Translation and annotation: Necati Alkan. [The Turkish text is appended below.] N.B.: Not to be copied or quoted without the permission of the translator.

The above-mentioned 'Abbas Efendi ['Abdu'l-Baha]⁽¹⁾ is an erudite and noble-minded eminent figure who is cognizant of the conditions of the age. His father Mirza Husayn 'Ali is deemed by the Babis of 'Akka as the successor of  Mirza 'Ali Muhammad, the Bab, who towards the middle of the thirteenth Islamic century founded the Babi creed in Iran. Although there are mentioned certain rumours about the founder of the creed [Bab], Mirza Husayn Baha'u'llah Efendi and his brother Mirza Subh-i Azal in the Da'iratu'l-Ma'arif of the Bustanis⁽²⁾, published in Beirut, and attributed to Jamalu'd-Din "al-Afghani" and others, apart from not having attained to any document supporting the mentioned rumours and with respect to the tenets and beliefs of the creed being kept extremely secret in 'Akka, I see the censure of the vulgar masses about the strange and unreasonable claim of Baha'u'llah Efendi, like - God beware- having attained the station of godhead and divinity altogether and with regard to the reasonable conduct of the community, fitting to be declared as lies.

Above all, based on the attraction in 'Abbas Efendi's face whenever he called to his mind our Lord, the Seal of the Prophets

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* Bereketzade's observations of the Baha'is in `Akka challenges the statement of the Turkish historian Serif Mardin that Ismail Hakki Efendi did not take the Babis, whom he regarded as ‘primitive , seriously; moreover, the contacts and the possible Baha'i influence on Young Ottoman thought could question Mardin's assertion that there was no such ‘Babi  influence in the time of the Young Ottomans; see Serif Mardin, Jön Türklerin Siyasî Fikirleri, 1895-1908, Istanbul: Iletisim Yayinlari, 1995 (1964), 65.

(1) Already in page 94 (new edition) Ismail Hakki refers to 'Abdu'l-Baha, saying that "the Babi leader" was among the first he and his friend Nuri Bey had met in 'Akka.

(2) An Arabic encyclopaedia published in the 1870s/1880s by Butrus al-Bustani in Beirut; for more details see Moojan Momen, "The Baha'i Influence on the Reform Movements of the Islamic World in the 1860s and 1870s", at http://www.northill.demon.co.uk/relstud/RefMov.htm.

(S.A.S) , his utterance of the expression "the glory of God, God commend and salute him" every time he respectfully mentioned the name of our Prophet, and his modest and respectful remembrance of the two honoured sheikhs [Caliphs Abu Bakr and 'Umar], I do not deem those rumours as reliable and authentic. I was informed that 'Abbas Efendi was offended after hearing that this poor writer harmed the Babi creed with [his] words. Who knows to which mischief-maker's efforts this discord is to be ascribed? Due to my affection to his personality and my respect to his excellency I instantly went to his present and explained to him the situation. In the course of the conversation I said: You are well aware that something known can either be affirmed or refuted; as Babism is not yet disclosed to everbody here, is it possible, in my opinion, to raise an objection against an unknown matter or affair? To this my question 'Abbas Efendi gave a clear reply; he explained that Babism resembled the Shafi'i school of thought. He remarked that his uncle Mirza Subh-i Azal, as it was told in 'Akka, had written - God beware- something parallel to the glorious Qur'an & and said: My uncle cannot properly write Persian, which is his mother-language, how much less is he able

to match the Word of God, the Qur'an, that lets the mature and eloquent and the masters of interpretation to be destitude; is it suitable to accuse all Babis because of his nonsense?

During our stay in `Akka Baha'u'llah Efendi had administered the community affairs to Abbas Efendi because he had retired to his rented house and only appeared to his followers. If `Abbas Efendi's character and attitude is carefully examined it appears that his behaviour and manner remind of being rather political than sheikh-like. If an article on Iran in the foreign press came across his attentive eyes he would, devoting himself to it, explain his thoughts for hours and enjoy this so much that he sacrificed his sleep and comfort. Sometimes, having written articles in Arabic and Persian, he sent them with their French translations to the European press.

Because he had won the hearts of the people of `Akka by his friendly association, the beauty of his getting along with them, his generosity and goodness, visitors, rich and poor, Muslim and non-Muslim, would come and go all the time to the place used as selamlik (male part of the house) opposite to the little square where his family used to live. Delicious teas and the finest tobaccos of Shiraz were served with water-pipes to the guests. A great many time it happened that `Abbas Efendi gave banquets in the garden he had bought outside the city walls. After going out together for a walk and having eaten, we again used to return together to the Fortress.

During the friendly intercourse the children used to hold poem contests, that is to say a child recited a Persian couplet by heart; whatever the last letter of the couplet was, another child recited a couplet beginning with this letter, and whatever the last letter of the second couplet was, the third child recited a couplet with that letter. For instance, if the rhyme was "mim" [m], the other child recited a couplet beginning with "mim", and if the rhyme was "nun" [n], the third child recited a couplet beginning with "nun". In this way they recited seventy to eighty couplets. What a nice habit to keep the memories of the children with a number of soul-nourishing poems fresh!..  To please them we also would participate at the contest but give up after the third or fourth repetition.

Both the good manners of the community and the children are indeed worth of appreciation. When we were in 'Akka we have witnessed that the Qur'an was taught with its Persian meaning, the sciences introduced and French and German were being instructed. Some of the members of the community were busy with crafts like carpentry and others with the trade of wheat, etc. To those who set out from Iran with a beggar's alms bowl in their hand, 'Abbas Efendi would give a sufficient capital, occupy them with a craft or trade according to ther capacity and ability; the disobedient he would not let approach the community.

Mirza Muhammad ‘`Ali who was an inhabitant of Shiraz, as mentioned above, attempted to found a new religion towards the middle of the thirteenth Islamic century.

Like his address with the words Fa’'dkhulú’'l-buyút min abwábihá (“"Enter the houses through their gates")⁽³⁾ to the participants of a conversation and to his friends, he usually kept on saying the famous hadith Aná madínatu’'l-‘`ilm wa-‘`Alí bábuhá ("I am the city of knowledge and `Ali its gate") to show himself as the means to reach God. Thus, he explained to be the possesor of outer and inner knowledge as the means to reach the divine reality. At last, he abandoned his real name and began to call himself Bab. Because of this he is called Bab and the followers of his creed Babis.
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(3) Editor's note (new edition): the correct Qur'anic verse is Wa'tú'l-buyút min abwábihá (2:189): "... so come to the houses by their doors".