int barely hung on to the edge of existence. The Bbs mission appeared to have ended in failure.A handful of Bb's escaped the massacre from 1848-1852, and among them was a noble man named Mirza Husayn 'Ali'. Mirza was a devoted Bb and one of the first to proclaim his faith to the Bb. These few believers' freedom ended in 1852 when the government captured the remaining of these Bb's. The Bb's were placed in what was known in the East, as the most horrible jail to ever exist. It was given the name 'the Black Pit', by all who knew of it. It was here that Mirza would sit with chains around his legs, arms and neck for four months. With each passing day, a new Bb would fall to the hands of an executioner. It was during these four months, that Mirza gained the title Bah'u'llh (the Glory of God), and contemplated his full mission. The experience in the 'Black Pit' set in motion a process of religious revelation which, over the next forty years, led to the production of hundreds of books, tablets and letters. This material forms the core of the sacred scripture of the Bah' Faith. In these writings, Bah'u'llh outlined a framework for the reconstruction of all human society at all levels: spiritual, moral, economic, political and philosophical. At the end of his four-month jail term, Bah'u'llh began his life of banishment. His journey of exile began in Baghdad following Istanbul, Edirine and finally Acre, Israel. In each new city Bah'u'llh would gain the reputation as a spiritual and gifted teacher, which drew listeners, followers and believers of all social class backgrounds. Bah'u'llhs growing influence excited intense fear and suspicion in the minds of the Shah and his government under Islamic rule. Shortly before the move to Istanbul, Bah'u'llh prayed in a garden on the Tigris River, known to Bah's as the garden of Ridvan (Paradise). It was in this garden that he announced to his closet followers that he was "He Whom God Will Mak...
