 | The text below this notice was generated by a computer, it still needs to be checked for errors and corrected. If you would like to help, view the original document by clicking the PDF scans along the right side of the page. Click the edit button at the top of this page (notepad and pencil icon) or press Alt+Shift+E to begin making changes. When you are done press "Save changes" at the bottom of the page. |
MUHAMMAD ‘ALI FALLAH AFNAN
1888—1980
Mirza Muhammad ‘Ali’ Afnan was the son of Mirza Muhammad Baqir Afnan. His mother was the granddaughter of the younger uncle of the Báb, Mirza Husayn ‘Ali, and his father was the grandson of the elder uncle of the Bab, Mirza Siyyid Muhammad.
He was born in Yazd, Iran, in the year1888, 0n the very day that seven Bahá’ís of that city were martyred. His father died when he was young and he was brought up by his grandfather, Mirza Muhammad Taqi VakiluDawlah, the builder of the Bahá’í Temple of ‘Ishqzibad. With his mother and sister he travelled from ‘Ishqábád to the Holy Land to reach the presence of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, but soon after his arrival in the Holy Land his grandfather passed away and he was sheltered under the loving care of the Master. He was sent by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá t0 the same school in Beirut which was attended by Shoghi Effendi and later on, when the Master sent Shoghi Effendi to England to study, He also sent the young Afnan to study agriculture there. In some of the letters Shoghi Effendi wrote while studying in Oxford he mentions the Afnan whom he occasionally visited in Yorkshire.
After completing his studies, Muhammad ‘Ali’ Afnan returned to the Holy Land only twenty days before ‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away. The Afnan remained in Haifa for six months and then returned to Yazd on the instructions of the beloved Guardian. For many years he was elected as a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yazd and often was privileged to serve as chairman.
[Page 711]
IN MEMORIAM
Muhammad ‘Alz’ Falla’h Afndn
In 1939 an unfortunate incident occurred. The workman responsible for the heating of the Bahá’í public bath was injured during the course of duty. The enemies of the Faith seized the opportunity of making mischief. The chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yazd was imprisoned and other members were prosecuted. Fortunately the members were released after a short time. Eleven years later, in a village called Abarqfi, soon after a Bahá’í pioneer was sent from 'Yazd to that village, a woman and her several children were murdered in mysterious circumstances. The enemies of the Bahá’í community attributed this tragic event to the coming of the pioneer to their village. As a result the nine members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yazd were sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. They were confined to prison first in Yazd, then in Kirman, and finally in the prison of Tihran. After his release from prison the Afnan visited the Holy Land and attained the presence of the beloved Guardian who praised the steadfastness of those who had suffered unjust imprisonment. Through their
711
incarceration, he said, these believers had followed in the footsteps of the Báb.
Mr. Afnan passed to the Abhá Kingdom in Tihran in his eighty-ninth year and was buried in the Bahá’í cemetery of that city.
ABU’L—QAer AFNAN
