The Báb

“ The Báb Himself set out to perform the circumambulation of the House of God.4 On His return, when the news of His arrival at Búshihr reached Shíráz, there was much discussion, and a strange excitement and agitation became apparent in that city. The great majority of the doctors set themselves to repudiate Him, decreeing slaughter and destruction, and they induced Ḥusayn Khán Ajúdán-báshí, who was the governor of Fárs, to inflict a beating on the Báb’s missionaries, that is on Mullá Ṣádiq Muqaddas ”

“ At the Supreme Shrines she borrowed light on matters divine from the lamp of Kázim, and freely sacrificed her life in the way of the Báb. She discussed and disputed with the doctors and sages, loosing her tongue to establish her doctrine. Such fame did she acquire that most people who were scholars or mystics sought to hear her speech and were eager to become acquainted with her powers of speculation and deduction. ”

“ I know not whether my reason has deserted me.' The Báb answered and said: 'What you have witnessed is true and undeniable. You belittled this Revelation and have contemptuously disdained its Author. God, the All-Merciful, desiring not to afflict you with His punishment, has willed to reveal to your eyes the Truth. By His Divine interposition, He has instilled into your heart the love of His chosen One, and caused you to recognise the unconquerable power of His Faith.' [7]
All the arrogance of the warden left him. ”

“ Never will I turn My face away from the decree of God. He alone is My sure Stronghold, My Stay and My Refuge. Until My last hour is at hand, none dare assail Me, none can [Pg 86] frustrate the plan of the Almighty. And when My hour is come, how great will be My joy to quaff the cup of martyrdom in His name! Here am I; deliver Me into the hands of your master. Be not afraid, for no one will blame you. [1]
When the identity of the Báb became known some members of His family felt concern, even alarm, lest great harm might come to Him, and they themselves suffer in the process. ”

“ Sulaymán Khán, the son of Yaḥyá Khán of Tabríz, was one of the prominent followers of the Báb who attained His presence in this castle, after making the journey in disguise. [DY] He had no liking for service at court, and had gone to `Iráq, to live under the shadow of the Shrine of Imám Ḥusayn. There he found himself attracted to the teachings of Siyyid Káẓim and, hearing later of the advent of the Báb, gave Him his allegiance. The news of the plight of his fellow-believers, who were hounded and besieged in Mázindarán, drew him back to his native land. He reached Ṭihrán dressed as a cleric. ”

“ They were wonder-struck, for they had no recollection of discussing that particular subject within earshot of the Báb, who might then have looked up references in books and memorized them to repeat parrot-wise. Shaykh `Ábid asked Him where He had gained that knowledge. The boy replied smilingly with a couplet from Ḥáfiẓ:
Should the grace of the Holy Spirit once again deign to assist,
Others will also do what Christ could perform. [3]
Not only did the mental faculties of the Báb astound the schoolmaster ”

“ As his belief in the Bâb is a secret, his name is not mentioned in this connection.... Just now there seems to be unusual activity among the Bâbees, emissaries or missionaries are secretly pervading the country, not only seeking to make proselytes but also presenting modifications in belief. The community in wives is no longer a practised tenet of the Bâb sect, while it is proclaimed with increasing emphasis that the Bâb is none other than God himself made manifest in the flesh.' [3] ”

“ The Báb appeared in the year 1260 of the Hejira of Muḥammad, which is the beginning of the universal era-reckoning of all Islám. There are no clearer proofs than this in the Holy Books for any Manifestation. For him who is just, the agreement of the times indicated by the tongues of the Great Ones is the most conclusive proof. There is no other possible explanation of these prophecies. Blessed are the just souls who seek the truth. ”

“ Bábís came from everywhere to attain the presence of their Lord, among them Mullá Ḥusayn, the Bábu'l-Báb. The Báb received him at the gate of the castle and celebrated the Feast of Naw-Rúz with him. Ere his departure, the Báb directed him to visit Tabríz and other towns of the province of Ádharbáyján, and then proceed to Zanján, Qazvín, Ṭihrán, and finally to the province of Mázindarán.
`Alí Khán's devotion to the person of the Báb increased day by day. He did everything possible to mitigate the rigours of prison life. Every Friday he came up the mountain to offer his homage. ”

“ A blind man in Teheran sent to Baha praying that his eyes might be opened. He received answer that it was for the glory of God that he remain blind. The Bab, at his examination in Tabriz, was asked to restore the sick Mohammed Shah to health. He replied: "It is not in my power, but I can write two thousand verses a day. Who else can do that?" He thus appealed not simply to the quality of his poetry but to its quantity as a proof of his manifestation. In like manner, Manes, in old times, painted pictures in his "revelations" and appealed to them as proof of his inspiration. ”

“ Before I go I must see you reasonably wed; beauty and high blood should be broken in and harnessed early, else it is prone to flick its heels and run away. Now, Bab, you have all the kingdom at your feet, they tell me. ’Tis a propitious hour; seize it, therefore, and make yourself a duchess with a hundred thousand pound. And farther, you have ever been my constant care, my pretty Bab, and I shall not be content unless I leave you at your ease. ”

“ Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid Muḥammad had been very insistent that Ḥájí Siyyid Javád should counsel the Báb to desist from writing. Ḥájí Siyyid Javád had however replied with these lines of verse: "The fair of face cannot put up with the veil; Shut him in, and out of the window will he show his visage," and had added: "We are earth-bound and He is celestial. Our counsel is of no use to Him."'
Mullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí, Nabíl-i-A`ẓam, lays particular stress on the Báb's strict regard for His devotions on Fridays. ”

“ Mullá Ḥasan-i-Bajistání. Doubts assailed him after the martyrdom of the Báb, because he did not consider himself worthy of the station given to him. Forced to leave his home, he went to `Iráq and attained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh.
[Pg 28]
Mullá `Alíy-i-Basṭámí was given the mission to return to `Iráq and inform the people in that heartland of the Shí`ah persuasion that the Báb had appeared, but not to divulge, as yet, any particulars that might reveal His identity. To him the Báb said:
Your faith must be immovable as the rock, must weather every storm and survive every calamity. ”

“ But better counsels now prevail, to show that the time has come to cease from persecuting these sectarians, who, at all events in the present day, show no hostility to the Government; and the Government has probably discovered the truth of the Babi saying, that one martyr makes many proselytes....
'An acknowledged authority on the Bab, the founder of this creed, has written that he "directed the thoughts and hopes of his disciples to this world, not to an unseen world." ”

“ Suddenly, Bab gave a little shriek of terror and started back. Crouching in the darkness was a man. His back was turned to Barbara, and, if the darkness was not deceiving her, he was digging in the earth. ”

“ Bab caught up her new pail, and collected all the odds and ends, then tried to beguile the poor beast in to eat and be comforted. But he only came as far as the door, and sitting up, begged with such imploring eyes that Bab put down the pail and stepped back, saying pitifully:
"The poor thing is starved; let him eat all he wants and we wont touch him." ”

“ And from Ṭihrán came Mullá Mihdíy-i-Khu'í accompanied by Mullá Muḥammad-Mihdíy-i-Kindí, the latter bearing a letter and presents from Bahá'u'lláh. Receiving them brought the Báb untold joy. [5]
According to A Traveller's Narrative the Báb's sojourn in Kulayn was lengthened into twenty days. [6] During this time a remarkable incident occurred which Mullá `Abdu'l-Karím has thus related:
My companions and I were fast asleep in the vicinity of the tent of the Báb when the trampling of horsemen suddenly awakened us. ”

“ The Báb, returning from His pilgrimage to Mecca, arrived at Búshihr sometime in the month of Ṣafar 1261 A.H. (February-March 1845) . There He parted from Quddús, saying:
The days of your companionship with Me are drawing to a close. The hour of separation has struck, a separation which no reunion will follow except in the Kingdom of God, in the presence of the King of Glory. [2]
Quddús left for Shíráz and took with him a letter from the Báb addressed to His uncle, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí. ”

“ Ḥájí Siyyid Javád-i-Karbilá'í, who, as we have seen, had known the Báb from His childhood, now hurried to Shíráz; and soon after came a man destined to achieve high fame in the ranks of the 'Dawn-Breakers'. He was Siyyid Yaḥyá of Dáráb, the son of the same greatly-revered Siyyid Ja`fari-Kashfí, whom we noted before as a fellow-pilgrim of the Báb. Siyyid Yaḥyá was a divine of great erudition, and he thought that he could easily overcome the Báb in argument. As he lived in Ṭihrán, close to royal circles, Muḥammad Sháh asked Siyyid Yaḥyá to go to Shíráz and investigate the claim of the Báb. ”

“ I confidently testify that none besides Him, whether in the East or in the West, can claim to be the Truth. None other can manifest the power and majesty [Pg 24] that radiate from His holy person.' Mullá Ḥusayn was amazed, and leaving the newcomer he walked on and told the Báb what had transpired. Having already anticipated the arrival of that youth, although he had certainly not received any word from him, the Báb observed: 'Marvel not at his strange behaviour. We have in the world of the spirit been communing with that youth. ”

“ They also considered the conversion of austere and recluse doctors and eminent votaries of the Perspicuous Religion [of Islám] as a valid proof, deemed the steadfastness and constancy of the Báb a most mighty sign, and related miracles and the like; which things, being altogether foreign to our purpose, we have passed by with brevity, and will now proceed with our original topic. ”

“ Who can fail, as Prof. Browne says, to be attracted by him?
—T. K. Cheyne, D.Litt., D.D.
Siyyid (or Mírzá) `Alí-Muḥammad, known to history as the Báb, was the son of Siyyid (or Mír) Muḥammad-Riḍá, a mercer of Shíráz. [1] He was born on October 20th 1819 (Muḥarram 1st, 1235 A.H.) . Through both His father and His mother He was descended from Imám Ḥusayn, [AF] the third Imám. Thus He stood in direct line of descent from the Prophet Muḥammad. According to Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl-i-Gulpáygání, Siyyid Muḥammad-Riḍá, the Báb's father, died when his only child was an infant, unweaned. ”

“ It was a matter of boasting that the Bab's writings were from 100,000 to 500,000 verses, and he was executed at twenty-five years of age. Of Baha's Abdul Baha says: "The Books of his Holiness number more than 100; each one sufficient for mankind." Abul Fazl62 writes: "His Holy Tablets exceed in quantity the [46] Heavenly Books and Divine Writings possessed by all the different nations of the earth." The number of these tablets is stated to be over 1,000. By way of contrast, Christ's teachings are said by Abdul Baha to consist of only a dozen pages scattered in the Gospels. ”

“ God? Surely God guides not the people
of the evildoers.
—xxviii, 49-50.
Those are the signs of God that We recite to thee in truth;
in what manner of discourse then, after God and His signs,
will they believe?
—xlv, 5.
The Báb's entry into Shíráz was truly majestic. It bore no resemblance to the condition envisaged by the Governor. He had ordered the Báb to be brought to Shíráz in chains. Instead, there was the Báb riding, calm and serene, at the head of the horsemen. They went straight to the citadel where the Governor resided. ”

“ But more significant, all seven were men of outstanding character and repute, and respected by their countrymen. The real reason for their arrest was their espousal of the Faith of the Báb. Although efforts were made by men high in the professions they represented, to persuade them to give lip-denial to their most sacred beliefs, they steadfastly refused and were beheaded.
The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith has vividly described this terrible scene, which was enacted in a public square of Ṭihrán (the Sabzih-Maydán) :
The defiant answers which they flung at their persecutors ”

“ His name was Siyyid `Abdu'l-Báqí, and he was reputed for his erudition; he sat and listened to the Báb, but failed to be moved by what he heard and noticed. Some days after the Báb left Káshán he [Pg 119] learned who that young Siyyid was. He was sorrow-stricken that he had not recognized the powers of the Báb and withdrew from society for the rest of his life.
On the second day after Naw-Rúz the Báb rejoined His escort to journey towards Qum, [CV] the next city on the road to Ṭihrán. They did not enter Qum but went on to the village of Qumrúd, where the entire population was `Alíyu'lláhí. ”

“ In 1863, however, Bahá declared himself to be “He whom God shall manifest” (Man Yuz-hiruhu’lláh, with prophecies of whose advent the works of the Báb are filled) , and called on all the Bábís to recognize his claim. The majority responded, but Subh-i-Ezel and some of his faithful adherents refused. After that date the Bábís divided into two sects, Ezelís and Bahá’ís, of which the former steadily lost and the latter gained ground, so that in 1908 there were probably from half a million to a million of the latter, and at most only a hundred or two of the former. ”