I was T can give any account about myself. obliged to say, I wept in bittcr grief for nxy "I was born in Tabriz, 1263 Persian solar father's deviation which had earned him SO calendar (1884). My father, 'Ali Muhammad ~mchhaired frain the public. Vmq& a martyr of the Cause, was the thifiild "Up to the age of sixteen, I lived with my son of E;Tkji Mull& Mihcii Yazdi, known as grandmother ia an at~xosplierecharged with Atxi, and my mother, Fittin~ih, iivzs the such fanaticisn~and hatred towards the Cause. daughter of Bhji MirG 'Abdu'llLih Khan Then my ur~cle,HAji Mlr &sap, a sincere Nbri of Mazindarhn. These two grandparents bdiever and teacher of thc Cause, took steps 53 I THE BAHA" WORLD to transfer me from Tabriz to Miyanduhb, Bahfyyih RhBnum, daughter of the late where I lived under his care and lave for some Sani-us-Sulj6n, surnamed Sani IlIkhi, of years until I beme a believer. whom I had ten children. Seven d these "During my stay in Miyanduhb, the late children, three sans and four daughters, are Siyyid Assadu'lkh Qumi visited. there and now Iiving and they are: 'Ali Maammad; was a guest of my uncle. Feeling that I was Mihdi; Malihih (Mrs. Qubad); Munirih extremely anxious to visit the Holy Shrines (Mrs. Fdrzar) ; Parvin (Mrs. Muvafiq); and the Center oS the Covenant, he promised Mafymnud; Lami (Mrs. Nikanpirrf. I thank me, when leaving MiyanduBb, ihst whenever God that they are all Bahs'is and are firm he intended to leave for the Holy Itand he in the Cause. would inform me that I might join him at '? must express my great appreciation to Tabriz. ShartIy afterwards 1 received his my wife, who has sincerely collaborated with message telling mne that he was ready to leave. we since our marriage and who had, in fact, Filled with great enthusiasm for this auspicious a greater share than myself in rsaining the jo~uncyX did not even inform my uncle of my children in the BahB'i spirit. intended departure, since I thought he urould "After my marriage 1 took enlployment in definitely not allow me to make the journey the Russian Embassy as a secretary, but when because of his great affection for me. I forth- 'Abdu'l-BakA was about to leave for America with left for M~arh&ih in company with one I lefi for 'Akk& with His permission and had of the aged beliomrs, and thence X proceeded the great hanor of attending Him os His to Tabriz. At Tabriz I was summoned by the historic journey. After my return to Tifin, Local. Spiritual Assembly, who, after holding I was enlplayed as First Secretary Translator consuItation regarding nnly dm, informed nle by the Turkish Embassy, My dayrime was that they had decided I should go to Tihrh spent working at the office and at night I was to stay with my brother Mirz5 'Adzu'IlAIn happy to serve on the Spiritual Assembly -Kbh. To persuade them to revise their and on various Baha'i committees. At both decision was out of the question and I was the Embassies 1 had ma& it a condition with therehre obliged to leave for Tihrh, where them not to require me to do anything 1stayed with my dear brother and meanwhile co~ceriledwith poiitics. After Inany years of took up nly studies ill the Tarbiyat School. service, however, 1 was asked to do a service At the same time I began to study EngIlsh which slightly touched on politics, whereupon outside the school and took up a course in I tendered my ~esigrzation. Arabic with Bahh9f scholars. X spent a few "For the last twelve years I have had the years a180 in the American High School in incsiiinable honor to serve as Trustee of Tihrkn to advance my gem~eraleducation. ~uqiiqu'llhh,having been appointed by the "The lorwcherished time now came wheil beloved Guardian, and it is my utmost wish with the consent af my dear brother I left for that 1 may be able during these last days of 'Akka, where 1 had the great privilege of my life to render befitting service to our Holy visiring 'Abdu'i-Baha, the Center of the Cause and give satisfaction to our ireIoved Covenant. Following this auspicious occasion Guardian." I proceeded to Beirut where Z took up my The spiritual services of the Hand of the studics with the aim of finishing the college Cause Mr. Valiyu'llkh Varqa, which began wurse and continuing them in a university at the early age of twenty and ended with his in England. During my stay in Beirut I was death at the age of seventy-one, were charac- summoned by 'AbdrUfi-BAA to 'Akkri every terized by weer-increasing zeal and enthusiasm summer and there I had the opportrmity to throughout his Iife. His efforts in the Cause study the Cause and take teaching courses with were redoubled particulasly aftcr the passing other students under the Late Frf6jC MirzA away of Mr. ,hin Amfa in 1938, when Mr. Baydar-'ALi. Varqa was entrusted by the beloved Guardian "Xn the summer of the year 1309, whiIe I with the duty of taking care of Ehe Quq&qu'llBh. was in 'Akkit, I was instructed by 'Abdu'l-BahB His elevation later to the rank of Hand of the to return to Tihrh to fulfill a mission which Cause inspired in him a new spirit and stirred He so kindly entrusted to me. In Tihr&n,after him to a still higher degree of service to the having carried out His mission, I married Cause or BahB'u'llkh. Tn 1953 he prepared fN MEMORIAM when the New Dclhi Conference, in which Mr. VarqA was to participate, should have bcen concluded. He therefore left soon for New Delhi, not waiting to complete the convalescence period, and consequently had a very hard cime during the days of the Conference. He then received the Guardian's instructions to proceed to 'Iraq, Egypt and Syria on a teaching mission. He forthwith Ieft New Deihi for 'Iraq. In that country his illness took a serious turn and Ize suffered extreme pain. He was therefore obliged to stay in the eziratu'l-Quds in Ba&d&d, After a while, when he felt himself ssiiglztly better, he Ieft for Cairo, Ismailia, Suez, Port Said.