Portrait of the Bab and a lock of His hair - fragment of the plaster from the Room of the Bab

Beneath the dome of their great Mother Temple of the West, now complete except for its interior ornamentation, they tasted the sweetness of the good pleasure of God, for priceless gifts were given them on that occasion by the Guardian: a beautifully framed copy of the portrait of the Bab and a lock of His hair. So precious and well guarded is this likeness of Him that even the House in Shiraz, one of the two centers of pilgrimage established by Baha'u'llah, does not possess a copy.

(Ruhiyyih Khanum, Twenty-Five Years of The Guardianship, Baha'i Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois - 1948)



Haifa, Israel, May 7, 1957

National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia. Dear Bahá’í Friends:

Under separate cover, at the instruction of our beloved Guardian, I am mailing to you a fragment of the plaster from the Room the Báb was confined in, in the Fortress of Máh-Kú, in Persia.

He is sending this precious memento to be placed by Mother Dunn on his behalf in the foundations of the First Mashriqu’l- Adhkár which you will shortly commence building in Sydney.

He feels sure that this precious dust, calling to mind the sacrifices of the beloved Báb, will be a blessing for the Temple and an inspiration to the friends.

Please acquaint Mother Dunn with his instructions, and see that she receives the plaster safely.

With warm Bahá’í greetings,

R. Rabbani.

From “Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand”