One of the major events in the life of Tahirih occurred at Badasht in 1848. It was there that three of the Bab's most devote followers met to proclaim the Bab's station as the promised Qa'im (Promised One). The three were Tahirih, Quddus and Baha'u'llah. It was Tahirih who made the proclamation: "The Trumpet is sounding! The great Trump is blown! The universal Advent is now proclaimed!" The fact that she did this without her veil served to punctuate this announcement. Those in attendance were panic-stricken and many fled. Some even renounced their belief in this new faith, but there were those that returned and remained steadfast. Shortly thereafter, the conference broke up, but the Advent of the Qa'im had been proclaimed.
Tahirih was arrested shortly after this and was imprisoned in Tehran under house arrest. Still she taught this new religion, which included the principle of the equality of men and women. Many of the women of Tehran came to learn from Tahirih, and the Cause of the Bab continued to spread. The end of her teaching came in 1852 when she was sentenced to death by the Shah. Her reply to this sentence was, "You can kill me as soon as you like, but you cannot stop the emancipation of women."
Her death is described by `Abdu'l-Baha in the book, Memorials of the Faithful:
". . . she was sentenced to death. Saying she was summoned to the Prime Minister's, they arrived to lead her away from the Kalántar's house. She bathed her face and hands, arrayed herself in a costly dress, and scented with attar of roses she came out of the house.
They brought her into a garden, where the headsmen waited; but these wavered and then refused to end her life. A slave was found, far gone in drunkenness; besotted, vicious, black of heart. And he strangled Tahirih. He forced a scarf between her lips and rammed it down her throat. Then they lifted up her unsullied body and flung it in a well, there in the garden, and over it threw down earth and stones. But Tahirih rejoiced; she had heard with a light heart the tidings of her martyrdom; she set her eyes on the supernal Kingdom and offered up her life.
Salutations be unto her, and praise. Holy be her dust, as the tiers of light come down on it from Heaven."
Such was the life of one of the foremost women in Baha'i history. E.G. Browne of Cambridge University said: "The appearance of such a woman as Tahirih in any country and in any age is a rare phenomenon, but in such a country as Iran it is a prodigy - nay, almost a miracle. Alike in virtue of her marvelous beauty, her rare intellectual gifts, her fervid eloquence, her fearless devotion, and her glorious martyrdom, she stands incomparable and immortal amidst her countrywomen. Had the religion of the Bab no other claim to greatness, this were sufficient - that it produced a heroine like Qurratu'l-Ayn. (another of the titles given to Tahirih meaning "Solace of the Eyes").
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