 Shrine of the Báb at night from above in Haifa Israel Siyyid Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad (میرزا علیمحمد in Persian) (October 20, 1819 - July 9, 1850), later to become known as the Báb ("باب" meaning "Gate" in Persian and Arabic;) was seen by Bábís (and is seen by modern Bahá'ís) to be an independent Manifestation of the Cause of God, or Prophet on par with Moses, Jesus, or Muhammad (though his claim was at first understood by some of the public at the time to be merely a reference to the Gate of the Hidden Imám of Muhammad, which he publicly disclaimed, later boldly proclaiming himself, in the presence of the Heir to the Throne of Persia and other notables, to be the Promised One or Qá'im to Shí'ih Muslims). The Báb founded the Bábí religion which would become, in the days of Bahá'u'lláh and afterwards, the Bahá'í Faith. His titles included, among others, the "Herald of the Faith" and the "Point of the Bayan".
The Báb's Life
Early life
Born on October 20 1819, in Shiraz to a well-known merchant of the city of Shiraz, his father died soon after his birth and the boy was raised by his uncle Hájí Mirzá Siyyid 'Ali, who was also a merchant. As a child he learned to read and write and was sent with other children to a teacher of religion. During these lessons the little boy showed uncommon wisdom and quickly attracted attention, since not only did he ask very difficult questions, but he answered them himself. He did this so well that his teacher was dumbfounded. Upon reaching manhood, he joined his uncle in the family business, a trading house, and became a merchant. 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.
Proclamation
 View of the upper room of the Báb´s house in shiraz where he declared his mission In the 1830's in Persia, Siyyid Kázim of Rasht was the leader of the Shaykhis, a sect of Shiite Islam. The Shayhkis were expecting the eminent appearance of the Qá'im of the House of Muhammad, also called the Mahdi.
At Siyyid Kázim's death in 1843, he had counselled his followers to leave their homes to seek the Lord of the Age whose advent would soon break on the world. One of these followers called Mulla Husayn travelled to Shiraz.
On his arrival on May 23, 1844, Mulla Husayn was approached by a young man wearing a green turban (an indication that the wearer was a descendent of the Prophet Muhammad). The stranger, the Báb, invited Mulla Husayn to his home. After being asked by the Báb of what he was doing in Shiraz, Mulla Husayn replied that he was searching for the Promised One. The Báb then asked how would the Promised One be recognized, to which Mulla 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 Mulla Husayn, the Báb declared "Behold, all these signs are manifest in me.".
Mulla 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 Surah of Joseph (a chapter in the Qur'an) without being asked. The Báb fulfilled this requirement as well, writing the commentary after making his declaration. The Báb then declared O Thou who art the first to believe in Me! and took the title the Báb.
Mulla Husayn became the Báb's first disciple. Within a very short time, 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
To these first eighteen disciples the Báb gave the task of spreading the new Faith throughout the land.
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 pilgrimmage to Mecca and Medina, the sacred cities of Islam. In Mecca, the Báb wrote to the Sharif of Mecca explaining his mission. After their pilgrammage, the Báb and Quddús, returned to Bushehr, Persia.
After some time, due to opposition from the Islamic clergy (according to Bahá'ís), 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. The Báb 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 claims to be, the Báb responded that he was the Promised One who the people of Islam were waiting for. He was then ordered back to the fortress of Chihriq.
Martyrdom
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, 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 a courtyard filled with nearly ten thousand people wishing to watch his execution. The Báb and Anís were suspended on a wall, and then 750 Armenian soldiers, split into three rows, fired. When the smoke cleared Anís was left unhurt with the ropes binding him severed and the Báb was nowhere to be seen. After the Báb was finally found nearby, another regiment of soldiers had to be found, with the original regiment now refusing to perform the execution. This time the Báb and Anís were killed, and their fractured bodies were disposed of in a ditch.
For many years after his death, the remains of the Báb were secretly transferred from place to place until they were brought to their final resting place at the Shrine of the Báb on the side of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel on the ninth terrace of the Bahá'í Gardens.
The Bab was succeeded as head of the Babis by Mirza Yahya Nuri also known as Subh-i-Azal, who he entrusted to finish his unfinished work the Persian Bayan.
Writings
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 Bayan
- Kitáb-i-Asmá (The Book of Names)
- Dalá'il-i-Sab'ih (The Seven Proofs).
- Arabic Bayan
- Qayyum al-Asma
References
- Britannica (Eds.) Bahá'í Faith, 1988 Encyclopaedia Britannica.
- British Broadcasting Corporation (2002). BBC Religion and Ethics Special: Bahá'í (http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/bahai/). Retrieved January 22, 2005.
- Browne, E.G. (1889) "The Babis of Persia" in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, pp. 485-526 and 881-1009.
- Browne, E.G. (translator) (1893). The New History of the Báb. Cambridge.
- Browne, E.G. (1891). A Travellers Narrative. Cambridge.
- Effendi, Shoghi (1974). God Passes By. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois 60091. ISBN 0-87743-020-9. Available online here (http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/GPB/).
- Gobineau, Conte (1864). Les Religions et les Philosophies dans lAsie Centrale.
External links
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