few days at Mascat. It is probable that at Mecca (the goal of his
journey) he became completely detached from the Muhammadan form of
Islam. There too he made arrangements for propaganda. Unfavourable
as the times seemed, his disciples were expected to have the courage
of their convictions, and even his uncle, who was no longer young,
became a fisher of men. This, it appears to me, is the true
explanation of an otherwise obscure direction to the uncle to return
to Persia by the overland route, _via_ Baghdad, 'with the verses
which have come down from God.'

The overland route would take the uncle by the holy places of 'Irak;
'Ali [Muh.]ammad's meaning therefore really is that his kinsman is to
have the honour of evangelizing the important city of Baghdad, and of
course the pilgrims who may chance to be at Karbala and Nejef. These
were, to Shi'ites, the holiest of cities, and yet the reformer had the
consciousness that there was no need of searching for a
_kibla_. God was everywhere, but if one place was holier than
another, it was neither Jerusalem nor Mecca, but Shiraz. To this
beautiful city he returned, nothing loth, for indeed the manners of
the pilgrims were the reverse of seemly. His own work was purely
spiritual: it was to organize an attack on a foe who should have been,
but was no longer, spiritual.

Among his first steps was sending the 'First to Believe' to Isfahan to
make a conquest of the learned Mulla Mukaddas. His expectation was
fully realized. Mukaddas was converted, and hastened to Shiraz,
eager to prove his zeal. His orders were (according to one tradition)
to introduce the name of 'Ali Muhammad into the call to prayer
(_azan_) and to explain a passage in the commentary on the Sura
of Joseph. This was done, and the penalty could not be delayed. After