Bab, The

File:Babshrinenight.jpg

Shrine of the Báb at night from above in Haifa, Israel.

Siyyid `Alí Muhammad (October 20, 1819 – July 9, 1850) was a martyred Iranian religious leader recognized by his followers as the "hidden imam." After his death he became a major figure in the Baha'i faith.

The son of merchant from Shiraz, Iran, he announced himself as the claimed Promised One of Islam, [the Qá'im]], at age 25. After his declaration he assumed the title of "the Báb" meaning "Gate."

When the religion of the Báb (Bábism) continued to spread and he refused to renounce his claim, Grand Vizier Mirza Taqi Khan, prime minister to Nasiri'd-Din Shah (the Shah of Persia), ordered the Bab to be executed by firing squad in Tabriz 1850.

Bahá'ís believe that the Báb was the forerunner of their own religion, seeing their founder Bahá'u'lláh, who was a follower of the Báb, as the fulfillment of his prophecy.

Life

Early life

Born on October 20 1819, as Mīrzā ʿAlī Moḥammad in Shiraz, Iran to a well-known merchant of the city, the Bab's father died soon after his birth. The boy was raised by his uncle Hájí Mirzá Siyyid 'Ali, who was also a merchant.

Upon reaching manhood, he joined his uncle in the family business, a trading house. His integrity and piety won the esteem of the other merchants with whom he came in contact. He was also known for his generosity to the poor. In 1842 he married Khadíjih-Bagum and they had one son, Ahmad, who died in infancy.

File:House of the bab.jpg

View of the upper room of the Báb´s house in Shiraz where he declared his mission

The Shaykhi Movement

In the 1790's in Persia, Shaykh Ahmad-i-Ahsa'i began a religious movement within Shi'a Islam. His followers, who became known as Shaykhís, were expecting the imminent appearance of the Qá'im, the Promised One of Islam. After the death of Shaykh Ahmad, leadership was passed on to Siyyid Kázim of Rasht.

Siyyid Kázim's counseled his followers to leave their homes after his death to seek the Lord of the Age whose advent would soon break on the world. After Siyyid Kázim death in 1843, one of these followers, Mullá Husayn, prayed and fasted for 40 days, and then traveled to Shiraz, where he met the Báb.

Declaration to Mullá Husayn

On his arrival on May 23, 1844, Mullá Husayn was approached by a young man wearing a green turban, an indication that the wearer was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. The stranger, the Báb, invited Mullá Husayn to his home.

After being asked by the Báb of what he was doing in Shiraz, Mullá Husayn replied that he was searching for the Promised One. The Báb then asked how would the Promised One be recognized, to which Mullá Husayn replied "He is of a pure lineage, is of illustrious descent, is endowed with innate knowledge and is free from bodily deficiency". To the shock of Mullá Husayn, the Báb declared "Behold, all these signs are manifest in me.".

Mullá Husayn had one more sign by which to identify the Promised One. He had been told by Siyyid Kázim that the Promised One would write a commentary on the Surih of Joseph without being asked. The Báb fulfilled this requirement as well, writing the commentary after making his declaration.

After spending the night alone with the Báb, Mullá Husayn recorded the following:

"This Revelation, so suddenly and impetuously thrust upon me, came as a thunderbolt... the knowledge of His Revelation had galvanised my being. I felt possessed of such courage and power that were the world, all its peoples and its potentates, to rise against me, I would, alone and undaunted, withstand their onslaught. The universe seemed but a handful of dust in my grasp. I seemed to be the Voice of Gabriel personified, calling unto all mankind: “Awake, for lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest. The portal of His grace is open wide; enter therein, O peoples of the world! For He who is your promised One is come!”

(Nabíl-i-A'zam, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 65)

File:Room-bab.jpg

The room where the Declaration of the Báb took place on May 22, 1844.

Proclamation

There is debate between critics about what the Báb declared himself to be and when. The Bahá'í view of the subject is quite clear, as described by Shoghi Effendi in the introduction of The Dawn-breakers.

"The shi'ahs look for the Qá'im, who is to come in the fulness of time, and also for the return of the Imam Husayn. The sunnis await the appearance of the Mihdi and also "the return of Jesus Christ." When, at the beginning of his Mission, the Báb, continuing the tradition of the shi'ahs, proclaimed His function under the double title of, first, the Qá'im and, second, the Gate, or Báb, some of the Muhammadans misunderstood the latter reference. They imagined His meaning to be that He was a fifth Gate in succession to Abu'l-Hasan-'Ali. His true meaning, however, as He himself clearly announced, was very different. He was the Qá'im; but the Qá'im, though a High Prophet, stood in relation to a succeeding and greater Manifestation as did John the Baptist to the Christ. He was the Forerunner of One yet more mighty than Himself."

(Shoghi Effendi, introduction to The Dawn-Breakers, p. xxx)

He later boldly proclaimed himself, in the presence of the Heir to the Throne of Persia and other notables, to be the Promised One.

Letters of the Living

Mullá Husayn was the Báb's first disciple. Within five months seventeen other disciples of Siyyid Kázim had independently recognized the Báb as a Manifestation of God, among them was one woman, a poetess, who later received the name of Táhirih (the Pure). These eighteen disciples were later to be known as the Letters of the Living and were given the task of spreading the new faith.

Travels and Imprisonment

After the first eighteen Letters of the Living had independently recognized the Báb, the Báb and the eighteenth Letter of the Living, Quddús, left on a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, the sacred cities of Islam. In Mecca, the Báb wrote to the Sharif of Mecca explaining his mission. After their pilgrimage, the Báb and Quddús returned to Bushehr, Persia.

After some time, due to opposition from the Islamic clergy, the Governor of Shiraz ordered the Báb's arrest. The Báb, upon hearing of the arrest order, left Bushehr towards Shiraz and presented himself to the authorities. The Báb was placed under house arrest at the home of his uncle, and was released when a plague broke out in Shiraz.

After his release in 1846, the Báb departed for Isfahan. During the Báb's stay in Isfahan, crowds of people came to see him every day. Due to pressure from the clergy of the province, the Shah Mohammad Shah Qajar ordered the Báb to Tehran. Before the Báb could meet the Shah, the Shah's prime-minister sent the Báb to Tabriz in the north of the country, where he was confined and was not allowed to see any visitors.

The Báb was then transferred to the fortress of Maku in the province of Azarbaijan. During his time in Maku, the Báb wrote his most important work, the Persian Bayan, which he never finished before his death. Due to the Báb's growing popularity in Maku the prime minister transferred the Báb to the fortress of Chihriq. Once again, the Báb's popularity grew in Chihriq, and thus the prime-minister ordered the Báb back to Tabriz where the government would hold a meeting with the religious authorities to examine the Báb.

At the meeting, when the officials asked the Báb who he claimed to be, the Báb responded that he was the Promised One for whom the people of Islam were waiting. He was then ordered back to the fortress of Chihriq.

Execution

In 1850 a new prime-minister ordered the execution of the Báb; he was brought to Tabriz, where he would be killed by a firing squad. The night before his execution, as he was being conducted to his cell, a young man, Anís (born Muhammad `Ali Zunuzi), threw himself at the feet of the Báb, wanting to be killed with the Báb. He was immediately arrested and placed in the same cell as the Báb.

On the morning of July 9, 1850, the Báb was taken to the courtyard of the barracks in which he was being held, where thousands of people had gathered to watch his execution. The Báb and Anís were suspended on a wall and a large firing squad prepared to shoot.

While the ultimate significance of the subsequent events is controversial, the following details are well-established on the basis of numerous eye-witness reports, including those of Western diplomats; the order was given to fire upon the captives, the barracks square filled with musket smoke. When it cleared the Báb was no longer in the courtyard, and his companion left unharmed. Amid a great commotion in the crowd, many believing the Báb had ascended to heaven or simply disappeared, the soldiers subsequently found the Báb in another part of the barracks, completely unharmed. He and Anís were tied up for execution a second time, a second firing squad was ranged in front of him, and a second order to fire was given. This time, the Báb and his companion were killed. In the Bábí-Bahá'í tradition, the failure of the first firing squad to kill the Báb is believed to have been a miracle. Their remains were then dumped outside the gates of the town to be eaten by animals.

The remains, however, were clandestinely rescued by a handful of Bábis and were hidden. Over time the remains were secretly transported by way of Isfahán, Kirmansháh, Baghdad, Iraq and Damascus, to Beirut and thence by sea to Acre, Israel on the plain below Mount Carmel in 1899. In 1909, the remains were then interred in a special tomb, erected for this purpose by `Abdu'l-Bahá, on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land. The Universal House of Justice is located close to this site and visitors are welcome to tour the gardens.

Succession

The Báb left a great deal of writings alluding to a Promised One, most commonly referred to as "He whom God shall make manifest", and that he himself was "but a ring upon the hand of Him Whom God shall make manifest." Within 20 years of the Báb's death, over 25 people claimed to be the Promised One, most significantly Bahá'u'lláh.

Before the Báb's death, he sent a letter addressed to Subh-i-Azal, which is considered to be his will and testament. The letter is recognized as appointing Subh-i-Azal to be the leader of the Bábí community after the death of the Báb. He is also ordered to obey the Promised One when he appears.

Bahá'u'lláh claimed that in 1853, while a prisoner in Tehran, he was visited by a "Maid of Heaven", and given his task as a Messenger of God. Ten years later in Baghdad, he made his first public declaration, and became recognized by most Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest". His followers began calling themselves Bahá'ís.

Subh-i-Azal disputed the claim of Bahá'u'lláh, along with anyone who made the claim to be "He whom God shall make manifest". Upon receiving an official letter from Bahá'u'lláh he reportedly made a counter-claim to receiving his own divine revelation; a claim which he later revoked. His followers became known as Bayanis or Azalis. For the Bábis that did not recognize Bahá'u'lláh, Subh-i-Azal remained their leader, until he died in 1912. Whether or not he had a successor is disputed. Bahá'í sources report that 11 of the 18 "witnesses" appointed by Subh-i-Azal to oversee the Bábí community became Bahá'ís, as well as his son. The man allegedly appointed by Subh-i-Azal to succeed him, Hadiy-i-Dawlat-Abadi, later publicly recanted his faith in the Báb and Subh-i-Azal.

Bahá'u'llah came out far more successful in his claim following doctrinal conflict. The vast majority of the Báb's followers abandoned Subh-i-Azal and become Bahá'ís. Today Bahá'ís claim to have over 6 million followers, while estimates of Azali's are as low as one thousand, isolated in Iran.

Writings

The Archives Department at the Bahá'í World Centre currently holds about 190 Tablets of the Báb. Excerpts from the following and other writings are printed in the only English language compilation of the Báb's writings, Selections from the Writings of the Báb.

• Persian Bayán
• Arabic Bayán
• Kitáb-i-Asmá(The Book of Names)
• Dalá'il-i-Sab'ih(The Seven Proofs).
• Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'(Commentary on the Súrih of Joseph)

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Bahá'í resouces

• `Abdu'l-Bahá, (Browne, E.G., Tr.) (1891). A Traveller's Narrative: Written to illustrate the episode of the Bab. Cambridge University Press. 
• `Abdu'l-Bahá, (Browne, E.G., Tr.) (1886). A Traveller's Narrative: Written to illustrate the episode of the Bab, 2004 reprint, with translator's notes, Los Angeles, USA: Kalimát Press. ISBN 1890688371. 
• Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430209. 
• Ferraby, John (1975). All Things Made New: A Comprehensive Outline of the Bahá'í Faith. Bahá'í Distribution Service. ISBN 8186953019. 
• Taherzadeh, Adib (1976). The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 1. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853982708. 
• Taherzadeh, Adib (1977). The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 2. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853980713. 
• Taherzadeh, Adib (1984). The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 3. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853981442. 
• Taherzadeh, Adib (1987). The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 4. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853982708. 
• Nabíl-i-Zarandí (1932). in Shoghi Effendi (Translator): The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative, Hardcover, Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0900125225. 

Other resources

• Amanat, Abbas (1989). Resurrection and Renewal. Cornell University Press, 124 Roberts Place, Ithica, New York 14850. ISBN 0-8014-2098-9. 
• British Broadcasting Corporation (2002). BBC Religion and Ethics Special: Bahá'í. Retrieved January 22, 2005.
• Gobineau, Conte (1864). Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale.
• Browne, E.G. (1889) "The Bábis of Persia" in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, pp. 485-526 and 881-1009.
• Browne, E.G. (1891), A Traveller’s Narrative, Cambridge. Includes a lengthy introduction, the translation and then appendixes.
• Browne, E.G. (1893). The New History of the Báb. Cambridge. Includes a lengthy introduction, the translation and then appendixes.
• Browne, E.G. Religious Systems of the World: A Contribution to the Study of Comparative Religion (London: Swann Sonnenschein), "Babism",pp. 335.
• Browne, E.G. (ed.) Kitab-i Nuqtat al-Kaf: Being the Earliest History of the Bábis. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1910

External links

• Selections from the Writings of the Bab at iBiblio
• Writings of the Báb
• Commentary on the Surih of Joseph revealed by the Báb
• "The Primal Point’s Will and Testament", Sepehr Manuchehri; Research Notes in Shaykhi, Bábí and Bahá'í Studies,Vol. 7, no. 2 (September, 2004)
• bahai.org, the international website of the Bahá'í Faith.
• The Religion of Bayan A website dedicated to the followers of the Báb who continued to support Subh-i Azal

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