“Let Your Vision Be World Embracing...” - An Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith, Part Three

The following is the third installment in a continuing series on the Bahá'í Faith. The first part can be found here and the second here. 

Shrine of the Báb in Haifa, Israel

Source: Wikimedia 

Ministry of the Báb

Mullá Husayn, after spending 40 days secluded in prayer following Siyyid Kázim's death, first traveled to Bushehr. He then traveled to Shíráz where, on the 22^nd of May, 1844, he was invited into a home where it was announced to him that his host was, in fact, the Promised One. This majestic youth of twenty-four years was Siyyid `Alí Muhammad Shírází, known by His title the Báb (1819-1850). He told Mulla Husayn that He—the Báb—was the awaited Qá'im, the gateway to Truth and the initiator of a new prophetic cycle. 

The Báb replied satisfactorily to all of Mullá Husayn's questions and then revealed in his presence the first chapter of the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá', a lengthy commentary on the Surah of Joseph. Mullá Husayn was awed at the extreme rapidity at which the Báb revealed the text, chanting the words as He wrote. Afterward, the Báb told Mullá Husayn that he had to conceal his excitement for the new faith and not to inform anyone of the announcement yet. First, the Báb said, seventeen others must find Him and become devoted to His cause. Only then could the Faith be announced to the world.

Those seventeen others pledged their faith to the Báb over the next few months. They, together with Mullá Husayn, became the eighteen Letters of the Living. Táhirih (1817-1852), a poetess and the only female Letter of the Living, received her announcement from the Báb in a dream and became fearlessly devoted to Him. Quddús (1820-1849), another Letter of the Living, was the last to receive the announcement and pledge his faith. He became the most prominent of all the Letter and was referred to as the “Last Point” and the “Last Name of God” by the Báb. 

After all eighteen of them were assembled, the Báb gave most of them a mission to set out and announce His coming to the towns and cities, while He prepared to leave with Quddús toward Mecca and Medina for the Islamic pilgrimage.

They arrived in Mecca, the Báb on camelback and Quddús preferring to walk alongside. On the 20^th of December, the Báb offered His sacrifices and gave the meat to the poor. The Báb then traveled with Quddús to the Ka'bah, the center of prayer in Islam and the point which all the prigrims were circling. He laid hold of the ring on its door and spoke to the surrounding crowds three times saying,“I am that Qá'im whose advent you have been awaiting!” The Báb called the people to accept His claim. A sudden hush fell over the crowd at this dramatic proclamation but after a moment they returned to their prayers, and not one of the pilgrims responded to the call. 

This event has great symbolic meaning in that it illustrates how far humanity had strayed from the purpose of God. In having ignored the Promised One whose coming they had prayed to hasten for a thousand years, they had deprived themselves of the One whom was the actual reality of which the Ka'bah was but a symbol.

It was in the Spring of 1845 that the Báb and Quddús arrived back in Persia. The preaching by the Letters of the Living soon led to opposition by the Islamic clergy, who—in June 1845—pressured the Governor of Shiraz to call for the Báb's arrest. Upon hearing of the order, the Báb presented Himself to the authorities and He was placed under house arrest at the home of His uncle. A cholera epidemic breaking out lead to the Báb's release in September 1846. 

He traveled to Isfahan and debated the local clergy. The Báb's ability to instantaneous reveal streams of divine verses greatly impressed those gathered and lead to much new support. Muhammad Shah Qajar, the king of Persia, upon hearing of the Báb's cause ordered that He be brought to the royal court in Tehran. The king's prime minster however was fearful that an audience with the Báb would convert the king and cause himself to loss power. He ordered that the Báb not be taken to Tehran but instead arrested an sent to Tabriz in the northwestern corner of the country.

Spending forty days in Tabriz, the Báb was then sent to the province of Azarbaijan to stay in the prison fortress of Máh-Kú. During his incarceration there, the Báb revealed most of the text of the Persian Bayán, his most important book. In the work the Báb taught that He—like Christ, Muhammad, and all God's messengers—was a perfect reflection of the attributes of God, known as a Manifestation of God. 

He taught that all world religion was an unfolding process and that His purpose was to prepare the people of the world for a Manifestation even greater than Himself, a figure he called 'He Whom God Shall Make Manifest'. This figure, He wrote, was to appear very soon and would issue forth a new age of peace and unity for all mankind.

The Báb's popularity grew and the Prime Minster ordered Him back to Tabriz where he was to be put on trial for blasphemy and apostasy. The trial, which was attended by the Crown Prince and involved numerous local clergy, ordered that the Báb be punished for not recanting His claims. The Báb was bastinadoed, receiving 20 lashes to the bottom of His feet, for having to continue to declare, “I am that person you have been awaiting for one thousand years.” The government spread rumors that the Báb had recounted but there is absolutely no evidence of this. After the trial, He was sent to the prison fortress of Chihríq.

The Báb's supporters had been suffering persecution from the clergy and government since the Faith had been publicly announced, one of the most tragic incidents of this oppression came in the Fall of 1848. The Báb instructed Mullá Husayn to ride with 202 others loyal followers and to march to the Shrine of Shaykh Tabarsí with the Black Standard raised, fulfilling an Islamic prophecy. 

Mullá Husayn and his companions suffered an unprovoked attack from large number of government troops leading them to make defensive fortifications around the shrine. A stand-off ensued for several months but no matter how hard the government troops attacked they could not defeat the barricaded followers of the Báb. Eventually the government announced that if they surrendered they would not be harmed, Mullá Husayn knew this was a lie but still accepted the governments promise. 

After the surrender, Mullá Husayn and several hundred others, including seven other Letters of the Living, were murdered by the government troops. Soon after, Quddús was taken prisoner and murdered by a mob driven into a frenzy by a local clergyman. The  Báb was overwhelmed with sadness following these events, refusing to reveal anything but eulogies for many weeks.

A new prime-minster came to power in 1850 and instructed that the Báb, still imprisoned, was to be executed. The Báb was taken back to Tabríz to be shot by a firing squad. As he was being marched to his holding cell through the city-and taking much insult and abuse from gathering crowds- a young Bábí, Anís, threw himself to the feet of the Báb and asked to share in his martyrdom. Anís and the Báb were taken to the same cell to await execution in the morning. 

The events of the next day are reported as a miracle by many observers who's accounts have been preserved.  It is said that when the Báb was taken from his cell he was finishing up dictating a letter to his amanuensis. He told to the guards ""Not until I have said to him all those things that I wish to say can any earthly power silence Me. Though all the world be armed against Me, yet shall they be powerless to deter Me from fulfilling, to the last word, My intention."

Nevertheless, He and Anís were both taken anyway and suspended on a platform. They were to be executed by a regiment of Armenian soldiers, lead by Colonel Sam Khan. The rest of the event is narrated by H.M. Balyuzi, a noted  Bahá'í  historian. 

"Sam Khan approached the Bab: 'I profess the Christian Faith and entertain no ill will against you. If your Cause be the Cause of truth, enable me to free myself from the obligation to shed your blood.' To this the Báb replied: 'Follow your instructions, and if your intention be sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you from your perplexity.' 

"The Báb and His disciple were suspended by ropes from a nail in the wall, the head of Mirza Muhammad-'Ali resting on the breast of the Báb. Seven hundred and fifty soldiers were positioned in three files. Roofs of the buildings around teemed with spectators. 

"Each row of soldiers fired in turn. The smoke from so many rifles clouded the scene. When it lifted the Báb was not there. Only His disciple could be seen, standing under the nail in the wall, smiling and unconcerned. Bullets had only severed the ropes with which they were suspended. Cries rang out from the onlookers: 'The Siyyid-i-Báb has gone from our sight!' 

"A frantic search followed. The Báb was found, sitting in the same room where He had been lodged the night before, in conversation with His amanuensis. That conversation had been interrupted earlier in the day. Now it was finished and He told the farrash-bashi to carry out his duty. But the farrash-bashi was terror-stricken and ran away, nor did he ever return to his post. Sam Khan, for his part, told his superiors that he had carried out the task given to him; he would not attempt it a second time. So Aqa Jan Khan-i-Khamsih and his Nasiri regiment replaced the Armenians, and the Báb and His disciple were suspended once again at the same spot. The Nasiri regiment fired. The bodies of the Báb and His disciple were shattered, and their flesh was united." ¹

The remains of this most noble of beings were thrown outside the city gates to be eaten by wild animals. Though thankfully a number of Bábís worked together under the darkness of night to rescue the remains. They were hidden away for many decades until in 1909`Abdu’l-Bahá' had them placed in a special tomb on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.

1  Balyuzi, H.M. (1973). The Báb: The Herald of the Day of Days. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. pp. 154–161.