Commenting on the character and influence of those heroes
and martyrs whom the spirit of the Báb had so magically transformed Bahá’u’lláh
reveals the following: “If these companions be not the true strivers after God,
who else could be called by this name?... If these companions, with all their
marvelous testimonies and wondrous works, be false, who then is worthy to claim
for himself the truth?... Has the world since the days of Adam witnessed such
tumult, such violent commotion?... Methinks, patience was revealed only by
virtue of their fortitude, and faithfulness itself was begotten only by their
deeds.”
(Shoghi Effendi, ‘The Dispensation of Baha’u’llah’)