The Báb

The coming of the Báb

The Shrine of the Báb, Haifa ©

Mulla Husayn and his brother and nephew, in search of the Promised One of Shi'a Muslim tradition, travelled to Shiraz, a city in the south of Iran. Mulla Husayn sent his companions on ahead and waited outside the gates of the city.

He was approached by a stranger wearing a green turban, which indicated that the wearer was descended from the Prophet Muhammad. The stranger welcomed Mulla to Shiraz and offered him hospitality in his house.

Discovering the Báb

The young man wearing the green turban was called Siyyid Ali Muhammad and he was descended from the Prophet Muhammad through both of his parents.

Mulla Husayn told the young man about his search for the Promised One. When Ali Muhammad asked how Siyyid Kázim's followers would recognise the Promised One, Mulla Husayn repeated Siyyid Kázim's description -

Ali Muhammad then said, "Behold, all these signs are manifest in me."

Because Ali Muhammad was able to explain some of the difficult teachings of Shaykh Ahmad to him, Mulla Husayn believed that Ali Muhammad was the Promised One.

And when he wrote a commentary on the Surih of Joseph (a chapter in the Qu'ran), Mulla Husayn became certain. Mulla Husayn had been told by Siyyid Kázim that the Promised One would be able to write such a commentary without being asked.

This is one of the fundamentally significant moments in Bahá'í history. Mulla Husayn wanted to escape the implication of the Báb's declaration but in the end the facts forced him to acknowledge it.

Ali Muhammad declared:

He did this some 2 hours 11 minutes after sunset on 22 May 1844 and this time is celebrated by Bahá'ís as the Declaration of the Báb and the beginning of a new era in human history.

Building a following

The first followers

Shrine of the Báb at night ©

Mulla Husayn declared his faith in the Báb and became the first believer.

Later, in accordance with Ali Muhammad's instructions, seventeen other seekers of the faith independently accepted the Báb's claim and these first 18 believers were appointed Letters of the Living.

The Letters of the Living were sent throughout Iran to announce that the Day of God heralded in the Qur'an had finally dawned.

A threat to Islam

The Báb's teachings were a threat to the very foundations of Islam, since Muslims believe that Muhammad was the Seal of the Prophets - the bearer of God's final revelation - and that no further revelation of the Divine Purpose would ever be needed.

Bahá'í scholars (and some Muslim scholars) don't agree with this - they say that this belief is based on a particular interpretation of some of the Arabic text of the Qur'an, and that the relevant texts can be interpreted in a way that does not make Muhammad the final Prophet of God.

However, the belief that Muhammad is the final Prophet of God is the orthodox Muslim view, and would have been universal in the time and place of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. According to this orthodox view the Báb (and Bahá'u'lláh) were preaching serious heresy.

Consequently, while the message of the Báb was causing great excitement in some parts of Persia, there was also violent opposition to his claims in other parts of the country.

Arrest of the Báb

The Báb sent the Letters of the Living to spread the news of his coming throughout Persia but took his favourite disciple, Quddus, to Mecca and Medina to make his mission public.

Whilst his proclamation in Mecca went largely unnoticed, his missionaries in Shiraz had added the Báb's name to the Muslim call to prayer and, as a result, he was arrested and returned to Shiraz.

The Báb was released to the care of his uncle but was required to make a public recantation of his claim to be the Báb of the Imam.

He refused to do this and he was imprisoned in Mah-Ku to the north of the country.

Such was his influence and impact on local people there that he was soon sent to an even more remote prison in Chihriq.

As in Mah-Ku, the prison officer there converted to the teachings of the Báb and a stream of visitors were soon allowed to visit him.

The torch passes

The execution of the Báb

While the Báb was in prison his disciples were tortured and killed for what they were preaching.

The Báb himself was finally imprisoned in Tabriz and sentenced to death.

In 1850 he was led through crowded streets to a place where he was to be executed in front of some 10,000 people.

The leader of the regiment ordered to carry out the execution was a Christian named Sam Khan. He asked forgiveness of the Báb who told him simply to carry out his instructions.

The Báb and his young companion were suspended from ropes against a wall and shot.

But the seven hundred and fifty guns of the regiment only shredded the ropes, and failed to kill the Báb.

Sam Khan ordered his regiment out and refused to let them have anything further to do with the execution.

Another regiment was assembled and completed the execution at noon on 9th July 1850.

The Báb had claimed to be the bearer of a revelation from God but his main message was that one was to come after him who would be greater than he and who would appear after his (the Báb's) death.

He had written:

Two years after the Báb's death, with his followers still in grief and despair, there was an attempt to assassinate the Shah of Persia.

The attempt failed and the Shah was only slightly wounded. However, the act triggered off a wave of persecution against the followers of the Báb (Bábis) and one man, named Bahá'u'lláh, was thrown into prison, blamed for the attempted assassination.

While in prison, Bahá'u'lláh had a vision.