I know you only wanted to hear the story behind the Tablet of Ahmad and its recipient. Well, that was the main course. The menu will not be complete without saying a few words about Ahmad's glorious daughter, Khanum Gawhar. She was a very daring woman for her time and was blessed with a mirror-like pure heart. During the lifetime of Baha'u'llah there were some outstanding teachers who were almost worshipped by the believers. One of them, who had so many exalted tablets from Baha'u'llah, often went to Khanum Gawhar's house. She respected him to the point of cleaning his shoes. Such respect and adoration by the believers, together with the tablets from Baha'u'llah, went to the head of some of them who thought of assuming an independent rank in the Cause.
After the Ascension of Baha'u'llah, one day this teacher visited - Khanum Gawhar who, as usual, brought tea and sweets and stood at the door with folded arms in absolute humility. She noticed that the teacher was quite gloomy and bitter, so she asked for the reason. He said, "I must go to the Holy Land and see to the affairs of the Cause myself. The Faith is left in the hands of a young man." The last phrase was stated with indignation and pride. You like to know that when Baha'u'llah ascended, Abdu'l-Baha was forty-eight years old. Khanum Gawhar, contrary to the usual protocol, raised her voice and said, "Do you think Baha'u'llah did not know who to appoint after Himself?" With these words she took the refreshments away, and ordered the arrogant man to leave her house and never come back. She warned all of the neighboring Baha'i families about his attitude and cautioned them to wait until they hear from Abdu'l-Baha. It did not take too long before that man was cast out as a covenant-breaker, and all who had adored him, abandoned him. What a miserable ending!
After the Ascension of Baha'u'llah, one day this teacher visited - Khanum Gawhar who, as usual, brought tea and sweets and stood at the door with folded arms in absolute humility. She noticed that the teacher was quite gloomy and bitter, so she asked for the reason. He said, "I must go to the Holy Land and see to the affairs of the Cause myself. The Faith is left in the hands of a young man." The last phrase was stated with indignation and pride. You like to know that when Baha'u'llah ascended, Abdu'l-Baha was forty-eight years old. Khanum Gawhar, contrary to the usual protocol, raised her voice and said, "Do you think Baha'u'llah did not know who to appoint after Himself?" With these words she took the refreshments away, and ordered the arrogant man to leave her house and never come back. She warned all of the neighboring Baha'i families about his attitude and cautioned them to wait until they hear from Abdu'l-Baha. It did not take too long before that man was cast out as a covenant-breaker, and all who had adored him, abandoned him. What a miserable ending!
(AHMAD, THE FLAME OF FIRE, A transcript of audio-cassette from series "WINDOWS TO THE PAST" by Darius K. Shahrokh, M.D.)