In the year one thousand two hundred and sixty [A.H.], when
He was in His twenty-fifth year, certain signs became apparent in His conduct,
behavior, manners, and demeanor whereby it became evident in Shíráz that
He had some conflict in His mind and some other flight beneath His wing. He
began to speak and to declare the rank of Báb-hood. [23 May 1844] Now what He
intended by the term Báb [Gate] was this, that He was the channel of grace from
some great Person still behind the veil of glory, Who was the possessor of
countless and boundless perfections, by Whose will He moved, and to the bond of
Whose love He clung. And in the first book which He wrote in explanation of the
Súrih of Joseph,[Qur’án 12] He addressed Himself in all passages to that Person
unseen from Whom He received help and grace, sought for aid in the arrangement
of His preliminaries, and craved the sacrifice of life in the way of His love.
(‘Abdu’l-Baha,
‘A Traveler’s Narrative’)
