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Transcript of For the Study of the Babi Religion - Forgotten Books
MATER IALS
FOR THE STUDY OF
THE BABI’
REL IG ION
CAMBRIDGE UN IVERSITY PRESS
C . F . CLAY, MANAGER
LONDON ED INBURGH
FETTER LANE, E .C. 4 x oo P R INCES STREET
NEW YORK : G . P . PUTNAM ’
S SON SBOMBAY, CALCUTTA ,
MADRAS : MACM I LLAN AND CC ., LTD.
TORONTO : J . M . DENT AND SON S , LTD.
TOKYO : THE MARUZEN-KABUSH IKI -KA I SHA
‘A bbés E fend i ‘A ba’u’
l—Babd, eldest son of B ahé’u
’
lléh,en t i tled
A I-G/zugnu’
l-A ‘
gam (“ the M ost M igh t y
F rorz
MATER IAL S
FOR THE STUDY OF
THE BABi R EL IG ION
COMP ILED BY
EDWARD G . BROWNEM .A . , M .E . ,
SirThomas A dams’ P rofesso r of A rab ic
and Fellow of Pemb roke Colleg e in the Universi ty of Camb r idg e
Cambridge
at the University Press
1 9 1 8
CONTE NTS
INTRODUCTION .
I . An E p i tome ofBab i and Baha’ i h is tory to A .D . 1 898 ,
t ransla ted from the o r ig inal A rab ic of MirzaMuhammad Jawad of Qazwin
I I . Ib rah im Geo rge Khay ru’llah and the Baha’i PrOpag anda in Amer ica
I I I . Fur the r N o tes on Bab i,A zal i and Baha’i L i tera
ture,O r iental and Occ idental, p r in ted, l i tho
g raphed and manusc r ip tIV . F ive unpub l ished con tempora ry documen t s , Per
s ian and E ng l i sh, relat ing to the Bab ’s ex am ina t ion at Tab riz in 1 848
V. An Aus t r ian Officer’s account of the cruel t iesp rac t i sed on the Bab is who suffered in theg rea t Persecu t ion of 1 8 52
VI . Two unpub l ished contemporary S ta te P apersb ear ing on the removal of the Bab is fromBaghdad to Turkey in E urope, da ted May 1 0
,
1 862
V I I . P e rsecut ions of
i
Bab is in 1 8 8 8 — 1 89 1 a t I sfahanand Yazd
VI I I . Accoun t of the Death and Bur ial of M i’ rza Yahya
S ubh-i-A zal on Apr i l 29 , 1 9 1 2IX. L i s t of the Descendan ts of Mi rzaBuzu rg of N L
’
Ir,
the Fa ther both of Baha’u’llah and of S ubh-iA zal
X. Th i rty here t ical doc tr ines ascr ib ed to the Bab isin the [Zzgdgu
’
l-Haqg of AqaMuhammad Taq iof Hamadan
XI . S elec ted poems b y Qurratu’l-‘Ayn and Nab i l
INDEX
L I ST OF OTHER WORKS BY THE AUTHOR OF TH I S BOOK
L IS T OF I L LU STRATION S
‘Ab bas E fend i ‘A éa’u’
l—B afié
T0face 15 .
Invi ta t ion to cen tenary of Baha’u’llah’s b i r th to b e cele x x 1v
b rated at Chicag o on Novemb er 10 - 1 2 , 1 9 1 7
Mushk in Qalam the Bab i call ig raph i s t 44
Port ra i t s of ten no tab le Bab i s 56
The NormAmeri can of Feb . 1 6, 1 902 1 5 1
The N ew York Times of D ec . 1 8 , 1 904 1 52
The B afiei’
z’
News of Aug . I , 1 9 10 1 77
Fac-s im i le of documen t A 249
B 2 56
B1 2 59
A . 6 277
A . 7 279
Fune ral of Mirza Yahya S y bil-Z1A 2a! 3 1 2
S AM -LA M ! and three of hi s sons 322
Fac-sim i le of alleged autog raph poem b y Qurratu’I-‘Ayn 344
E RRATA
The descriptions of S ec t ions V I I I and XI should s tand asg iven in the Tab le of Con tents on the preced ing pag e, and notas in the i r respec t ive t i tles on pp. 309 and 34 1 .
I NTRODUCTION
EARLY thirty years have elapsed s ince I first established
direct relations with the Bab is in Persia, having already
become deeply interested in then history and doctrines
th rough the l ively and graphic narrative of the Comte de
Gobineau in hi s classical work L es R eligions et les P oi/o
sopaies o’azi s Z
’Asie Centrate. S ubsequently ( in the spring of
1 8 90) I vis ited Mirz a Yahya S aba-21 142211 (“ the Dawn of
E tern ity and Mirz a Husayn ‘Ali (
“ the Splen
dour of the respect ive heads of the two rival parties
into which the original community had split, at Famagustain Cyprus and at ‘Akka (S t Jean d
’
Acre) i n S yria 5 and
from that time unti l now I have main tained more or less
continuous ‘ relat ions with both parties through varIous
channels . Fresh and fuller material s for the study of Béb ihistory and doctrine have continued to flow in to my handsthrough these channels
,unti l
,apart from what I had ut iliz ed
fully or in part in previous pub licationsl,a considerable
1 The more important of these pub l icat ions, arrang ed in chronolog i
cal order, are as follows. ( 1 ) Toe Ba’
b i’
s of P ersia : i . S ketch of thei rH istory and P ersonal Exper iences amongst them ; i i . Thei r L i teratureand Doc tr ines S .
,Vol. x x i , (2) A Traveller’s N arrati ve
eta ,Persian text and Eng l ish t ranslat ion,
.
2 vols. (Camb . Univ . P ress,(3) S ome Remarks on tae b
’
a’
oz’
Tex t edi ted by Baron V. R ose”
Vol. xxiv, (4) Catalog ue and D escription of 2 7
B a'
oz’
Manuscripts Vol. xx iv, ( 5 ) A Year among st
v i i i INTRODUCTION
amoun t of new and unpubl i shed ma t ter had accumulated inmy hands . Much of th is matter
,con si s t ing of manuscript
and prin ted documents in various Eastern and Westernlanguages , could on ly be in terpreted in connection wi th thecorrespondence relating to it
,and would inevitably
,I fel t
,
be los t i f I did not myself endeavou r to record i t i n anin tel l igible form
,capable of being used by future students
of th i s subject. H ence the origin of th is book,which
,i f
somewhat lacking in coherence and un i formi ty,will
,I bel ieve
,
be of val ue to anyone who shall in the future des ire to study
more profoundly a movement which , even if i t s practicaland poli t ical importan ce should prove to be less than I
had once thought, wil l alway s be profoundly in terest ing to
students of Comparative R el igion and the h is tory of R eligiou sEvolu tion .
The book , i n the form which i t has fi nal ly assumed ,comprises eleven more or l ess independen t sect ions
,abou t
each of which something must be said .
S ection I (pp . 3— 1 1 2 ) i s a tran slation into Engl i sh of a
short h istorical and biograph ical sketch of the Babi move
ment, of th e l ife of Baha
’u ’l lah , of the further schi sm whichsucceeded h is death , and of the Baha
’i propaganda inAmerica, written in A rabic by Mirz a Muhammad Jawad
of Qazwin,by whom the original , and , I bel i eve, unpubli shed
manuscript was transm itted to me . I was no t personal ly
t/ze P ersians (A . and C. Black , (6) Tb e Ya’rz
’
bb -z'
Jadz’
d or N ew
H istory (f u t/wBa’
b , translat ion (Camb . Univ . P ress, (7) P ay .
sonal Reminiscences of the Ba’
b i’
I nsurrection at Zan/a’
n in 1 8 50,
t ranslated from the Persian Vol. xx ix , (8 ) Tb c
[( zta’
b-i -N ugtatu’l-Ka
'
f , b eing the earl iest history of the Bab is,comp iled
by Hajj i M irza Jani of Kashan : Persian text w i th Int roduc t ion in
Eng l ish (E .j. I/V. Gibb jifenzorz'
al S eries, Vol. x v, A lso ar t icles
on Bri bz'
s in the S upplement to the E ncy clopaed’ia B ritanni ca and
Hast ings’ D ictionary of Relig ions.
INTRODUCT ION i x
acquain ted with the author,but h is son
,Mirz a Ghulamu ’l lah
,
paid me a vi si t of several days at Cambridge in January,
1 90 1 , on hi s way to the United S tates . Both belong to thatsection of the Baha’ i s
,called by themselves “ Un itarian s ”
(A /zlu’t Maze/ablation) and by their opponents
“Co
venant-breakers who rej ect the Claims of ‘Abbas
E fendi ‘Abdu ’l-Baha (whom the majority of the Baha’ i s
recogniz e as their head) and follow hi s half—brother, Mirz aMuhammad ‘Ali . From incidental remarks in the narrativewe learn that the author, M irz a Muhammad Jawad , was at
Baghdad (p . 1 5 ) about 1 8 6 2 or a l i tt le earl ier, shortly before
the removal of the leading Bab I’
s thence to Adrianople that
he was with them at Adrianople (pp . 2 5 , 2 7, 2 8 ) for rather
more than a year before Baha’u ’l lah was transferred thenceto ‘Akka i n August, 1 8 68 that h e was Baha ’u ’l lah ’s fellowpassenger on the steamer wh ich conveyed him from Gall ipol ito Hayfa (p. 3 2 ) 3 that he was at
‘Akka i n January,1 8 7 2
when S ayyid Muhammad of I sfahan and the other Azah’
s
were assassinated (pp . 5 4—
5 ) and also at the time of, or soon
after,Baha’u ’llah ’s death on May 2 8
,1 8 9 2 , when he was on e
of the n ine Companions Chosen by ‘Abbas E fendi to hear
the reading of the “ Tes tament or “ Covenan t,
”
(p .
We also learn (pp . 3 5- 6) that he was one of several Babis
arrested at TabrI'
z about the end of 1 8 66 or beginning of
1 8 6 7 , when , more fortuna te than some of h is companions , heescaped with a fine . Thi s is the only mention he makes of
being in Persia,and it is probable that from this date onwards
he was always with Baha’u ’l lah , firs t at Adrianople and then
at ‘Akka
,where
,so far as I know, he i s st i l l l iving , and
where hi s son Mirz a Ghulamu ’l lah was born and brought
up . S ince the entry of Turkey in to the European War in
Novemb er,1 9 1 4, i t has, of course, been impossible to com
municate with ‘Akka, or to obtain news from thence .
B. B.
X INTRODUCT ION
Mirz a Jawad’
s narrative“
is val uable on accoun t of thenumerous date s wh ich i t gives
,and because i t comes down
to so late a date as March,1 908 (p . while Nab il
’
s
chronological poem ( see p . 3 5 7) stops short at the end of1 8 69 . The value o f h is accoun t of the propaganda carriedon in the United S tates of Americ a by Dr I . G . Khayru ’ llah
has been somewhat d iscounted by th i s gentleman ’s recen t
publicat ion of h is autobiography in h is book 0 Cbristians!
zolly doy e believe not in C/zrist 7 (p . which reached me
only after th i s port ion o f my book was already in type .
S ection [I (pp . 1 1 5— 1 7 1 ) deal s more ful ly with the
Baha ’ i propaganda carried on in America since 1 8 9 3 by
Dr I . G . Khayru ’llah and his converts with remarkablesuccess . O f the methods employed an i l luminat ing accoun t
(pp . 1 1 6 — 1 42 ) i s given by an American lady of enquiringm ind who attended the c lasses of in struction in a sympa
thetic bu t critical spi ri t . H er notes show very clearly the
adaptation of the Baha ’i doctrine to i t s new environmen t ina manner which can hardly fail to rem ind the O rien tal is t o fthe o ld Isma
‘ih’
propaganda,sti l l fu rth er recal led by the
form of al legiance (p . 1 2 1 ) which the neophyte i s obligedto S ign before he is ful ly ini tiated in to the detai l s of the newdoctrin e . Extracts from the American Press in the years
1 902—
4 are ci ted to S how how much atten t ion , and evenin some quarters alarm
,was arou sed by the success o f
the new doctrin es . Khayru’
llah’s narrat ive (pp . 1 54
—
5 )of the threats addressed to h im on accoun t o f hi s apos tasyfrom ‘Abbas E fendi ‘Abdu
’
l-Baha by Mirz a Hasan -i-Khura
sani,and the h is tory of the sad fate of Mirz a Yahya at
Jedda (pp . 1 5 6— 1 67 ) read l ike extracts from the history
of th e A ssass in s of AlamI’
I t and “ the O ld Man of theMountain .
”
S ection I ] ! (pp. 1 7 5— 24 3 ) conta in s a bibl iography of
INTRODUCTION x i
I ) !everything written by or about the Babis and Baha IS ineastern or western languages which has come under my
notice since the publication of the bibl iography In Vo l . 1 1 ofmy Travelle/ s N arrative in 1 8 9 1 , and of my Catalog ue andD escription of 27 B a
’
bi Manascripts in the for 1 8 9 2 .
This supplementary bibl iography contain s descript ions of
49 printed works in European languages (Engl ish, French ,German and R ussian), 1 8 printed and l i thographed works
in A rabic and Persian,and between 30 and 40 Bab I
’
,A z al i
and Baha ’i books which exis t only in manuscript . Nearlyal l of these are in my own l ibrary, and in many cases were
presen ted to me by their authors or by kind friends whoknew of the interest I fel t in the subj ect
,but in the case of
the manuscripts I have included brief description s of a
number of books (mostly obtained from Cyprus through thelate Mr Claude Delaval Cobham , for whom they were
copied by S ubh-i-A z al ’s son R igwan ‘Ali
,alias “ Constan tine
the Persian belonging to the Brit i sh Museum,which were
examined and described for me by my friend and former
colleague Dr Ahmad Khan . For several rare manuscriptworks I am indebted to an old Babi scribe of I sfahan
,
resident at Tihran , with whom I was put in communIcatIon
by Dr S a ‘id Khan o f H amadan , who, though coming of a
family of nzallas, i s a fervent Christian , while preserving in
true Persian fashion a keen interest in other religious bel iefs .
This old scribe,a fol lower of S ubh-i-A zal , seems to have
been in Close touch with many Babis in al l parts of Persia,and on several occasion s when persecutions threatened or
broke out to have been entru sted by them with the custody
o f books which they feared to keep in their own houses, andwhich in some cases they failed to reclaim , so that he had
access to a large number of rare Bab i wo rks , any of which hewas wil l ing to mm for me at a very moderate charge .
x i i INTRODUCT ION
S ection I V (pp . 247— 264) contain s the text and tran s
lation , with photographic fac-sinziles, of three original Persiandocuments connected with the examination and condemna
t ion of the Bab for heresy,one of wh ich appears to show that
he formal ly abj ured al l h i s claims,and begged for mercy and
forgiveness . These are fol lowed by two Engli sh documentspenned by the late DrCormick of Tabriz
,one of which give s
the impression produced on h im by the Bab , whom he wascalled in to see profess ionally . I do not know of any other
European who saw and conversed wi th the Bab, or, i f suchthere were
,who has recorded h i s impress ion s .
S ection V (pp . 267— 2 7 1 ) con tains a moving accoun t by
an Austrian officer, Captain von Goumoens , who was in theservice of Nasiru’
d-Din S hah in the summer of 1 8 5 2 ,of the
horribl e cruel t ies infl ic ted on the Babis i n the great perse
cution of that period which resu lted from the attempt bythree Babis on the S hah ’s l ife cruel t ies so revol t ing that hefel t h imself unable to continue any longer in the service ofa ruler who sanctioned them .
S ection V] (pp . 2 75— 2 8 7) con tain s the fac—sini iles
,text s
and tran slat ions of two Persian S tate papers bearing on thenegotiat ions between the Persian and Turki sh Government s
as to the removal of the Bab i l eaders from Baghdad to a
part of the O t toman Empire more remote from the Persianfron tier . These documents were kindly communicated to
me by M . A .
—L .-M . N i colas
,a French diplomati st who has
devoted much atten t ion to the h istory and doctrine of the
Babi s,and whose father i s wel l known to Persian students
as the fi rs t to introduce to Europe the now celebrated quatrains of ‘
Umar-i-Khayyam .
S ection V] ! (pp . 2 9 1—
308 ) con tain s accounts received atthe t ime from various correspondents as to the persecution sof Babis at I sfahan and the neighbou ring vi l lages of S i-dih
INTRODUCTION x i i i
and Najafabad in 1 8 8 8 —
9 , and at Yazd in May, 1 8 9 1 . For
these accounts I am indebted to the late Dr R obert Bruce ,Mr S idney Churchill
,Mr (now S ir) Walter Townley,
‘Abbas
E fendi ‘Abdu ’l-Baha,his brother M irz a Badi ‘u’llah, and two
o ther Baha’is , one actual ly res ident at Yaz d at the time of
the persecution . T0 another horrible persecution of Babis
in the same town in the summer of 1 903 some references
wi l l be found in the R ev . Napier Malcolm ’s i l luminating
work F ive Years in a P ersian Town (pp . 1 5 5— 6
,1 8 6
S ection VI ] ! (pp . 3 1 1—
3 1 5 ) contain s the translation of
an accoun t of the death and burial of Mirz a Yahya S ubh-i
A zal on Monday,Apri l 2 9 , 1 9 1 2 , written in Persian by his
son R iz wan ‘Ali alias Constant ine the Persian ,
” and also
some further in formation on matters connected with the
succession kindly furn ished to me by Mr H . C . Lukach,to
whom I am further indebted for permiss ion to reproduce
here two photog raphs of the funeral which he publ ished in
h is book T/ze F ring e of tbc E ast ; for which perm ission I
desire to express my sincere grati tude both to him and h is
publishers , Messrs Macmil lan .
S ection 1X (pp . 3 1 9—
3 2 2 ) contain s a l i st of the descendants of Mirz a Buz urg of Nat in Mazandaran , the father ofboth Baha ’u ’llah and S ubh-i-A zal, ofwhich the original Persian,drawn up by a younger member of the family, was sent tome by the Bab i scribe al ready ment ioned (p . xi supra) . This
i s fol lowed by li sts of the children of Baha’u ’l lah and S ubh — i
A zal compi led from other trustworthy sources .
S ection X (pp . 3 2 5—
3 39 ) contain s a condensed summary
in Eng l ish of a portion of the polemical work [li gaqa’l-H aoo
deal ing with the principal doctrines of the Babis and Baha’isdeemed heret ical by the S hi ‘a Muhammadans . I have some
times been reproached with having written so much moreabout the history of the Babis than abou t their doctrines
,
x iv INTRODUCTION
though I hOpe that the IntrOduction to my edi tion of Haj j iM irz a Jani ’s N notata
’l-R of
l has i n some degree removedth i s reproach . But the fact i s that
,though the syn thesi s
may be original , almost every singl e doctrin e held by theBabis and Baha’ i s (and their doctrine, even on such importan t matters as the Future L i fe
,i s by no means fixed and
uniform ) was previously hel d and elaborated by one or
ano ther of the earl ier cognate sects grouped together underthe general t it le of G iza/cit, whereo f the I sma ‘i l is are themost notable represen tative . The jbga
’
oa’
l-H ago, which
shows a much better knowledge of the opi n ions which i taspires to refute than most polemical works directed againstthe Babis
,summariz es in a conven ien t form the most sal ien t
poin ts of doctr ine in which the Babis d i ffer from the S hi‘a
Muhammadans .
S ection XI (pp . 343 which concludes the volume,
con tains the texts , accompanied in some cases by tran s
lations, of one unpub li shed and two already publ ished poem sby Qurratu
’
l-‘Ayn and of two poems by Nabil o f Zarand .
I should like to have en larged th is section by the addi tiono f other Babi poems i n my possess ion , especially of the
Qasicia-ziA li/iy ya of Mirz a A slam of N Ii r ( see pp . 2 2 8
but the book had al ready cons iderably exceeded the l imi t swhich I had assigned to i t , and I regretfu l ly postponed thei r
publ ication to some futu re occasion .
As regards the i llus tration s , the original s from which they
are taken have in several cases been in my possess ion formany years
,but I desire here to expres s my thanks to Dr Ignaz
Goldz iherfor the two American newspapers partly reproducedon the plates facing pp . 1 5 1 and 1 5 2 to M . H ippoly te Dreyfu s
for the three document s (A , R ,and B bearing on the
1 Vol. xv of the E .j I/V. Gi bb Memorial S eries.
x v i INTRODUCT ION
we have to d is t inguish between the act ivit ies of the two rival
parties . The A zalI’
s, from the fi rst a minori ty,were much
more cut off from external activi ty than the Baha’i s . They
represented what may be called the con servat ive party , and
experience shows that with such religiou s bodies as the Bab I’
s
fresh man ifestat ion s of act ivity and developments of doctrine
are essent ial to mainta in and in crease their v ital i ty . The same
phenomenon was wi tnessed again in the further schi sm which
took place after the death of Baha ’u ’
l lah in 1 8 9 2 ; the con
servative tendencies represen ted by Muhammad ‘Ali could
not hold their own again st the innovation s of h i s more ab leand energet ic hal f— brother ‘Abbas Effendi ‘Abdu ’ l-Baha, who
s ince the beginning of thi s century commands the allegianceI ) !of the vast maj ori ty of the Baha Is both in the East and in
the West .
That the Baha IS con sti tu ted a great poten tial pol i t icalforce in Pers ia when I was there in 1 8 8 7
— 8 was to me self
evident . Their actual numbers were con siderable (Lord
Curz on est imated them at the time he wrote 1 at nearer am il l ion than half a mi l l ion soul s), their intel ligence andsocial posi tion were above the average , they were particu
larly wel l represented in the postal and telegraph services,they were wel l d iscip l in ed and accustomed to yield a ready
devotion and obedience to thei r spiritual leaders,and their
att i tude toward s the secular and eccles iastical ru lers of Persia
was hos t i le or at least i ndifferent . Any Power wh ich , byconci l iating their S upreme Pontiff at ‘
Akka, could have
made u se of th i s organiz ation in Pers ia m igh t have estab
lished an enormous influence in that coun try, and though
the valuable researches of the late Baron Victor R osenand Captain Tumanskiy were no doubt chiefly in spi red byscientific curiosi ty , there may have been , at any rate in the
1 P ersia (London,Vol. i , p . 499 .
INTRODUCTION x v i i
case of the latter gentleman,some arriere-pense
’
e of a pol it icalcharacter: A t any rate the R ussian Governmen t showed a
good deal of civi l i ty to the Baha’isl of ‘I shqabad (Askabad),where they allowed or encouraged them to bu ild a Masbri
on’l-A a
’lzkcir
,or place of worship
,which was
,I bel ieve
,the
first of its kind ever erected ; and when a leading Baha’
i
was murdered there by fanatics from Mashhad,the R ussian
authori t ies condemned the assass in s to death,though sub
sequently,at the intercession of the Baha’is
,thei r sentence
was commuted to hard labour in the S i berian mines . That
Baha’u ’llah was not insensible to these amenit ies is clearly
apparen t from two letters fi lled with praises of the R ussian
Government which he addressed to his fol lowers shortly
afterwards,and which were publ ished by Baron R osen
,to
gether with an accoun t of the Ci rcumstances above referred
to , in Vol. vi of the Collections S cientifioaesg. I f the state
ment (on p . 1 1 infra ) that Colonel (afterwards S ir) A rnold
Burrows Kemball, when Brit ish Consul —General at Baghdad
about 1 8 5 9 , offered Briti sh protect ion to Baha’u ’llah be true
,
th is would accoun t for the laudatory tone adopted by him
in the epi stle which he addressed to Queen Victoria . Noneo f the other rulers addressed in the Epistles to the K ings ”
come off so well , and for Napoleon I I I in particular disaster
i s clearly foretold . Germany fares no better than France,
being thus apostrophiz ed in the ‘
K i ta’
b-i -Aoa’as
0 banks of tlze river R /zine, l/Ve lzave seen you a
’renclzea
’
in g orefor tlzat tlze swora’s of tlzefoes are drawn ag a insty ou,
1 Already in 1 8 5 2 the Russian M inister at Tihran had intervenedin Baha’u’llah’s favour (see pp . 6 —
7 infra) , for which intervent ionBaha’u’
lla’ h expresses his g rat i tude in the Ep istle to the Tsar of Russiafor 1 8 8 9 , p .
2 S ee also my R emarks on these texts in the for 1 892 ,
pp . 3 1 8—
32 1 .
INTRODUCT ION
ana’
you slzall lzave anotlzer turn! And we li cor t/ze wail ofBerlin, altkoug lz it be to
-o’
ay in consp icuous g lory !” 1
The occasion of th i s outburst,according to R oemer 2
,was
the omission of the then Crown— Prince of Pru ssia FriedrichWilhelm to pay his respect s to Baha
’u ’l lah when he visited
Palestine in the autumn of 1 8 69 . I n the main,however
,
Baha’u ’l lah wisely avoided any pol itical entanglements,and
indeed sought rather to conci l iate the S hah and the Persiangovernment , and to represen t such persecution s of hi s foll owers as took place in Pers ia as the work of fanaticaltheo logian s whom the governmen t were unable to restrain .
The Azalis, on the o ther hand , preserved the old Bab i
tradi tion of unconquerable hostil i ty to the Pers ian th ron eand government .
I n the Persian Const i tu tional or Nat ional Movementdating from the end of 1 905 the A zalI
'
s and Baha ’i s were , as
usual,in opposi te camps . Officially ‘Abbas E fend i ‘Abdu ’l
Baha commanded hi s fo l lowers to absta in enti rely frompol it ics
,while in private he compared the demand of the
Persian s for parl iamentary governmen t to that of unweaned
babes for s trong meat . S ome of the leading Baha’i s in
Tihran,however
,were accused
,whether justl y or not, of
actually favouring the reaction ". In any case their theocrat i c and in ternat ional tendencies can hardly have in spired
them with any very act ive sympathy with the Persian R evolution. The A zalis, on the other hand , though they canno tbe said to have any co l lective pol icy , as individual s took avery prominen t part i n the National Movement even beforethe R evolu t ion , and such men as Hajj i S haykh Ahmad
1 for 1 8 89 , p . 9 77 .
2 D ie Rabi -Delia? (Po tsdam , p . 108 .
3 S ee Roemer , op . ci t. pp. 1 5 3— 8 , and my P ersian R evolution,
pp . 424—
9
INTRODUCT ION x ix
R im of Kirman , son-in -law to Subh-i-Az al , and his friend
and fellow-townsman Mirz a Aqa Khan , both of whomsuffered death at Tabriz in
'
1 8 96 , were the fore-runners ofMirz a Jahangir Khan and the Maliku
’
l-Mutakallimin, whowere victim s of the reactionary coup el
’
e'
tot of June, 1 908 .
Indeed,as one of the most prominen t and cult ivated Azalis
admitted to me some six or seven years ago, the ideal of a
democratic Persia developing on purely national l ines seem s
to have inspired in the minds of no few leading A zalis the
same fiery en thusiasm as did the idea of a reign of the saint s
on earth in the case of the early Bab is . s i c
The poli tical ideals of the Baha’is have undergone con
siderable evolution since their propaganda achieved such
success in America,where they have come into more or
less close connection with variou s in ternational,pacifi s t
and femini st movements . These tendencies were,however
,
implici t i n Baha’u ’l lah ’s teachings at a much earl ier date,as
shown by the recommendation of a un iversal language and
script in the K itcib— i -Aga’os
,the exaltation of human itarianism
over patriot ism , the in sistence on the brotherhood of al lbel ievers
,i rrespective of race or co lour, and the ever-present
idea of “ the Most Great Peace ” (Sullt-i -Akbar) . I n connect ion with the las t i t i s i nteresting to note that Dr I . G .
Khayru ’l lah,
“ the second Columbus ” and “ Baha ’s Peter ”
as he was entitled after his successes in America, defin itely
stated in his book originally published at Chicagoin 1 8 99 (Vol . i i , pp . 480 that “ the Most Great Peace ”
would come in the year 1 33 5 of the fz’ijra, which began on
October 2 8,1 9 1 6, and ended on October 1 7, 1 9 1 7. Thi s
forecast,based on Daniel xii
,1 2
,B lessea
7is be tlzat waitetk
ana’conzetlz to tke end of tbe tlzousana
’tlzree lzuna
’
rea’
ana’
five
ana’tlzirty day s,
” has,unfortunately, not been real iz ed, but
the paragraph in which Khayru ’llah speaks of the frightfu l
INTRODUCT ION
war which must precede 7‘ the Most Great Peace is soremarkable
,when one remembers that i t was written fi fteen
years before the ou tbreak o f the Great War,that I cannot
re frain from quo ti ng it .“ I n test imony of the fulfi lmen t of H is Word
,the S pi ri t
o f God i s impell ing mankind toward that outcome withmighty speed . As the prophet indicated , the final condition
in which peace shal l.
be establ ished must be brought about
by unparal leled violence of war and bloodshed,which any
observer of European affairs at the presen t day can seerapidly approach ing . H i s tory i s being wri t ten at tremen
dous speed , human independence i s precipi tating the final
scenes in the drama of blood which is shortly dest ined to
drench Europe and As ia , after which the world wil l wi tness
the dawn of millennial peace,the natural
,logical and pro
phetical outcome of presen t human conditions .”
And again two pages fu rther on (p . 48 3 ) he says
A l though the thou sand years began with the departu reo f the Man ifestation 1 in 1 8 9 2 , the commencement of the
Great Peace wil l be in
He al so quotes Guinness as having wri tten ( i nThe secre t th ings belong to God . I t i s n ot for u s to say .
But there can be no question that those who l ive to see th isyear 1 9 1 7 wil l have reached one of the most importan t, per
haps the mos t momentous , of these term inal years of cri si s .”
2 E tltical interest.
While eth ical teaching occupies a very subord inate place
in the writ ings of the Bab and his d isciples,i t const i tutes the
ch ief part of the Baha’ i teachings . S ir Ceci l S pring-R ice ,
1 i . e. the death of Baha’u’ llah.
2 Leg/afor tb c Last D ay s (London,H odder and S toughton,
pp . 345— 6 . The reference (p . 2 24) g iven by Khayru’llah is evidently
to a different edi t ion.
INTRODUCTION x x i
formerly Brit i sh Min i ster at Tihran,who had the most extra
ordinary i n sigh t into the Persian mind , made one of themost i l luminating remarks I ever heard in this connection .
H e pointed out most truly that the problem which Baha’u’l lah
had to solve was a far greater one than any mere question
of claims of succession , and was essential ly the same as that
wh ich confronted S t Paul,viz . whether the new religion
which he represen ted was to become a world religion ad
dressed to al l mankind, or whether i t was to remain a more
or l ess obscure sect of the religion from which it sprang .
Mutatis mutana’
is the strife between Baha’u ’l lah and S ubh-i
Azal was essent ial ly identical with the stri fe between S t P aul
and S t Peter, though in the former case the resul ti ng sepa
ration was even greater, and the Baha’ is regard the Bab as
a mere fore-runner and harbinger of the greater Manifestation,
and his writ ings and teach ings as practical ly abrogated,for
which reason they no longer will ingly suffer themselves to
be called Bab i’
s,a name which was sti l l almost un iversal ly
appl ied to them in Persia by those who were not members
of their body at any rate when I was there in 1 8 8 7— 8 .
Of the ethical teaching of Baha ’u ’l lah numerou s specimen sare g iven in thi s volume (pp . 64
—
73 infra) and many morehave been publi shed in E ng l ish by the American Baha’i
P ubl ish ing S ociety” and el sewhere . These teachings are
in themselves adm i rable, though inferior, in my opin ion ,both in beauty and simpl ici ty to th e teachings of Chris t .Moreover , as i t seems to me, ethics i s only the appl icationto everyday l ife of rel igion and metaphysics
,and to be
effect ive must be supported by some spiri tual sanction and
in the case of Baha’i sm , with i t s rather vague doctrines as to
1 Address : 84, Adams S treet , Chicago ; or, Charles E . S prague,Pub l ishing Ag ent for the Baha’ is’ Board of Counsel , 1 9 1 , Williams
S treet , New York .
x x i i INTRODUCT ION
the nature and destiny of the soul of man,i t i s a l i tt le
d ifficul t to see whence the driving-power to en force thee thical maxims can be derived . I once heard Mr G .
Bernard S haw del iver an address to a branch of the FabianS ociety on “ The R el igion of the Future.
” I n th is lecture
he said that he was unwil l ing that the West should anylonger be content to clo the i tsel f in what he called “ the
rags of Orien tal systems of rel igion ”
; that he wanted a
good,heal thy Western rel ig ion , recogni z ing the highest type
o f humanity as the S uperman,or, i f the term was pre ferred ,
as God ; and that , accord ing to th is conception , man wasever engaged in creating God .
”As I l i stened I was greatly
s truck by the s im ilari ty of his language to that employed by
the Baha’i s ‘,and was diverted by the reflect ion that
,s trive as
he wou ld,th i s bri l l ian t modern thinker of the West could
not evolve a rel igion which the East had not al ready formulated . Yet i t would be an error to regard Baha’i sm merely
as an eth ical sys tem , as'
i s al ready shown b v the open ing
verse of the [( i tcib -i -Aqa’as
° Tbe first tking mizieb Goa’
katlt prescribed unto H is servants is t/ze recog nition of tite
D awning-
place of H is R evelation and tlze D ay-spring of H is
D ispensation. l osoever attainetk unto i f int lzat/t attained
unto all gooo’
,ana
’
wkosoever is lzina’erea'tkerefronz is in trutlz
of tlze people of error,even t/zougk li e bring fort/t all g ood
works.
3 . H istorical interest.
But the chief in terest of the s tudy of the Bab I' and Baha lmovements i s
,as i t seems to me
,neither poli t ical nor eth ical
,
but h istorical, because of the l ight it throws on the genesisand evolution of o ther religions . R enan emphasiz ed th is in
1 Cf. p . 346 infra, n. I aa’calc . ; and p . 2 1 1 of my Year amongst
tlze P ersians.
x x iv INTRODUCT ION
which al l references to Subli -i-A z al were el iminated or al tered,
and other features regarded as undesirable were suppressedor modified . Later a third official h is tory
,The Travel ler ’s
Narrative,
” Maga’
la-i — S lzakksi S ayy a’
lzl
,in wh ich the Bab
was represen ted as a mere forerunner of Baha’u ’l lah,was
i s sued from ‘Akka, and subsequen tly l i thographed to secure
i t s w ider diffusion , whi le the Ta’
rikk-i of wh ich no t
more than three or four copi es exi st i n Europe, was su fferedto remain in manuscript . Certain crit ical Chri stian theo
log ians have seen in Hajj i Mirz a Jan i’s h i s tory in i ts relat ion
to the later narrat ives a close paral le l to the Gospel of S tMark in it s relation to the synoptic gospel s .
Of the future of Baha ’i sm i t i s diflficult to haz ard a con
jecture, especial ly at the presen t time , when we are more cut
off from any trustworthy knowledge of what i s happening inthe world than at any previous period for many cen turies .
L ess than a month ago the centenary of Baha ’u ’l lah ’s birth
was celebrated in America , whither hi s teach ings have spread
only wi th in the last twen ty years , but what influence they
have attained or may in the fu ture attai n there or el sewhere
i t i s imposs ible to conj ecture .
EDWARD G . BROWNE .
D ecember 1 0,1 9 1 7 .
1 Ed i ted b y me w i th Eng l ish t ranslat ion and no tes in 1 89 1 .
11 IIIof G icago
invilcs you Io parlic ipafe
celebration
of l e bir of
lo 5 2 aid of
from mov embcr/ I a lea f In
I iw irtéf‘d siv e
g litzclcm q rzdrcd 5 cvcnlcerz
F ae - S im ile of Inv i ta t ion to the Cen tenary o f B aha’u
’llah
’
s b i r thon N ov . 1 0 — 1 2
,1 9 1 7 .
Baha’
n’
llah l9 I7
N thi s age , BAHA’
O'
LLAH has brea thed
the Holy S p iri t in to the dead b ody o f
the w orld. Con sequen tly , ev ery w eak soul i s
streng thened by those div i ne ou tbreathings.
Ev ery p oor m an w ill b ecome ri ch, ev ery
darkened soul w ill become illum ined, ev ery
ignorant one w ill become w i se , b ecau se the
confirmat i ons of the Holy S p i r i t are descend
ing'
like un to torrents . A new era of div i ne
con sc iou sness is up on u s . The w o rld of
human i ty is go i ng through a proces s of
transfo rmat ion . A new race i s b e i ng dev el
op ed. The thoughts of human b rotherhood
are permeat i ng the dep ths of hear t s and a
new sp iri t of un iv ersal consc iousnes s is
b ei ng p rofoundly felt by all m en .
From the U tterances of
ABDUL-BAHA
CENTENNIAL FESTIVAL
Satu rday ev en ing , at six o'
clock
CINEMATOGRAPH EXHIBITIONAbdul—Baha i n Am eri ca
( Castle Theater, S tate and Madison S treets)S unday morning , at n i ne o
'
clock
BAHA’
O’
LLAH’
S CONTRIBUTION TO WORLDCIVILIZATION
S unday afte rnoon , at half p ast three o’
clock
SERV ICE ON THE MASHRAK-EL-AZKARGROUNDS AT WILMETTE
Monday morn i ng , at half p as t ten o’clock
(w eather p erm i t t ing)
CONVENTION OF TEACHINGMonday afternoon , at three o ’clock
THE MASHRAK—EL—AZKAR IN AMERICA~Monday ev en i ng , at eight o
’
clock
Bahan llah I9 ] 7
PROGRAM
AN E P ITOME OF BABI AND BAHA’ I
H ISTORY To A .D . 1 8 9 8 , TRANS LATE DFROM THE OR IG INAL ARABIC OF
MI’
R zA MUHAMMAD JAWAD OF
QAZWIN
4 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY or THE EAE I’
RELIGION
the Promised Qa im (H e who shal l arise) and the Mahd i,whose adven t i s expected in I slam . Thi s even t happened
on t he 5 th of Jumada I , A .H . 1 260 (May 24,
From the very beginn ing of hi s Man ifestation,the Bab
began to give good tidings of the imminenceof some Great Even t and the adven t of someProm ised Benefactor
,of whom he made
ment ion i n h is w ri ti ngs with great emphas is,
even as John the Bapti s t foretold the appearance of the Lord Chris t, whom he mention s with the
utmost venerat ion and respect i n the Gospe l o f Matthew ,
Ch. i i i,verse 1 1
“ I baptiz e you with the Water of R epen tance
,but He who cometh after me i s s t ronger than I ,
who se shoe s I am unworthy to bear, He shal l baptiz e youwith the Holy S pi ri t and Fi re .
”And he ( the Bab) gives
good tidings to h is fol lowers of the Universal Man i festation,
whom he describes as “ He whom God shal l mani fes t,” or“ He who shal l appear
,which expression i s contained in
most of h i s writ ings . He lays great s tress on H is celebra
t ion , descript ion and Man ifestation , whi le h e himself, notwithstanding hi s claim to the highes t of stat ion s , reckon s
himsel f only a servan t in relat ion to H im so mentioned anddescribed . Moreover this announcemen t was con tinued
from the beginning of his Manifestation ( in A .D . 1 844) unti lh e was crucified in the city of TabrI
’
z , the
33361
23?
a?“
ch ief town o f the province of Az arbayj an ,Tab l'fz 0" togeth er with one of h i s disc iples , Mirz aJuly 8 ’ 1 8 50.
Muhammad‘Ali
,a nat ive of Zanwaz near
Tabriz , on the 28 th o f S haban , 1 266 (July 8 , But
s ince the author of the abridged h i story enti tled A
Traveller’s N arrative1 has recorded the detai l s of the birth
1 The Persian text of this work , which has been ascribed 16 ‘Ab bas
Efendi , together w i th an Eng l ish t ranslat ion and cop ious histo rical
I . M IRZA JAwAD’
S H I S TORICAL EP ITOME 5
of H is Hol iness the Harbinger ( i .e. the Bab), h is Manifesta
tion,and the chief even ts of hi s l ife, and Mr Brown e , the
Orien tal scholar, has translated thi s book into English , andprin ted and publ ished it
,there i s no need for me to repeat
what i s recorded in it.
When our great Master Baha’u ’l lah reached the age of
thi rty-two,he set out for the place called
* Badash t in the d irection of Mazandaran,
where he met His H ol in ess Hajj i Muhammad ‘Ali al
Maz andaran i [or -Barfurushi] , who was ent itled f ana’
b-i
Quddzis, and Qurratu’
l- ‘Aynl
, and others of the Friends.When he was thirty-three years of age he went to the
place cal led S haykh Tabarsi i n Maz andaran ,where he suffered at the hands of the S hi ‘a
divines and their followers,and was im
prisoned in the town of Amul, one of the dependencies of
Maz andaran,and was much affl icted, and despoi led of his
property .
When he reached the age of th irty-five, being at the
t ime in one of the summer resorts of Shim iran,on the
outskirts of the city of Tihran there happened the attempt
on the life of the S hah (Nasiru d-Din), which was as fol lows .One of the sect [of the Ba
'
b is] named S adiq , after the
execut ion of H is H ol iness the Harbinger
( i .e. the Bab), conceived the idea of exactingrevenge without taking counsel with any man Nasiru
’d-Dfn
l S hah, May 1 7 ,of sense
,and
,meetlng Nasrru d
-D in S hah on1 8 5 2 .
the 28 th of Shawwal , 1 268 (May 1 7 , 1 8 5 2 )while he was out riding
,discharged at h im a fire-arm
Badasht .
notes by myself, was pub l ished at the Camb r idge Universi ty P ress in1 8 9 1 under the ti tle of A Traveller
’s Narrative, wri tten to i llustrate
the H i story of tke Ba’
b. pag e 3 .
1 A lso calledf anci b-i Ta’
kira , the Bab i poetess and martyr
6 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI RELIGION
charged wi th shot, which , however, did not kil l h im . Thi s
deed,which arose from
-lack of thought and consideratIon
of consequences, brough t grievou s sufferings on th is sec t
( the Babis), of whom the Governmen t arrested many , andcondemned them to death . The variou s classes of ci tiz en s
slew them with al l manner o f tormen ts ‘,and in consequence
thereof, moreover, much su ffering hefel our great LordBaha’u ’l lah wh ile he was sojourning in the
above-mentioned summer resort . He was
surrounded by order of the Government by
a body of troopers,who l ed him ,
walking and
bare-footed,in the extreme heat of summer
,
to Ti hran , where he was confined i n the pri son fo r fou rmon th s in fetters and Chain s . During thi s period he u sed
to pass some o f h i s n igh ts without food,sl eep ing on * th e
ground ; and I know not how I can descri be th is prison ,for i t was notoriou s for badness and foulness of ai r andwater
,nor did the ray s of the sun
,the l igh t of day, or pu re
air ever en ter i t . There he remained unti l the Ru ssian
M ini ste r in the Capita l exerted h imsel f to protect h im,when
i t was proved on enqu iry and inve stigat ion that H is H ol inessour Great Master had no knowledge of the above-men t ionedevent
,and hi s non-compl ic i ty there in became clear. So
,
h i s i nnocence being establ i shed , he was released throughthe efforts of the afore-mentioned Min ister ; but , havingregard to ex i s t i ng circumstances and the severi ties which
prevailed , i t was con sidered expedien t that he should reside
in the “ Abode o f Peace (Da’
ru’
s-S ala’
m) of
8
13
31
1
1
33121 1.
Baghdad. 8 0 H is Hol iness Baha’
u’l lah set
Baghdéd ~ ou t,being accompan ied by his family, and a
Oc t' 1 4’ 1 8 5 2 '
special ly selected office r on the part of the
1 A l ist of 28 of these v ict ims w il l b e found in my Traveller’s
N arrative, Vol. i i , pp. 32 3—
334. pag e 4.
I . MI’
RzA JAwAD’
S H I STOR ICAL EP ITOME 7
S hah , and another on the part of the Russian Legation , forBaghdad, the adminis trative centre of
‘I raq-i-‘Arab (Mesopotamia) . This happened when he was thirty-six 1 years of
age, on the I s t of Muharram ,1 26 9 (October 1 4,
and after a while he was j oined by M irz a Yahya called A z al.
Now in those days , by reason of grievous sufferings and
unremitting persecu t ion,thi s community ( the Bab is) was
dissolved in the lands of Persia, and their assembly was
scattered , and most of them were slain wi th al l manner oftorments and the harshest pun ishments ; thei r possessionswere plundered
,thei r wives and children were led in to
cap t ivi ty,and i f one of them survived
,he hid himsel f in
some corner, or chose for himsel f exi le from his country .
But at th is j uncture H is H ol iness our Great Master set
himself in Baghdad to the elevat ion of the Word and the
diffusion of i ts lights wi th a z eal which could not be
exceeded . H is efforts led to a general d iffusion of the
Word,and th is religion became famous throughout al l
reg ion s more than it had been at fi rs t. Thereby was the
fi re of envy kindled in the heart of Mirz a Yahya and hi s
companions, so that after about a year, in order * to
extinguish thi s fi re , H is Holi ness Baha’u ’l lah determ ined
to leave Baghdad , and so set o ut suddenly,without the knowledge of an y one , with a ififfllfl the
servan t named Abu ’l-Qasim '
, for S ulaymaniyya mountains of
i n Kurdistan Th is happened in A .H . 1 2 7 1 Pg‘JI
I
a
Sy
gfniyya
( A.D . Baha’u ’l la'
h being then thirty
eight years of age . The servan t was kil led after a few days
at the hands of thieves , while he was travell ing from one
place to another on special business , so that H is H ol iness
our Master Baha ’u ’l lah remained alone In these deserts andmountains . Many nights passed over him when he was
1 MS . has “ thi rty-seven and 1 8 5 3”erroneously . pag e 5 .
8 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E EAE I’
RELIG ION
without food , and none of hi s companion s knew where he
was un ti l a definite time wh ich wi l l be mentioned , and he
has made mention of th is in a Tablet i n Persian which he
addressed to the s iste r of h is wi fe named Maryam and
enti tled “ the Red Leaf ” (al Waragatu’l some
port ions of whi ch I shal l c i te in thi s place to seek a bless ingand for the better informat ion [of my readers ] . He says
(may my l ife be h is sacrifi ce l)“ O Maryam ! The wrongs wh ich I su ffer have obl i te rated
the wrongs suffered by my F irs t Name fromthe Tablet of the Un iverse . O Maryam !
From the Land of Ta(T ihran ), after affl i ction swh ich canno t be enumerated
,we reached ‘I raq-i- ‘A rab by
command of the Tyran t of Persia , where, afte r the fet terso f foes
,we were affl ic ted wi th the perfidy of friends . There
after God knoweth what befel l me,unt il I chose sol i tary
exile,cut off from my household and what i t con tained , and
from the S pirit and what i s connected therewith . I jou rneyedthrough the deserts of Resignat ion
,travel l ing i n such guise
that al l men wept over my strangerhood , and al l things shed
tears o f blood over my sorrows . I kept company with theb irds of the p lain and dwelt with the beasts of the field
,
passing beyond this tran s i tory world l ike sp iri tual l ightn ing,while fo r two years or ra ther less I avoided al l beside Godand shu t my eyes to al l bu t God ’s Predestina
t ion reminded some of H is spiri tual servan ts of th i s youthof Canaan , and they began * to make enquiry and to establ ishcorrespondence with al l places and persons
,unti l they dis
covered a s ign o f that s ignless one in a mountain cave .
Verily he guideth al l th ings in to a straight path .
”
I n short , after His Hol iness our Master Baha’u ’ l lah hadleft Baghdad
,the condi t ions underwent a change
,the
pag e 6 .
1 . M I’
RZA JAWAD’
S H I S TOR ICAL E PITOME 9
ardour of thi s community was cooled , and sloth overcame
them . This period of absence endured two years or rather
less,and i t wanted but l i t tle that the harmony o f the
companions should be broken up , the name of the Fi rst
Poin t (i . e. the Bab) oblitera ted , and the Light of R el igionextinguished . Then arose the b rother of our gloriousMaster
,Aqa Mirz a Musa, who was en ti tled Kalinz (
“ the
Interlocutor”
)l and the father of his wife S haykh S ul tan , a
native of ‘ Iraq,and H is Honour the S ervant of the Presence
Mirz a Aqa Jan (of Kashan)2
, and some others, to make
investigat ion s and enquiries . They began,therefore
,to ask
for news and information from eve ry traveller and soj ourner
un ti l they found their way to H is H oliness our Master
Baha’u ’l lah,and ascertained that he was in the mountain s
of S ulaymaniyya in Kurdistan . Thereupon they sent the
above-ment ioned S haykh S ultan , with a number of letters
from the faith fu l in differen t lands,to wai t upon him ; and
H is Hol iness our Master returned to Baghdad in con
sequence of the urgent representation s of the Return o f
above-mentioned (Shaykh S ul tan), and h is Bahé’
u’
lléh
en treaties and prayers . H is arrival on th i s to Baghdéd ‘
occasion effected a great improvement i n the community,and an important extension of the Word
,inasmuch as b e
devoted h imself with al l hi s energy to their purificat ion and
the improvemen t of thei r characters and conduct both by
tongue and by pen . H is influence was far-reach ing, b is
doings were noised abroad in al l regions,and there hastened
to him those members of the community who were scatteredabroad throughout the lands .
1 This is also the t i tle g iven to the P rophet Moses (Mt’
tsa) b y theMuslims, b ecause he talked w i th God.
2 Commonly ent i tled b y the Baha isjana’
b-i (“ H is
Honour the S ervant of God
10 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAE I’
RELIG ION
Amongst the strange even ts which happened during thedays of our great Master’s sojourn at Baghdad
S uICIde of
S ayy id was the sacrifice of h imsel f of one of theOf Compan ion s named Aqa Sayyid I sma ‘i l o f
awara, r r
AH . [274Zawara
,a dependency of I sfahan . The detall
A-D I SS 7 -of th i s i s tha t the above-mentioned man camefrom his country to Baghdad
,and after *having
had the honou r of being presented to H is Hol iness our
great Master, and the l apse o f some days , hi s s tate under
went a change,and there appeared in h im an ecstasy
,
rap ture and ardour beyond the bounds of computat ion .
One n igh t he had the honou r of meeting His Holiness ourgreat Master outs ide the house
,and he bade h im si t down
beside him . Meanwhile our Master asked for a page o fwri t ing and a lamp
,and began to peruse i t
,while the
attendan t stood hold ing the candlest ick in h i s hand beforehi s H oly Countenance . A fter a l itt le while there appeared
a complete change and a violen t perturbation in the S ayyid
abo t e mentioned . The Master tu rned to him ,commanded
h im to be tranquil,and entered h is private apartment and
the Sayyid set out for h i s lodging in the house of AqaMuhammad Ri z a o f I sfahan , known as al Each day
b e i nc reased in love,long i ng and rapture, un ti l H is Ho l iness
our grea t Maste r h onoured with hi s presence the houseabove ment ioned
,at the i nvi tation of Aqa Muhammad
R iz a al Now there were set before our Lord fru it sand d ivers sort s of sweetmeats , which our Master d ividedamongst those presen t ; and he called the afore-mentioned
S ayyid I sma ‘ il to give h im a share thereof. But when he
came,he said to h im ,
“ Veri ly I ask you for a spiri tualfood .
”A fter some days be resolved to sacrifice himself,
but informed no one of h is pu rpose . S o one day in the
Page 7
1 2 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAE I RELIGION
country,where you can dwell in any spot wh ich is agreeable
to you r taste in the utmost honour and ease .
” To be brief,however
,our Maste r would not accept th is proposal , pre
ferring to abide i n the O ttoman dominions ; a decis ionwhereof the wisdom wil l not be h idden from men of sagac ity ,i f they con sider the even ts wh ich happened subsequently
At th i s j uncture one of the relati x es of the Bab on the
The i qa’
nmother ’s s ide named Hajj i M irz a S ayyid
composed and Muhammad,a native of S hiraz , came to
Pub 1ibhed °
Karbala and Najaf. When he reached
Kaz imayn, which is d i stan t one hou r from Baghdad , His
H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’ l lah sen t to h im one of the
most em inen t of his Compan ions,named Hajj i S ayyid
Jawad of Karbala, to invi te him to Baghdad. He accepted
the in vitation , and , when b e attained the honour of an
interview,asked some questions about the appearance of
the P romised Qa’
im,whose adven t I slam await s . Our
Master thereupon i s sued in reply to h im a perspicuou sbook ent i t led K itci bu’
t-fodn ( th e“ Book of
and when he had read i t and acquain ted him self wi th i t s
con ten ts , he acknowledged the truth of th is matter andre turned to his coun try .
*Thi s noto riety which accrued to thi s communi ty becamea cause of the hatred of certain doctors o f theS hi ‘a sect who dwel t at Karbala and Najaf.Amongst the se was S haykh ‘
Abdu ’l-Husayn
of Tih ran , who had been appoin ted by
Nasiru’
d-D in S hah to repai r the H oly shri nes . He agreed
with the other doctors who were res ident there to assembleat Kaz imayn and order the common peop l e to revo l taga i nst th i s community . There fore he started an agitat ion
1 This b ook has b een t ranslated into F rench by M . H . D reyfus underthe t i tle of L e L ivre de la Certi tude (Par is, page 9 .
I . MI’
RzA JAWAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E P ITOME 1 3
there, and invited al l the doctors to the place prepared for
the banquet . Amongst those invited was the great Shaykh
Murtaz a al-Ansari , who was one of the most famous
mujtalzids, a pious , learned , accompl ished , devout and jus t
man . S o when the company was col lected , the abovementioned S haykh ‘Abdu ’l-Husayn disclosed hi s purpose ,and asked for a fatwa
’
from S haykh Murtaea al-Ansari onth is subj ect . But when S haykh Murtaz a heard h is words
,
he did no t give a fatwa’
according to what was sought,but
said,
“ I have not yet acquain ted myself with the ideas ofthe Babis ; how then can I give a fatwa
’
against them ?”
Then he rose up and re turned to Najaf, whence he sen t amessage to H is H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah
,declaring
h is affection for him,and excusing h im self b ecause he had
not been aware of the in ten tions of the doctors , el se would
he not have been presen t wi th them , and adding :“ Verily
I pray for you and ask God to preserve and help you . S o
when Shaykh ‘Abdu ’l-Husayn and the other doctors found
themselves thus disappoin ted,t hey had recourse to another
plan . And there was amongst them an eloquent and fluen t
man named Mulla H asan ‘Am t’
I,who was celebrated for his
gift of S peech and eloquence . S o they agreed to send h im
to H is Hol iness Baha’u ’llah to prove h im,supposing that
he would prevai l over him by his fluency and eloquence .
H im, therefore, they sen t ; and he chanced to arrive on a
day when H is Hol iness Baha’u ’llah was i nvited to the house
of Mirz a Hasan Khan , one of the notables of Persia.
Thither did the above-mentioned Mul la Hasan direct hi s
s teps,and demanded permission to enter
,which was gran ted
him . But after he had met our Master, and had seen his
dignity ,*maj esty and awfulness, he did not dare to disclose
the in tentions of the doctors,but said that he had been “
Page
14 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAE I’
RELIG ION
sen t on their behal f to i nvestigate the claim and proof.Then our gloriou s Master said to him
,
“ During the period
of our soj ourn in ‘I raq we have been hOping to meet thedoctors in some assembly that they might quest ion ' u s
concern ing the claim and proof, and that we might answer,in accordance with the texts o f the S criptures and thearguments of reason ; concerning the Holy Babi Law, sothat the Truth m i g h t be dist inguished from i t s opposi te .”
Then H is H ol iness began to prove logically and hi storical lythat H is Hol ines s the Harbinger [i .e. the Bab] was theQa’
im,and on this subject he se t forth a detai led ex pla
nation to those who were presen t . When he had concludedhi s discourse, the above-mentioned Mulla Hasan made
represen tation to h im as fol lows Verily th e learning,
wisdom,eloquence and fluency [of the Bab
’s words] areadmitted , and there i s no doub t abou t them ,
nor can they
be exceeded ; but le t not the pos it ion of the doctors be
misunderstood,for they are not sati sfied with scien tific
proofs, but requi re some heavenly sign and demand ami racle. H is H ol iness our Master Baha ’u ’l lah repl ied“ Well dos t thou speak ! Go to the doctors and bid themagree on one thing and one miracle on recogniz ed conditions, that God , glori ous i s H is s tate, may disp lay i t, andmay complete th i s Proof to H is creatures. ” Then the
above-mentioned Mulla Hasan arose, express ing h is j oy andgrat itude
,and returned to the doctors ful l of gladness , and
exp lained to them the s tate of the case . S ome wh ile elapsed
after this, and no rep ly was received from them . Then
Mulla Hasan sent a message to H is Ho l iness, explain ingthat the doctors had fled from the field
,and would no t
accep t thi s arrangement . So he departed in to the land ofPersia and made : ment ion of th i s matter to al l men in every
province, admitt ing the co l lapse of the doctors .
I . MI’
R zA JAWAD’
S H ISTOR ICAL EP ITOME 1 5
A fter thi s even t the above-mentioned Shaykh ‘Abdu ’l
Husayn had recourse to another trick and stratagem ,and
misled by means of worldly weal th Mirz a Buz urg Khan
of Qazwinf who was the Consul-General of the Persian
Government in Baghdad,
* and conspired with h im to thwartH is H oliness our Master Baha’u ’l lah . So
Intr igues o fthey began to correspond with Nasiru’
d-D in the PersianShah and his mini sters and the nobles of
1
2
2215
1
1
31
331
Persia,and frightened them about the in M irzaBuzurg
creasing numbers of the Babis in Baghdad, andKhén '
thei r power and influence . They also stirred up the dregs
of the Persian population in Baghdad to kil l His Hol iness
our Master Baha’u ’l lah , who, however, never attempted to
conceal himsel f, but sti l l cont inued to consort with the
people of Baghdad , and to go out, general ly alone , from'
his
house,and to visi t a place in Baghdad specially designed
for men of learning,scholars and magnates to meet . Only
after hI S arrIval there would his attendants overtake h im .
The anxiety of his enemies to k il l h im or hurt him,and hi s
disregard of them,was a source of great wonder to the
publ ic . I n those days the wri ter was inattendance
,enj oying the honour of entering
the presence of H is Hol iness our Master
Baha’u’
llah ; but after four months permiss ion was accorded
to him to return to hi s own country .
In short, the persistency of the above-mentioned S haykh‘Abdu ’l-Husayn and the Consul-General and the mischief
making divines Impelled Mirz a Husayn Khan the PersianAmbassador at Constantinople
,to request the O ttoman
S ultan ‘Abdu’
l-‘Az iz to assign to H is Ho l ines s our MasterBaha
’
u ’llah some residence remote from Baghdad which Is
adjacent to PersIan territory and Is the resort of numbers of*
page . 1 1 .
The Authorat Baghdad .
1 6 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E EAE I’
RELIG ION
S h i ‘ i te pilgrim s . A ccordingly the O t toman Governmen t
decided to bring His Hol iness from Baghdad to Constan t i
nople. The late Namiq Pasha,who was subsequently doy en
of the min i sters ( S kaykbu’
l— Wuz ard), was at tha t time
Governor [of Baghdad ] . He . in formed H is H ol iness ou r
Master Baha’u ’l lah of th i s matter, and o f the determ inationof th i s jou rney . He [i .e. Baha’u ’llah] was at th i s t ime fortyseven years of age, and had sojourned in Baghdad eleven
years and more . On the 3rd of Dhu’l-Qa ‘da
,
Baha ““ah1 2 79 , on the th irty-first day after the Persianleaves
flagg
déd , New Year’s Day,*on Apri l 20
,1 8 63 , i n the
1 8182, is; the afternoon . he set out from O ld Baghdad
,
gardg n of wherein was the Most Great H ouse set aparttzwan.
for H is H ol iness our Master,for the Garden
of Najtb Pasha, cal led R i zwan , and si tuated in the new
quarter of Baghdad . He crossed the Shatdu’
l-‘Arabji n aboat
,entered the above-men t ioned garden , and abode there
for twelve days, which are cal led Ayy cimu’r-R izwan. Thi ther
th e townsfolk,in cluding the S unn i doctors , the local notable s
and the Governmen t official s came daily in crowds to v is i t
h im, to presen t thei r dues of affect ion and farewell , return ing
afterward s to thei r houses in exceeding grief and sorrow .
I n those days His H ol ines s our Lord Baha’u ’llah declaredhi s Mission in h i s wri t ings ; and th is i s reckoned a seconddeclarat ion
,as i s fu l ly set forth i n more lengthy treati ses on
th is matter.
To be brief, H is H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah set
Baha’
u’llah forth on hi s journey at noon on the twelfth
sets out from day from th e above-mentioned garden,th i s
Baghdéd for being the 1 3 th of Dhu’l-Qa ‘da
,1 2 79 , correConstant i
nople, May I , sponding wi th the I s t of May , 1 8 63 . He
1 863 ' was‘
accompan ied by his three sons (al
pag e 1 2 .
I . MI’
R zA JAwAD’
s H I S TOR ICAL EPITOME I 7
Ag lzscinu’tlz-Tkaldtlza),
‘Abbas E fendi,Muhammad
‘Ali
E fendi,and Mahdi Efendi , hi s wives and family, his bro ther
Aqa Mirz a Musa, the S ervant of the Presence 1,Mirz a
Muhammad-qul i,and a number of the disciples in h is
servi ce. That was a memorable day : wail ing and lamen
tation arose from al l s ides ; the people grieved over h isdeparture as he rode forth on hi s horse
,exhorting and
admonish ing them ,enj oin ing on them patience and dignity,
and consol ing them with words and expressions which
attracted their hearts and m inds . H is H ol iness our Masteral igh ted at a place cal led Furayjat, distant two hours fromBaghdad
,where he abode a week . E ach day his fol lowers
appeared before him to vis i t him and then returned [toBaghdad] , while he enj oined on them patience ,
* composure ,virtue and courtesy. A fter the lapse of a week he con tinued
his j ourney by way of Kerktik, Mawsil and Diyar Bakr
towards Constantinople,unti l he reached the town of
Samsrin,s i tua ted on the coast of the B lack S ea ; and the
dura t ion of thi s journey was fourmonths . There he issued
a Tablet enti t led the “ Tablet of the H owdah ”
(L awlzu’l
H awdaj), in which was contained in formation as to certai n
future even ts . Then he embarked on the steamer and
reached Constantinople,where a number of carriages were
provided by the O ttoman Government for him and his
following . In these he and his companions drove to
the Government Guest-house ; but s ince this d id notprovide sufficient accommodation
,another more spacious
house . called “ the House of Veysi Pasha,
”was assigned
to H is Holiness our Master and his fol lowing at the
charges of the S tate,while S hems i Bey was appoin ted
i .e. MirzaAqaJan of Kashan, commonly calledjanab-i -R'
luidimu
1 8 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAEI REL IG ION
on behalf of the Government to arrange for their entertainment.
H is Holiness our Master abode in Con stan tinople forfour mon th s, during which period he assoelated with no one o f the Min is ters o f the
S tate or i t s leaders or o ffi cial s. One of thesecal led Kemal Pasha one day observed to H isHol iness our Master in the course of conver
sat ion that the curren t cu stom was that every importan t
person coming to the Government, that i s to say beingreceived as i ts guest
,should visi t the Prime Mini ster and
the Min ister for Foreign A ffairs on the second or th ird day
after h is arrival,to se t forth h is aims and obj ects , and
shou ld,i f necessary, request an interview with his Majes ty
the S ultan . To th i s our Master replied,“ I am not unaware
of the curren t customs ; but inasmuch as we have no needand no request to prefer, and our trust is i n none save God
alone ; and since the Government desi red our presencehere, and we, i n Obedience to i t, j ourneyed hither, so tha ti t might be apparen t to i t that we have no aim except the
well-being of the S ta te and the Nation , therefore we areunwil l ing to cau se i t fu rther trouble .
” * S o Kemal Pasha
was si lent, nor d id anyone thereafter speak words of l ik eimport .Mirz a Hu sayn Khan , who was mentioned a l i t tle while
ago , kept watch ing for some opportun ity totrouble the m inds of the [O t toman] statesmenin regard to th is community ; and , finding
the moment prop i t ious, he hin ted to theMin isters tha t these excuses real ly arose from
pride and arrogance, not from mere independence of spiri t
and tru st in God and since there exis ted between him and
page 1 4.
20 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAEI’
RELIG ION
‘Abdu ’l-Karim of Qazwin and entit led Mirz a Ahmadl
accompan ied by hi s broth er Aqa Mirz a
Musa,and represented to h im that the hatred and male
volence of the doctors and lawyers of Pers ia exceeded al lthat could be imagined , while the hatred of the PrimeMin ister M irz a Taqi Khan also was fierce and h is influence
great,and the Government l ikewise despotic in i ts com
mands . I n these Ci rcumstances H is Hol iness our Master
Baha’u ’l lah was i n great peri l , and consequen tly i t wasnecessary that the regards of these persons should bedirected towards some other person . And sin ce
,for various
considerations,they did not deem it expedient to appo in t a
stranger,Mirz a Yahya [Sublt-i -A z al] was chosen to th is end ,
and H is Hol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah wro te le tters toH is Hol iness the Harbinger “ th e Fi rs t Poin t ” [i .e. the Bab]about M i rz a Yahya, h i s brother above-mentioned , to wh ichan swers were duly i ssued ; and His Hol iness our Masterbegan to in struct h im
,and h is name became celebrated [as
a leader of the sect] .To be brief, the dil igence of His Ho l iness our Master in
publ ish ing the Word i n‘I raq, and the fame
of h i s renown tliroughout the lands , became
a cause of envy to the above-mentioned
[Sublz-i -A z al] , who was secretly moved therebyto oppos it ion and frowardness . Now when
he was in Persian territory, and H is Holiness our MasterBaha’u ’l lah was at Baghdad
,he was h idden from men ’s
sigh t,and none of th e Companions used to see him while
in Baghdad he dwelt i n a house apart wi th h is wi fe andch i ldren
,and used often to visi t H is Hol iness our Master
,
un til,when the journey to Con stan tinopl e was decided on ,
H is H ol iness our Master ordered him to take with'
him the1 S ee my Traveller
’
s N arrative, i i , pp . 4 1— 2 and n. 2 ad calc.
I . MIRzA JAWAD’
S H I S TOR ICAL EP ITOME 2 1
writing s o f H is H ol ines s the H arbinger [i .e. the Bab] , andto go to Persia to have them copied and publ ished . But
after the departure of H is Hol iness our Master, he left the
above-mentioned writings in the house of H is H ol iness our
Master and went with one of the Compan ions, an A rab
named z ahir, to Mawsil , which he entered before the
arrival there of H is Hol iness our Master, having adopted
the name of Mirz a ‘AlI’
. And s ince those [believers] whodwel t there did not know him personally
,they supposed
h im * to be a guest , unti l they reached Constant inople .
After thei r arrival there , those who had accompanied H is
Hol iness our Master knew him and understood his case ;and
,since they used to associate with him continual ly, they
gradual ly became cogni zant of his character and condition ,and found him to be the contrary of what they had supposed ;unti l they reached Adrianople , where Mirz a Yahya again
dwelt in a place apart,his expenses being at the charge of
H is H ol iness our Master, while what used to arrive from
the different countries was given to him , though matters
were at that time greatly straitened and embarrassed . But
after allowances had been assigned by the [O ttoman ]Government , there was apportioned to him and to those
who. were with h im sufficient for their needs and more .
Yet, notwithstand ing al l th is atten tion , the fi re of his [S ubhi-Az al ’s ] envy was not quenched , but was Baha’u’llahrather Increased every moment
,untII In
p romulgatesA H . 1 2 80 (A . D. 1 8 63 ) there was promulgated the L awbu
’l
[by Baha’u ’llah] the
“Tablet of Command Am f ’m 1 863 '
(Lawlzu’
l—Amr) , which open ly gladdened al l men with thetidings of the Advent of H im who was promised in theB aya
’
n and H is R everen‘ce the S ervant [of God]1 bore the
page 1 6 .
1 i .e. Mi rzaAqaJan of Kashan.
22 MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI REL IG ION
above—mentioned Tablet , which was in the writing of the
H oly tP en,according to the in struct ions of our Master
Baha’
u ’l lah , to Mirz a Y ahya, and read it to h im . Mirz a
Yahya did not openly rej ect the Tablet , but the fi re of envyblaz ed forth in h is bosom more than before
,and there
appeared then the sch ism mentioned in the
H oly Tablets,and the days named “ the Days
of S tre ss ” (ai —Ayy dmu’
slz — S kidcid), and there
befel l “ the S upreme S eparation ”
(al-Faslu’l
A kbar), and His H ol in ess our Master,to
gether with h is son s (al—Ag lzsa’
n) and wives and the S ervan t ,went forth from amongst the community
,took up thei r
abode in another hou se , l eft al l and ceased to converse and
associate wi th them , and for some whil e met none of th e
Companion s .
Amongst the even ts which happened in those days was
Mirza Yahya’
s attempt to give poison to HisH o l iness our gloriou s Master Baha ’u ’l lah .
Thi s , i n brief, was as foll ows . Before the
S upreme S eparation” had yet taken place
,
Mirz a Yahya one day invited H is Holiness our Master toh i s house to drink tea with m ilk, according to the customof the Persian s ; and he had arranged th is
’*before the arrival
of Baha’u ’l lah , and had se t apart certa in special cups for
H is Hol ines s . So when one of the cups above-mentioned
was offered to him,our Master drank some of i t
,and gave
the remainder to one of the wives of Mirza Yahya who waspresen t . She drank of i t
,and subsequently there appeared
in her symptom s o f poi son ing, though the po ison was not insuffi cien t quan t ity to th reaten her l i fe . A fter the abovementioned event
,the heal th of His H oliness our Master was
greatly d isordered , to such a degree that one of the fai th fu l
page 1 7 .
1 . MIRzA JAwAD’
s H I STOR ICAL EPITOME 2 3
physicians feared for his l ife when he vis ited him,and prayed
that the sickness might be transferred to himself, and thatH is Holiness our Masterm ight be healed . And i t seemed as
though his prayers were answered,for he fel l s ick and was
confined to h is house, and a fter a l it tle while his pure spiri t
left th i s t ransitory l i fe . And his name was Dr Chupan .
The i l lness of H is H oliness our Master continued for a long
while,but eventual ly his heal th was restored for the aecom
plishment of the thing predestined , which was the completion
of the Proof to mankind , and the manifestation of the D ispen
sat ion promised in the former S criptures .
Now as for the cause of’
the “ S upreme S eparation , th i swas that one day Mirz a Yahya entered the
bath attended by Master Muhammad ‘Ali of Alleg edat temp t to
I sfahan the barber, according to custom . assassinateAnd in the bath M irz a Yahya endeavoured to 51
51
11
33851
1
1
:persuade his attendan t to ki l l H is Holiness
our Master Baha’u ’llah,saying
,
“When thou waitest upon
H is Holiness Baha’u ’llah in the bath and art preparing toshave hi s throat
,cut it .” But Muhammad ‘
Ali after leaving
the bath reported the matter, which was bruited abroad
among st the Community, so that g reat disquietude appeared
amongst them , in consequence of which H is H oliness our
Master enjoined on al l pati ence, quietude and gentleness ,and himsel f wen t forth from amongst them and lodged in
another house.After thi s event S ayyid Muhammad of I sfahan , who was
ever ben t on opposI tIon and schISm,and who
S ayyidwas final ly expel led on account of some of his Muhammad
actions,thought the t ime propit iou s , and
Of I S fahén‘
united himself * to Mirz a Yahya . The two busied themsel ves
page 1 8 ,
24 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E EAEI RELIG ION
with mischief and frowardness, both within and withou t
[the commun ity] ; but al though they left nothing undone inthe way of enmity and opposi t ion
,His Hol iness our Master
used to treat them with the utmost kindness and courtesyunt i l one day Mirz a Yahya, in st igated thereto by the above
men tioned S ayyid Muhammad , sen t one of hi s women to
the Government H ouse to demand an al lowance and to
complain of H is H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah saying,“ He has not given u s the al lowance apportioned to u s by
the Government, yea, he withholds from us bread and
water .” To such extreme meanness and such great inj ury
to God ’s affair d id he consent , while enjoy ing al l sorts of
favours and obtaining al l the means to honou r and comfort !Thi s thing they d id to injure the dign ity o f H is Hol inessour Master Baha’u ’l lah ; and they wrote letters to the
differen t countries ascri bing al l their own_
_ deeds to H is
H oliness,and devoting themselves with al l thei r energies to
falsehood and calumny .
On the 26th of the S econd R abi ‘,A .H . 1 2 84 (August 26 ,
Open rupture1 8 67 ) a l i ttle before noon one of the Persian s
b etween named M ir Muhammad of S hiraz presented
h im sel f,saying that he had come from Mirz a
S ubh-i-A zal , Yahya who des ired that a meeting should takeAug ' 26 ’ 1 867 ° place between him and His Hol iness ourMaster Baha’u ’l lah
,and that the ordeal by curs ing should
be performed,so that a discrim ination might be effected
between the True and the Fal se , and that the Truth mightbecome apparen t to al l . And when th is matter had been
submitted in detai l to H is H oliness our Master,who was
preparing to take hi s midday rest, he arose forthwith and
went forth from the house,saying to the above-mentioned
Mir Muhammad,
“ Go , and bid M irz a Yahya come to theMosque of S ul tan S el im , where he wi ll find us .” And from
1 . MIRzA JAwAD’
s H I STOR ICAL EPITOME 2 5
the moment of his exit from the house until he entered the
above-mentioned Mosque, in the streets and markets, he
continued to utter verses in an audible voice so that al l whosaw him and heard the verses were astonished . In short
,
soon after he had entered the Mosque, Mir Muhammad
arrived saying , M irz a Yahya asks to be excused because
to day i t i s not possi ble for him to presen t himself. He
therefore begs you to appoin t another day, and to write
a note to thi s effect,signed 1‘ and sealed
,that whoever
does not presen t h imsel f at the appoin ted t ime i s an
impostor. So H is H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’llah wrote
aTablet,and sealed i t wi th hi s noble seal
,and del ivered it to
one of his disciples named Mirz a Muhammad and entitled
Nabi’
l 1 (b e i t was who cast himself in to the sea a l i ttle while
after theA scension ofH is H ol iness our Master), arranging that
the meeting should take place in the Mosque of S ul tan S el im .
The author [of this book] was there at thetime, and was present when H is Holiness
our Master commanded Nabil to take theabove-mentioned holy Tablet to one of the fol lowers of
Mirz a Yahya named Hasan Aqa that he should give them
the Tablet when they had g iven him a note sealed by Mirz a
Yahya in accordance with the agreement above mentioned
but that otherwIse he should keep the Tablet and not hand
i t over to them . S ome days elapsed after th is , and theygave him no such note , nor did they appear at the trysting
place for there i s no doubt that the Darkness and the L ight
can never meet .
page 1 9 .
1 Nabi l (nob le) is numer ically equivalent to Mulzammad (bo th wo rdsyielding , in the abjad no tat ion, a to tal of and 1 5 sometimes sub stituted for i t by the Bab is. The Bab himself
, whose name was‘Ali
Muhammad, often calls himself ‘A li before Nab/l.
26 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI REL IG ION
A fter the “S upreme SCparation S ayyid Muhammad of
I sfahan , who has j u st been mentioned , wentA lleg edintr igues of to Constant inople to lay a complain t, and
523551
21511
; d there foregathered with a man named Aqa
AqéJén A’
aj Jan and nick-named R aj-Kala’
li SkewK i t/fill atCOD ' These two left undone noth ing in the way ofS tamlnop’e '
dishonour, misch ief, fal sehood and calumny ,and the Persian Ambassador Mirz a H usayn Khan
,al ready
mentioned , found in them a suitable means for carrying out
the design which b e con stantly harboured in his bosom ,
to wit the injuring o f His H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah,
and making mischief between him and the Min isters of the
O t toman Governmen t . He therefore made them instru
mental in disturbing tlie understandings of the O ttomanstatesmen
,and led them to suppose that many of the people
of Adrianople were fol lowers of H is Hol iness our MasterBaha’u ’llah . By these fal se statements
,i n short , they
t roubled the m inds of the O ttoman Mini sters and causedthe i ssue of an edict by S ul tan ‘Abdu ’l-‘A z iz bani sh ing H is
Hol iness ou r Master with th ree other person s to ‘Akka, 1‘ thi s
measure being effected by the energy of the above-mentioned
Ambassador, the Prime Mini ster‘Ali Pasha , and the Mini ster
for Foreign A ffairs Fu ’ad Pasha . The th ree persons who
were to accompany His H ol ines s our Master were hi s
brother Aqa Mirza M I’
Isa,Mirz a Muhammad-quh
’
who
subsequen tly rose up in opposi t ion,and Dervish S idq ‘Ali
of Qazwin,one of the servants o f H is Hol iness ou r Maste r .
One morning the soldiers o f the Government surroundedth e house of H is Hol iness our Master on al l s ides , and
sentinels were set over the inner and outer doors to prevent
any one from go ing out or coming in ; whi le such of the
Compan ions as were withou t the house th ey arrested and
pag e 20 .
28 MATER IA LS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAE I’
REL IG ION
(D aftarda’
r) to act in hi s place, who conveyed the purportof the edict to H is H ol iness our Master, and the j ourney
was decided on .
When th is matter was sett led,His Hol iness our Master
Baha’u ’l lah forbade all the Compan ion s to
foa
rgéfil
fgs j ou rney with h im
,saying to them ,
“ Let me
insist on journey alone,for I t Is uncertain what wi l l
fixmpanymg befal l me in this journey .
”The obj ect of
the Government in ordering th is journey was,
i ndeed,to scatter the community
,for i t ordered the trans
portation of four persons only, as has been al ready men
tioned. But when the Compan ions heard what H is Hol iness
our Master had said , their voices were raised in weeping and
wailing,and they clung to every pretext whereby separation
m igh t be avoided and they m ight al l accompany H is
Hol iness our Master.
At th i s juncture one of the Compan ions named Hajj iJa ‘far of Tabriz cut h is throat with h is own
A t temp tedsuic ide o f hand In the Mahall-al-Barram In the houseHajji Ja
‘far Of of His H oliness our Master at the secondTab r iz .
hour of the nIght. At that moment the
author of thi s book was si t t ing with a number of o therpersons i n another room . S udden ly we heard a terri fying
noise . We rushed out,and beheld the above-mentioned
di sc iple at a window, having cu t h is throat with a shaving
raz or, the blood spouting forth and the raz or fal len from his
hand outs ide the house . A su rgeon named Muhammad,
who l ived in the neighbourhood , was at once sen t for, while
those persons who were at the gate in formed the localgovernment , some of whose representatives came . When
the surgeon examined the wound he found that the [carotid]artery had not been cut, and bandaged the man
’s throatwith a handkerch ief. Those presen t on behal f of the
I . MI'
RzA jAwAD’
S H I STOR ICA L EPITOME 29
Government enquired of him the cause of thi s action .
‘
He
replied that the cause of i t was that H is Holiness our
Master had forbidden them to j ourney wi th him , and that
he, finding this very hard to bear,was conten t * to part with
his l i fe, but was not content to part with his Master.“ I f
I get wel l,
” he added,
“ and am forbidden to go forth with
him,I shall cut my throat again . In short
,the above
mentioned Hajj i Ja‘far remained there for treatment, and
his brother Karbala’i Taqi wi th h im,by the express wish of
H is Holiness our Master, both having received permission
to go,after H ajj i Ja ‘far had recovered hi s health
,to the
town of ‘Akka, the place of banishment .
After a sojourn of,
five years or less 1 at Adrianople H is
Hol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah set out therefrom on the
sixteenth of the S econd R abi ‘, A.H . 1 2 8 5 Baha’u’llah(August 5 , accompanied by hi s sons (al leaves AdriaAgksa
’
n), h is fam ily and hi s disciples, sixty E’
Xfiféfor
eight souls in all,and an official special ly ap August 5 ,
pointed by the local government named HasanEfendi , a captain , with a number of sold iers , r iding in
carriages and bound for Gallipol i . On that day there wasa wonderfu l concourse of Musl ims and Christian s at the
door of our Master ’s house,and at the moment of departure
it was a memorable hour. Most of those presen t wereweeping and wail ing
,especial ly the Christian s . And on the
fourth day they entered Gal lipol i . When the soldiers sur
rounded the house H is H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah
began to promulgate a H oly Tablet named the “ Tablet
of the Premier ” (Lawlzu’
r which he completed at
page 2 2 .
1 In the marg in are added the words “or four months,” that is, four
months under the five years, for '
they reached Adrianople in Dec . 1 863
and left i t in August 1 8 68 .
30 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E EAE I’
RELIG ION
GyawurKyii'
y si tuated neaf Gall ipol i, at a distance of four
Pub l icat ion ofhours therefrom . I n th is Table t he mentioned
the a /z-i certain matters and even ts,of which some
Ra,”
happened after i t s promulgation , while others
remain h i therto unfulfi l led . whereof the occurrence i s
awai ted .
On arrivirig at Gal l ipol i they al igh ted at a house whichthe Government had prepared for them
,and
H asan E fendi , the captain appoin ted to take
Charge of them,handed them al l over to
another officer who had come to Gal lipol i wi th a numberof the Companion s from Constantinople. Thi s was a major
named ‘Umar Efendi . A fter handing them over, Hasan
E fendi p resented himsel f and asked permIS S Ion to enter the
presence o f His Ho l iness our Master Baha ’u ’l lah to bid himfarewell . On rece iv ing this perm ission , he en tered 1‘ and
seated himsel f with the u tmost po l i ten ess , and His Ho li nes sour Master communicated to h im oral ly the prophecieswhich had been revealed to H im i n the L aw/zu ’
r-R a’
is.
The purport o f these was t hat Adrianople and the surrounding terri to ry would shortly pass Out of the hands ofthe O ttoman S ul tan ; that afl
'
airs would undergo a great
change ; that earthquakes1 would appear ; that lamentat ion
would arise and strife become mani fest i n the land,because
of the oppression which had befallen them without due
reason . The above-mentioned Hasan E fendi was greatly
affected , and kept repeating con tinual ly“ I f God so please .
And H is H ol iness our Master ordered him to conceal whathad been told h im unti l the t ime for i ts fulfi lmen t shouldcome .
n ,
pag e 231
' Or perhaps pol i t ical convulsions are intended.
1 . MI’
RzA JAWAD’
S H ISTOR ICAL E F ITOME 3 1
Some years after the arrival of H is H oliness our Master
Baha ’u ’l lah at ‘Akka,
‘Ali Pasha the Prime
Ministe r was dismissed ; Fu’ad Pasha, the
Minister for Fo’
reig n A ffairs,died ; S ul tan
‘Abdu ’l- ‘A z iz was deposed and ki lled ; and
lastly the Russo-TurkishWar took place,and there happened
those troubles and calami t i es wh ich H is Hol iness our MasterBaha’u ’llah had foretold in the L awlzu
’
r-R a’
is .
On the second day in Gallipol i Maj or ‘Umar E fendi
notified H is Hol iness our Master that he was commissioned
to send four persons only to ‘Akka and the remainder to
Constantinople . Great God ! On that day there appearedsuch trouble as cannot be described in speech , and there
rose up the sound of weeping and wailing from all the family
and Companions in“
such manner as the pen is,unab le to
depic t. On the nex t day H is H oliness ourMaster Baha’u ’llah
summoned the above-mentioned ‘Umar E fendi and said to
him ,
“ I f you cut these people in pieces it i s impossible that
they should separate from us .” S o the above-mentioned
officer in formed the S ubl ime Porte of this by telegraph,and
a reply arrived that they should al l be sent to ‘Akka. S o
after the lapse of some days i n Gal lipol i,at
the end of the month of the S econd Rab i ‘ 2531
13328
20[A .H . 1 28 5 = August 1 9 , 1 8 68 ) H is H ol iness ofhis followers
our Master and those who accompanied him
of his sons family,kinsmen and ‘Akkét Aug
fol lowers,who *‘were about seventy souls
,
embarked in boats for the Austrian-L loyd steamer and set
out for ‘Akka by way of Smyrna and A lexandria . Now one
of the leading Companions cal led Mirz a Aqaof Kashan and
entitled f ancia-i -Munz’
r had been il l for some time,and when
pag e 24 .
32 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E EAE I’
RELIG ION
the steamer anchored in tli e harbour of Smyrna he took a
Death ofturn for the worse . S o H is Hol ines s our
M irzaAqa Master ordered some of the Companions andof Ka
’
shan.
one of the officers to carry him to the hospitalat Smyrna . This trans ference took place before noon , and
after noon ‘Abbas E fendi
,the author of th i s
book , and two of the Compan ions went i ntoSmyrna to visi t h im at the hospital . We
found him in the death-agony ; and as the
steamer was about to weigh anchor,and the
offi c ial s who accompan i ed u s kept u rging u s to return,we
returned to th e steamer perforce,l eaving h im in that state .
We subsequently learned that shortly afterwards the sick
man passed away to God’
s Mercy, and the hospi tal attendants
carried h im forth and buried h im in the Muhammadan
cemetery . And at th e close of tha t day the steamer de
parted for A lexandria, where we tran sh ipped in to anotherAu strian steamer.
Nabil,who has been already mentioned , was at this t ime
Nab il im imprisoned at A lexandria i n consequence of a
pr isoned at plo t which wil l shortly be mentioned . He
A lexandr ia”bad converted in th e pri son a certain Chris tian
named Fari s,who was an intel l igen t and cul tivated man .
S o when the s teamer cast anchor i n the harbou r at A lex
andria,he sent by special messenger to His Holin ess our
Master Baha ’u ’l lah a letter contain ing certain quest ions, and
our Master i ssued in an swer to h im an incomparable Tablet,which he sent back by the messenger. And at th e close of
the day the steamer sai led for Port S aid , Jaffa and Hayfa.
Now as for the cau se of Nab il’
s affl i ct ion , th is was thatin A .H . 1 284 (A .D . 1 8 67 ) he wen t by permiss ion * from
Adrianople to Egypt . S hortly before his arrival there H ajj i
pag e 2 5 .
I . MI’
RzA jAwAn’
s H ISTOR ICAL EP ITOME 33
Mirz a Husayn of S hiraz and several others of the Companionshad su ffered at the hands of Mirz a Hasan
Ia jj1 MirzaKhan
,the Consul-General of P ersIa,
who H usayn of
had handed them over to the Government, SPbti
Z
Biihi ’ iswhich had exiled them to the S tidan. In exiled to theconsequence o f the coincidence of Nab il
’
sS fidén ‘
arrival wi th this even t,they arrested him also
,sent him to
A lexandria,and after imprisoning him there for a number
of weeks,expelled h im from Egypt .
But as for the affl iction of the Compan ion s in Egypt,the
account thereof i s as fol lows . Haj j i M irz a
Haydar ‘AH O f I sfahan and Héjji Mirz aCause of thebanishment
Husayn of S hira’
z1
,after they had had the of certain
honour of meeting Baha’u ’llah at Adrianople Sidiiis to the
i n A .H . 1 28 3 ( z A .D . went by hi s per
mission to Egypt,took up their abode at Mansuriyya, and
converted to th is faith a number of people,amongst whom
was Hajji A bu’l-Qasim of S h iraz
,a highly considered Persian
merchant,who , after entering this rel igion , j ourneyed to
Adrianople,and had the honour of being personal ly received
by H is Hol iness our Master Baha’u ’ l lah . A fter his return
to h is home 2 a great commotion arose amongst the Persianmerchants
,who went to the above -mentioned Mirz a Hasan
Khan , the Consul-General of Pers ia, a native of KhIiy, and
complained to him of the Babis,describing to him the
increase of their numbers there . A fter th is the above
mentioned Consul-General invited the two Haj j i s mentionedabove and some others of the Babis to his house , i n tending
1 These two men were the first notab le Bab is whose acquaintanceI made in P ersia in the early part of 1 8 8 8 . S ee my Ba
’
bts of P ersia ,i,
pp . 48 7—
9 , 494—
5 and my Year amongst tke P ersians, pp . 2 10 — 2 1 2 ,
27 1 , 301 ct scan.
2 i . e. as the context shows, to Egyp t, not to Persia.
B. B .
34 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF T I IE EAEI RELIGION
guile and late at n ight after supper b e arrested them and
imprisoned them in his house,and wen t by nigh t to their
houses and confiscated al l the wri tings and papers which he
found there 1 . Next morn ing b e l odged a complai n t againstthem with I sma ‘i l Pasha the Khedive of Egypt, and the
Ministers and doctors of Egypt assembled,examined the
writings,and condemned the two Haj j i s above mentioned
to perpetual ban ishment , without any question answer,and transferred them by night from the house of the Consulon foot , escorted by mounted troopers , to the shore of the
N i l e,where they were imprisoned in the estuary underground
in the prison set apart for murderers and thieves . After
the lapse of a month they were sen t by the landward routeto Khartt
’
tm , accompan ied by a squadron of soldiers . Their
j ourney lasted s ix mon ths, and when they entered Kharttim
the people of that ci ty came out to gaz e at them . They
were seven in number,and their names were Haj j i M irz a
Haydar‘Ali of I s fahan
,who lat terly set h imsel f to oppose
the Truthz ; Haj j i M irz a Hu sayn of S hiraz ; Haj j i ‘Ali ofKi rman Mirz a Husayn o f Kashan ; ‘Abdu ’l —Wahhab Of
Zanj an ; Aqa Muhammad Hashim of N iraq ; and Haj j iA bu ’l Qas im of I sfahan . There they remained n ine years
,
during wh ich period H is H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’llah
sen t to them two o f the Companions to enqu ire after them .
A fter the lapse of th is period they were released and restored
to freedom , by sp iri tual means and the Lord’s predest ination
1 Compare the account of these events g iven to me at Shi raz in thespr ing of 1 8 8 8 by Haj j i MirzaHusayn himself, in my Year among st t/ze
P ersians, pp . 33 1—
3 .
pag e 26.
2 In the schism which ensued after the death of Baha11 Math in 1 892 ,
Mirza Haydar ‘Ali took the part of ‘Ab bas E fendi ( ‘Abdu’l-Baha) ,
while Hajj i M irzaHusayn, l ike the author of this book , at tached himselfto the par ty ofMuhammad ‘Ali .
36 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAE I’
RELIG ION
from the author Of th i s book they took much money andthen let h im go
,together with the rest o f those arrested .
Th is event above described was noised abroad throughal l the provinces of Persia and led to the
MirzaMa n ,
hammad 6A11 persecut i on of some other Baha Is,amongst
“Zanjan Put them Mirz a Muhammad ‘Ali the doctor of
to death '
Zanj an,whom they arrested in Zanjan and
imprisoned,and, after some days, cu t off his head in the
prison on a charger . Another of them was
if]?h
i
ajaf AqaNajaf‘Ali o f Zanjan who was in constan t0 Zanjan
put todeath attendance on H is Ho l iness our Master
m 1 867 °
Baha’u ’l lah from the days o f Baghdad unti lAdrianopl e , and who in A . H . 1 2 8 3 (A .D . 1 8 6 7) received
perm ission to go to Persia . When he entered Ti hran the
Governmen t arrested him , seiz ed such of the Holy writ ings
as he had wi th him,and afterwards le t h im go , withou t,
however,restoring to h im the confiscated
'
writings. He,
however,was not content t o be released without having
these writings restored to him , and began to importune the
official s to restore them , do ing th is repeatedly . S o they
arrested him a second time, and , act ing on afatwd given byHajj i Mulla
‘Ali of Kand, cut off h is head in the square set
apart for executions,after they had tormented him for some
days wi th al l kinds of torments curren t amongs t barbarous
peopl es . His whol e body was covered with wounds so thathe was unable to pu t on any clothing save an A rab shi rt .
Another of them was AqaS ayyid A shraf and Ai Basir
S ayyid A shrafof Zanj an , whom the Government arres ted In
and Aha the i r natlve town o f Zanjan and condemnedBasi r put todeath at Zan
to death . But because S an d A sh raf was
jnn in 1 8 70 . of th e Hashim ite S /zarz’
fi ,
* some were
page 28 .
I . MI’
RzA JAWAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E P ITOME 37
unwilling to ki l l him . They therefore sent h is mother
to the prison to remonstrate with him , that perhaps , after
meeting her, he migh t be moved to compassion for her, and
might utter some word proving their innocence of th is doctrine , that they might make her a means for releasing h im .
But when they met h is mother addressed him,saying,
“ 0
my son, to-day i s the day for steadfastness and endurance !
I f thou dost not sacrifice thy l ife in God ’s Way, or i f thou
returnest safe from the arena of marty rdom , I wil l not make
lawful to thee my milk nor be wel l pleased with thee .
”S o
the seeing matters thus , ordered both of them to beput to dea th , and they were accordingly decapitated inpublic by command of the Government in A .H . 1 2 8 7
(A .D.
On the I st and 2nd of the month of Muharram‘
, which
are the anniversaries of the birth s of H isA t tack on
Hol i ness the Bab and our Most Glor i ous Bab is at
Master Baha’u ’l lah,such of the community Baghdéd
as were In Baghdad In A .H . 1 28 5 ( A .D . 1 8 68 )had assemb led in the garden of Mirz a Musa al-Jawahiri and‘Umar Bey to amuse themselves and enjoy the air . But
the Shi ‘ites who were in Baghdad imag i ned that the Babis
had organiz ed this assembly in despite of their rel igion,
since they cons ider the month of Muharram a month of
mourn ing,because in i t the Imam Husayn , the Chief of
Martyrs,was slain at Karbala, together wi th most of his
household,at the hands of the Umayyad sold iers . They
therefore made a complain t to S haykh ‘Abdu ’l-Husayn of
Tihran,the Mafi a/lid, and Mirz a Buz urg Khan , the Pers ian
Consul at Baghdad, both of whom have been already
mentioned ; and the‘ulama
’
pronounced sentence of death
1 Apr il 24 and 25 , 1 868 .
38 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABt REL IG ION
against them,being supported and aided by the above
men tioned Consul . These stirred up the lowest and vi le s t
of the S h i ‘i tes to do them inj ury : the fi re of stri fe was
kindled, and whenever the S hi‘ i tes found any of
“
the Companion s i n the markets or streets they used to beat them
with in ten t to k il l them . One morning whil st on e of the
Companion s cal led ‘Abdu ’r-R asul,a native
‘Abdu
’r-Rasulmurdered at of *Kashan , was carrying water from theBaghdad , Tigri s on h is back for the garden of th e houseA p r i l , 1 868 .
of His Hol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah,the
S h i ‘ ites attacked him with knives and daggers,wounded
h im grievously,and cleft h is bel ly in such wise that h is
bowel s protruded ; yet would he not abandon the watersk in
,but gathered up hi s bowel s in hi s hand and in this
pl ight en tered the house,placed the water -skin on the
ground , and yielded up his pure spi ri t . A fter th i s even t,
the Compan ion s communicated by telegraph with His“
Hol iness our Master Baha’u ’llah
,enqui ring as to the ir duty 5
and the answer came to them from Adrianople “ I t behoves
you to show fair patience .
”And when the Governor o f
Baghdad,Taqiyyu
'
d-D in Pasha,perce ived how the S hi ‘ites
had risen up again s t th i s community , he summoned the
Companions and detain ed them in the Governmen t H ousefor their own preservation
,and i nformed the S ubl ime Porte
by telegraph of what had happened . The S ublime Porte
Bahlsanswered him by ordering the community to
b anished from be ban ished to Mawsil , i n order to extinguishBaghdfid to the fi re of str ife
,and th ither the Governor
M°
l.awslsen t them under an escort of soldlers. The i r
expul sion coin cided with the time when His Hol iness ourMaster journeyed from Adrianople to ‘
Akka :
page 29 .
I . MIRZA JAWAD’
S H ISTOR ICAL E P ITOME 39
Another of the martyrs of th is communi ty was a learned
and accomplished man of Maz andaran named
Mulla ‘
Ali Jan,whom they arrested with n ine fifi
l
g‘
ufigothers
,and brought to Tih ran . Thi s happened death at
Tihran inin A . H . 1 30 1 (A .D . A fter the lapse of
£8 83 .
some days they put the above-ment i oned
Mulla ‘A li Jan to death
,while another of them named
Ustad NL’
Iru’
llah died in prison . The res t they let go .
Another of them was one named Mulla Kaz im,whom
they arrested in I sfahan in A .H . 1 29 5 (A .D .
8 8 b'
d h di
dMullaKaz im
I 7 esr es anot er man name ban put to deathAqa Jan . They beheaded Mulla Kaz im ,
a
;I
grahén in
mutilated his body , and burned it, by com7
mand of S haykh Baqir the Mujz‘
a/zz'
d and the Governor of
I sfahan Prince Mas ‘ud Mirz a Zz'
llu s- S ulfdn, brother of
Muzaffaru’
d-Din S hah .
*As for S ayyid Aqa Jan they
tormented him grievously and expelled him from the c ity .
A fter this there was trouble in R asht, where they arrested
and imprisoned a number of Babis , amongstHajji Nasirthem Hajji Nas i r of Qazwm , who d i ed In Oa zwin
prison,being an old man of feeble health
,dies in p r isonat Rasht .
unable to endure so many hardsh ips . After
hi s death the people subj ected his body to all sorts of
insul ts and savag e deeds , plucking out hi s eyes, cutting Off
his nose,and final ly ston ing him with stones . No great
while had elapsed ere ano ther strang e occurrence took placein Isfahan
,the accoun t of wh ich is as follows l .
Mirz a Muhammad Hasan and Mirza MuThe Mart) “
of I sfahan.
hammad H usayn were of the most noble
of the S /zarz’
fs of I sfahan , and the former was a most
page 30.
1 Concerning these Martyrs of Isfahan ”see my Bribfs of P ersia , i ,
pp . 489—
49 1 , and my Year among st t/ze P ersians, pp. 2 1 3— 2 1 5 .
40 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BABI’
REL IG ION
distinguished S ayyid , n oble , h ighly considered, and in
fluential. The [maim-jum‘a of I sfahan
,who was named Mir
Muhammad Husayn,hated the above-mentioned S ayy id for
private reason s , and strove to i njure h im ,wherein he was
aided by S haykh Baqi r th e Mujfab z'
a’
. S o these two agreed
with the above -mentioned Governor to kil l him and h i s
brother and toplunder thei r possessions and property . S O
they arrested them and cast them in to pri son,and after
some days beheaded them by sen tence of the [ma’
m -jum‘a
and S haykh Baqir afore mentioned , who plundered thei r
property,even to the trees and flowers i n the garden of
their house .
Another of them was Mirz a A shraf of Abada,a de
Martyrdom ofpendency of I sfahan , whom they strangled in
M irzaAshraf I sfahan by sentence of the lma’
m-jum‘a and
OfAbéda in S haykh Baqi r in A .H . 1 306 (A .D . After1 8 89 he had been strangled the people o f I sfahan
stoned hi s body 1
Another of them was H aj j i ‘Abdu ’l-Maj id of Khurasan
,
a native of N ishapur,who was the father of
Martyrdom of
Hajj i ‘Abdu
’ l ja/zaé z B adz who carr i ed the let ter of H IS
Maj id at Hol iness our Master Baha ’u ’l lah to Nasiru ’
dMashhad “)
D in S haw. He suffered in Mashhad , th e1 8 78 .
ch ie f town o f the province of Khurasan .
A fter h is arres t they exerted themselves to induce h im to
repudiate thi s faith , so that they might let h im go ; bu t he
would no t con sen t,and laid down h is l i fe in the way of h i s
Master i n A .H . 1 296 (A .D .
* In S h iraz also they arrested Mirz a Aqa, Mirz a R afi‘
,and
1 An account of M irza Ashraf’s martyrdom w ill b e found in myBdbis of P ersia , i i , pp . 998
—
9 .
2 For an account of M irzaBadf‘ see infra , pp . 47—
9 .
pag e 3 1 .
1. MI’
RzA JAWAD’
S H I S TOR ICAL E P ITOME 4 1
‘Abdu ’r-Nabi the tai lor,and strang l ed them by night in
the pri son by sentence of S haykh Husayn Three Bab isthe tyran t and by command of the Governor. put to deathThey were strang led by forcing handkerchiefs
at Shiréz '
in to their throats , and i t was given.
out that they had com
mitted su icide in prison 1 .
Among st them also were Mul la Ibrah im,Mulla Mu
hammad‘Ali, Rahmatu
’llah Muhammad ‘
Ali F ive Bab isNawshad and S ayyida B i bi . These they put to deatharrested in S ultanabad and slew four of them at sulténébéd '
by sentence of S ayyid Baqir the Al a/rab id, who himself
S lew the above-mentioned Mulla I brah im with h is own
hands in the assembly . A S for S ayyida Bib i, they sent her
to Tihran, where she was strangled in prison".
Another of them was Mirz a Baqir of S h iraz , who attained
martyrdom in the Way of God in Kirman .
Martyrdom o f
And latterly , in A .H . 1 308 (A .D . 1 8 9 1 ) took MirzaBaq i rplace the persecution at Yazd 3
,which was as at Knman '
follows . E ight of the Companions assembled in the houseof one of the bel ievers named Aqa
‘Abdu ’r
P ersecution of
Rahim ,where they occupied them selves wi th Bab is at Yazd
reading verses . But one who hated them ,
m 1 89 "
being aware of their meeting , went to the Governor Prince
Jalalu’
d-Din Mirz a, son of the Zz’
llze’
s-tgalfdn, and informed
him of their assembly . Thereupon the Governor ordered
an offi cer to go to them,with as many private soldiers as
might be necessary , and arres t them . And when they
perceived what was happen ing,the master of the house and
one of the eight visi tors hid themselves,but the o ther seven
1 Cf. my Year among st l/ze P ersians, p . 5 1 6.
2 F or an independent and fuller account of this event b y one who‘
par t icipated in i t see my Year among si t/ze P ersians, pp . 5 1 4—
5 1 7 .
3 A full account of this persecut ion is g iven in S ect ion V I I .
42 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
were arrested and brought to the Government H ouse andthere imprisoned . A fter some days Prince Jalalu
’
d-Dawla
summoned to h is presence S haykh H asan the M aj/anz'
a’o f
S abz awar and others of the S hi ‘ i te doctors,and al so th e
seven Baha'
i s mentioned above,and quest ioned the latte r
abou t their faith and creed in the presence of the twotheologian s mentioned above . They admitted that they
belonged to th is persuasion,whereupon S haykh H asan the
and the other doctors pronounced them infidels
and sentenced them to death . They were taken back to
th e pri son,and after some days the Governor sen t for them ,
and, turn ing to one of them called *Aqa‘Ali A sghar
,the
son of Mirz a Abu ’l —Qas im,ordered him to revile and curse
his Master, or el se suffer death .
“0 Governor ,” repl ied the
man ,“ thou haS t no power over my [spiri tual ] essence , but my
[bodi ly] frame i s th ine : do with i t what thou wil t .”Thereat
the Governor was angered,and ordered Aqa
‘Ali Asghar to
be strangl ed in h i s presence , and he was strangled ac
cording ly . Then he ordered the res t of them to be slain ,each one in one of the quarters of th e city . S o they took
them forth wi th sold iers and drums, and beheaded one of
them named Mul la Mahdi near the telegraph-office . Then
they beheaded Aqa‘Ali the son of AqaMuhammad Baqi r .
And when they approached the house of S haykh Hasan thethey wished to ki l l Mulla ‘
Ali of S abz awar. And
he said, 0 people , the Chief of Martyrs the Imam H usayn
cried in the land of Taff,
‘ I s there any helper who will
help me ? ’ But I say,
‘ I s there any spectator who wil l
behold And they beheaded him . They also S l ew
AqaMuhammad Baqi r near the Mihriz Gate and afterwards
they brought the two brothers Aqa‘Ali A sghar and Aqa
page 32 .
44 MATER IA LS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABi RELIG ION
I t sai led at the close of day from A l exandria for Port S aid ,Departure of
Jaffa and Hayfa, and on the 1 2th of the F irs tBaha
’
u’nah Jumada
,A . H . 1 2 8 5 (August 30, about
from A lex '
one hour after sunrise,the steamer cast
andria for‘A kka, Aug . anchor i n the harbour ofHayfa . Major
‘Umar
1 868 ‘ E fendi,the officer in charge, landed , an d
in formed the local government of the arrival o f our Masterand those of hi s company . Then he returned and com
municated to him the orders as to hi s debarkat ion at H ayfa.
SO hi s women and son s and family fi rs t embarked In the
boats and after them H is H ol ines s our Master.Orders had been i ssued from Constan t inople for the
bani shment of four of the Companion s, whohad been persecuted there
,to Cyprus. These
had come to Gal lipoli under the escort of the
above men tioned ‘Umar E fendi , and they were Mirz a
‘
Ali ,
known as “the l raveller
” Mirza Husayn the
cal l igraphist , known as Mus/aki n Qalam ; Aqa Muhammad
Baqir, coffee-maker to our Maste r and Aqa‘
Abdu’l-Ghaffar
known as ‘Abdu’
llah l . But when the Ofii cer in charge
consigned them to the s teamer to send them to Cypru s,and
the above -mentioned ‘Abdu ’ l-Ghaffar saw h im sel f parted
from hi s Master, he cared no more to l ive and cast h imselffrom the h ighest deck Of the s teamer in to the sea
,crying
,
“ O Baha,Baha At that momen t our Master was in the
boat and had not yet arrived at t h e port,
* and one of thesai lors d ived in and rescued him al ive
,and they again pu t
h im on board the s teamer . And H is Hol iness our Master
Baha ’u’
l lah entered the ci ty of Hayfa about noon on the
Four Baha’issent to Cyprus.
1 Full'
details concerning these men and thei r fami l ies, der ived fromthe Government archives in Cyp rus, are g iven in my Travel/£ 7 4 Narra
tive, i i , pp . 376— 389 .
Page 34
1 . Mi RzA JAWAD’
S H IS TOR ICAL E PITOME 45
1 2 th of the F irs t Jumada, A .H . 1 2 8 5 (Augus t 30, and
by his entry were fulfi ll ed the promises con tained in theS criptures concerning Mount Carmel and S ion .
A sai l ing-vessel had been set apart by the Government
of H ayfa for the passage of H is Hol iness our0
Master to ‘Akka, for in those days there were ffli j
l
il
t
ah S
no carriages between H ayfa and ‘Akka. And
‘A kké’ Aug .
H is Hol iness our Master and those of his 30’1 8 68 '
company entered the vessel Shortly after m idday,and in the
course of the afternoon arrived at the harbou r of ‘Akka .
H is H ol iness our Master was at that time fifty- two years of
age. And on that day there assembled at the harbour most
of the inhabitan ts of ‘Akka to see the sight and gaz e on thecap t ives . And since the mil itary barracks at ‘
Akka were at
that time empty , the local governmen t assigned them as a
lodg ing for H is Holiness our Master and those who borehim company . S o the barracks had the honour of receiving
them , and they locked the doors and set m il i tary sentinel s
over them . That n igh t we could obtain no water to drink,
save such stale and stagnant water in the tank there as was
absolutely unfi t for drinking. The community also remained
without food that n igh t unti l morn ing . A fter that,however
,
there were assigned to each one three loaves of bread.bu t
they were utterly unfi t for food, and used to be exchangedin the market for two [better] loaves so that i t m ight bepossible to eat them . I n al l ways matters wen t hard with
this community . Ten soldiers were always on guard at th e
gate of the barrack s, and each morn ing a number of thecaptives used to go to the market
,escorted by some of the
soldiers,for necessary business
,but i f i t was requi site for
any one to go * to the market a second time, they used to«x
Page 36 (really 35 , but this number has been acc identally om i t tedin the pag ination) .
46 MATER IAL S FOR S TUDY OF THE BAE i RELIGION
prevent h im . S ome t ime passed in thi s fash ion , unt i l thegovernment al tered the allotted dole of bread to a smal l
daily al lowance of money .
S ince the arrival of H is H ol iness ourMaster Baha’u ’l lah
and those who were with h im at ‘Akka took
place in the summer season,when for various
reason s the cl imate of‘Akka was very bad ,
twenty -eigh t of them fel l s ick,and their
s ickness was so grievous that i n the course of a few daysthree of them died . One of these was named
Effigfs‘
ff-three Abu ’l —Qasim , a man of S ul tanabad ; the
second was Muhammad Baqir , and the th ird
Muhammad Isma‘ il . These two las t were brothers
,and
their deaths took place with in a few hours of one another.
At th is t ime their mean s of l ivelihood were greatly s trai tened ,and there was noth ing to pay for thei r winding-sheets and
burial ; so a prayer-carpet was pawned and thereby money
was obtained for the winding-sheets and burial . A fterwards
the Companions bore forth th ei r bodies , and as the Mu
hammadans would not consen t to thei r in terment in their
cemetery,native workmen dug a grave to the north of the
Muhammadan cemetery and buried the two dead exiles in
one tomb .
I n Short the weakness of s ickness overcame these people ,great and small
,men and women , al ike to an extent which
canno t be descri bed , and there was fear for al l by reason ofthe violence of success ive i l lnesses . Thei r sigh s and lamen
tations rose up, unti l His Hol iness our Master promulgatedby his Holy Pen a prayer, which he commanded them to
read with perfect s inceri ty and detachment. And after they
had contin ued to read i t ,for a time , matters improved andheal th and healing resu l ted , by the abounding Grace and
Mercy of God. H ere I S the p rayer
I . Mi RzA JAWAD’
S H ISTORICAL E P ITOME 47
I n Me N ame of God t/ze Forg iving .
Though my evil state, O God, hath rendered me
deserving of Thy scourge and chasti sement,yet do Thy gracious regards and g ifts require gfsge
e
fvfifonThee to pardon Thy servan ts and to be from sickness
merciful to Thy S laves . I ask Thee,there Effigfi
‘
fgfiyfore
,by virtue of Thy Name which Thou
hast made * the King of the Names, to preserve me by ThyS overeignty and Power from every affl iction and evi l th ing,and from everything which ThyWil l hath not wil led . Verily
Thou art Powerfu l over al l th ings.”
In the year A .H . 1 2 8 6 (A . D . 1 8 69 ) there came to‘Akka
AqaBu z urg of Khurasan , who was named by
the S upreme Pen d l-B aa’z"
(“ the Wonderful ”)
1
and “ the Pride of Martyrs ,” and had the ‘
A kka inhonour of being received in the mi l itary
1 869
barracks by H is H ol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah . There
after he craved permission to carry “ the King ’s Letter ” to
Nasiru’d-Din S hah , and set out for Persia alone , carrying
the holy letter above mentioned ”. Agreeably to the com
mands of his glorious Master Baha’u ’l lah,he did not
associate on the way with any one of th is community,nor
make himself known to one of them , unti l he entered
page 37 .
1 Baa’z” is one of the most popular and most celeb rated o f the Baha’i
martyrs. S ee my Ba’
bi’
s of P ersia , i i , pp . 9 5 6—
7 ; my Year amongst
t/ze P ersians, pp . 1 0 1 , 397 ; and my translat ion of the Traveller’
s
Narrative,i i, pp . x lv, 1 02 —
5 .
2 The Persian por t ion of this celeb rated document is g iven in the
text of the Traveller’s Narrative, i , pp . 1 3 5— 1 8 3 ( z n, pp . 1 08 — 1 5 1
of the translat ion), while the translat ion of the A rab ic exordium and of
the instruct ions to the messeng er referred to in the nex t sentence isg iven at pp . 390
—
400 of Vol. i i of the same . The date of this event(see p . 39 2 (at . ( in) was July , 1 869 .
48 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BAE i REL IGION
Tihran the capital of P erSia. And on a day when the S hah ,surrounded by h is cavalcade , was going out to S himran , he
stood in the way,and when the S hah approached he pre
sented the l ette r wi th h i s two hands wi th the u tmost humi l i ty,
respect , rel iance [on God] , and detachment [from all worldlyhopes ] , saying,
“ I have come to thee with a Table t from
Baha .
”And when the S hah looked at him
,he knew that
he was one of th i s communi ty , and was troubled , because
ever s ince an event wh ich happened at the beg i nning of the
affairl , as has been al ready mentioned , he went i n fear of
th is communi ty . S o he asked for water th rice in a shortS pace o f time, after which he ordered his se rvants to take
the le tter from B ath". But he refused to part with i t, saying,“ I am commanded to convey i t to H is Maj esty the King
,
from my hand to h is . ” They said to h im,
“ Cal l i t not ‘ a
l etter ’ but rather ‘ a pet it ion .
’ But he refu sed , and while
so doing perceived that the S hah was fearfuli
of him . S o he
l i fted up the sk irt of h i s mantle which he was wearing and
showed them that he was carrying no arms . Then after
they had searched him wel l they brought h im to the S hah,
and b e handed the letter to him . Then they arrested him
by the S hah ’s command and tormented him
£2
1333and much with al l sorts o f tortu res that he mightput to death make avowal of hi s associates , i f he had any(July ’ I S69 ) ’ such ; but he would no t con fess anyth ing,for
,according to hi s Master’s command , he was i solated,
and had not held con verse,ei ther during * the j ourney or
duri ng hi s sojourn in the cap ital, with any one of th is
communi ty . They photographed him s i tting on the ground
1viz . the at tempt on his l ife by three Bab is in the summer of 1 8 5 2 .
S ee pp . 5—6 supra ; Traveller’
s Narrative, i i , pp . 49—5 1 and the
references g iven in the foo t-no te on p . 50, and pp . 323—
334.
pag e 38 .
50 MATER I ALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BAE I'
REL IG ION
discern ing what sorrows befel l the H ol y Family in th is severeaffl iction
,whi le they were al ready overwhelmed by the hard
sh ips previou sly men tioned . In shor t , after carry ing out thenecessary preparat ion s
,they bore him forth
,escorted by the
guards,and deposi ted h i s body beyond the wal l to the north
of the station of the Prophet S al ih ; for a sl ight earthquakehad taken place at that t ime .
A fter the lapse of some months the hardships which
befel l them gave ri se to doubt in the minds of those * who
were of the company of H is Holiness our Maste r, and they
began to tu rn aside from the path of tru th and steadfastness,and to forsake loyal ty and love , save a certain number who
con tinued in fai thfulness , s incerity and fidel i ty , by the grace
of the E ternal Lord . The sch ism was fierce,nor do I care
to di scu ss i t i n detai l . Whoever desi res to understand i t i n
fu l l,l et h im read a Persian Tablet revealed by the S upreme
Pen in these days concern ing th is trouble .
A fter His H oliness ou r Master had continued in the
mil i tary barracks for two years and twelve days,a body of reserve troops came to the barracksfor in struction
,and there was assigned to our
Master by the Government the house ofAndraos Malik, which was i n the western
quarter of the c ity . He abode there eigh t month s, and
[subsequently ] in the house of Manstir al-Khawwam four
mon ths,and in th e house of ar-R abi ‘a four months . Thence
he was trans ferred to the house of ‘Hdi Khammar, whi lesome of those who were with him l odged in other houses,and the remainder in the Khanu ’l— ‘Awamid (
“ the I nn o f
theWhen H is Hol ines s our Glorious Master Baha’u ’l lah
resolved to l eave th e Ci ty o f Baghdad and to go to Constant i
pag e 39
I . MI’
RzA JAWAD’
S H ISTOR ICAL E P ITOME 5 1
nople agreeably to the command of the O t toman Government,S ayyid Muhammad of I sfahan was one of
S ayyidthose who bore him company unt 11 hIS arri val Muhammad of
at Adrianople . Then he dwel t in the Mahallu’
l 15 3 114113
Barrani in the Holy H ouse but after a whileOpposmon'
he began to display a contentious spirit,and went to the
S haykh Of the Mevlevi dervishes, took up his abode there,allied h imself wi th Mirza Yahya known as A z al [i .e. Saba-i
A z al] , and embarked on a course of fal sehood and calumny,
both within and without [the community] . Then took placethe “ S upreme S chi sm ,
and H is H oliness our Master
Baha’u ’l lah left his house called B ay tu Amri’l/aa (
“ the
House of God ’s Command and took up his abode in th e
house of R iz a Bey, closed the gate of i ntercourse to al l , andleft them to their own devices. Then the above-mentionedSayyid Muhammad of I sfahan , seiz ing the opportun ity, went
to Constantinople and there al l ied himself wi th Aqa Jan
entitled [( aj-Ka/a’
lz S kew-cap who resided there,
* and
embarked on a course of l ies,calumny, sedition and in trigue
with the Persian Ambassador,Mirz a Husayn Khan of
Qazwin, and the Min isters of the O ttoman Empire i n regardto H is H oliness our Master Baha ’u ’llah
,i n connection with
the malevolen t efforts of the above-mentioned Persian
Ambassador to influence the Prime Min ister ‘Ali Pasha and
the Minister of Foreign A ffairs Fu ’ad Pasha . So an edict
was issued by S ul tan ‘Abdu ’l-‘Az iz ban ishing H is Holiness
our Master Baha’u ’llah from Adrianople to ‘Akka,and the
S ubl ime Porte al so bani shed the above-mentioned S ayyidMuhammad and Aqa Jan from Constantinople to ‘
Akka,
where the local government lodged them also in the mil itarybarracks . But after some days they requested the Government to let them l ive in the town
,and, on rece iving it s
pag e 40.
5 2 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
permiss ion , they transferred the ir abode to the town of‘Akka.
A fter our most Glori ous Master had left the barracks,
and,together with those of h is company
,A lleg edm ischief taken up hI S abode In the town , one of themaking Of fol lowers named Mirz a R iz a ul i ofTafrish andS ayy1d
q
Muhammad h is S i ster,together with the above-mentioned
3 111 11 1123 S ayyid Muhammad of I s fahan , began to makeR i z a-qul i .misch ief, and busied themselves in act ions
calculated to excite and arouse the native population again stH is Ho l iness our great Master and those who accompaniedhim . Amongst these act ion s was that they concocted atreati se of certain holy verses cul led from many differen t
t racts and tablets,i n serting therein phrases calcu lated to
excite hatred between difi'
erent nation s, and of this they
made numerous copies , which they d istributed amongst h ighand low . People belonging to civi l iz ed Countries may
,
perhaps , no t perceive any great s ign ificance in what has beenment ioned as to the compilat ion by the malignants o f th i streati se or the publicat ion of copies of i t in the c i ty, norbehold in i t a means of excit ing hatred, having regard onlyto what they enjoy In the way of c ivi l ization , l iberty , ethical
lat itude,educat ion In religious freedom , and lack of pre
judice again st any sect but if they cons ider the condition sobtain ing in Eastern countries , thei r lack of religious freedom
,the blood shed in con sequence of relig ious fanaticism
,
and the ru in wh ich hath encompassed these lands in conse
quence of sectarian differences, they wi l l recogniz e what ha thbeen mentioned as the greatest i ncen t ive * to misch iefs
,hard
ships and calamiti es, s ince thereby hatred i s st i rred in men’s
hearts , the fi re of s trife and sedi t ion i s enflamed amongs t
page 4 1 .
1 . M i’
RzA JAWAD’
S H I S TOR ICAL E P ITOME 5 3
the people,
[
and the fiercest persecution s befal l those who
utter a new message or express a new opin ion at variance with
the Opin ions of former churches . Indeed there does not
exist in u ncivi l iz ed countries any source of affl ict ions greater
than that whereof mention hath been made,as i s proved by
what hath‘
befallen th i s commun ity in the land of Persia
during a long period o f fierce persecutions, as has been
briefly indicated in this l i ttle treati se . To be brief,thei r
numerous efforts to sti r up mischief and their provocativeactions caused bi tter sorrows to all the Friends, and grievoustrouble befel l them
,because they conceived these provoca
t i ve act i ons and des igns to havecaused the
Ac t ion againstefforts of the people to hurt H i s Hol i ness S ayy id
Muhammadour Grac i ous Mastersand feared the occur
medi tatedrence of some great m i sch i ef whereof the hurt by certainmight chiefly affect our Master Baha’u ’l lah .
Bahéi
is’
I t therefore occurred to them to deal themselves with theevil of these persons, and they began secretly to scheme for
this . But since this was contrary to the will of H is H oliness
our Master they did not venture to d isclose their purpose .
At th i s juncture one of the Companions , an Arab of Baghdadnamed Nasir and commonly called Haj j i ‘Abbas
,was in
Beyrout, and when he became cogni z an t of the actual
circumstances be se t out for ‘Akka to deal with the evil of
these persons . On his arrival he /
submitted the detail s [ofhis plan] to H is H ol iness ou r Glorious Master, who summoued him and stringen tly prohibited h is design
,i ssuing for
him a special Tablet in h is own holy writing,which ran as
fol lows
HE i s the H elper.
I bear witness that thou hast helped thy Lord , and artone of the helpers . To [the truth of] my testimony al lthings testify : thi s indeed is the roo t of the matter
,i f thou
54 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
art of those who know .
\What thou dost by H is command
and approval i s indeed the duty of help in the sigh t of thyLord the All-knowing and All-understanding . Go hence* and do not perpetrate that wherefrom misch ief wi l l resul t I
Put thy trust in God : verily He wil l take whomsoever He
will veri ly He hath power over al l th ings . Veri ly we have
accepted wha t thou didst in tend in the Way o f God. R eturn
to thy place : then commemorate thy Lord,the Mighty
, the
Praiseworthy .
And when the above-mentioned Nas ir had read thi s holyTablet, he abandoned the plan which he had conceived andreturned to Beyrout, the place where he dwel t .
But some of the Compan ion s held a secret conclave todeal with the evi l of the person s above men
Efgicfi‘u
e
tmg tioned,and the author of th is book was with
take ac t ion them,concurring with them in the ir ideas .
fifigfifjfif‘i One day he asked permi ssion from his MightyMasterto enter his presence, and when he
appeared before him b e submitted to him the ideas of the
Compan ions, one of whom , called AqaMuhammad I brah im
of Kashan,was presen t . But H is H ol in ess our Lord
Baha’
u’
llali st ri ct ly forbade the author [from pursuing hi sdesign ] , and ordered h im to go and remain in h is house andnot meddle in such affairs . Then the above-men t ioned AqaMuhammad I brah im made representati on to H is Holinessou r Lord
,saying, “ Veri ly our s ilence and patience have
encouraged the boldness of the adversaries and thei r per
si stence in m ischief and sed ition .
”Then H is H oliness our
Master commanded one Of tho se presen t to expel the abovementioned AqaMuhammad Ibrahim from his presence, andhe expel led h im , while the author of thi s book confined
page 42 .
I . MI’
RzA JAWAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E p iTOME 5 5
himself to h is house, and withdrew from those who were
resolved to deal wi th the evil o f these mal ignan ts .Now those who were ag reed to execu te the plan which
hath been men t ioned were U stad ‘A bdu ’lAssassmati on
Karim the turner, U stad Muhammad ‘A li the of S ayyid
barber of I s fahan, U stad Ahmad and hi s Muhammad
and o thernephew Mirz a H usayn the carpen ter of A z aifs by
Kashan , AqaMuhammad I b rah im of Kashan ,
Bahé’
fst
M irz a Ja ‘far of Yazd,and Aqa Husayn of J
an. 22 ’ 1 8 72 .
Kashan the cook . These began to consort with the malignants under a semblance of sympa thy and concord
,for the
better execu tion of thei r plans,and con t inued for some time
to converse and associate wi th them . Then they came in
unto them one afternoon in a house which was opposite to
the dwel l ing of the matasarrif of the town , and killed S ayyid
Muhammad, AqaJan , and Mirz a R iz a-qul i afore ment ioned
on the 1 2th of Dhu ’l-Qa ‘da,A . H. 1 2 8 8 (January 2 2
,
The local government being appriz ed of the matter arrested
the seven persons above ment ioned,and also al l the Babi s
domiciled at ‘Akka
,most Of whom
,when thi s event took
place,were busy with their professional avocat ions in the
markets of the town . The administration assembled them
al l in the Government H ouse,and l ikewise summoned
thither H is Hol iness our Master Baha ’u ’l lah , A rrest ofhis two sons ‘Abbas E fendi and Muhammad Baha’u ’llah‘Ali E fendi
,
‘Mirz a Muhammad-qul i,and and his 5 0“
janab-i [AqaJan of Kashan ] . At the fourth
hour of the nigh t they removed H is Hol iness our Master,
his two sons (at-Gaasnay n) and Mirz a Muhammad-quli from
pag e 431 Concerning the murder of these A z alis
,see my B a
’
bi’
s of P ersia , i ,p . 5 1 7 , and i i , p . 995 ; Traveller
’
s N arrati ve , i i , pp . 3 70— 1 ; and my
Year among st [b e P ersians, pp . 5 1 2—
5 1 4.
56 MATER I ALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
the Governmen t House,and lodged our Master and [h is
son ] Muhammad‘Ali E fendi in a chamber i n the S hah
verd i Khan bes ide the harbour, ‘Abbas Efendi [his oth erson ] at the harbour, and Mi rz a Muhammad-qul i in anotherplace . But jana
’
b-i and the Companionsgeneral ly passed the n ight i n the prison of the Government
H ouse,wearing chain s on thei r feet . But since His H ol iness
M ii sa E fendi I was i n bad heal th , and there was no one el se
to watch over and make arrangements for the wives of the
Companion s , they left him and hi s son Majdu’
d-DinE fendi ,who had not vet reached years of maturi ty, in h is lodging atthe Khan
,where most of the Compan ions dwel t . But when
the Governor S ubh i Pasha was informed o f th is transact ion ,he was displeased with S al ih Pasha, the commandant of
‘Akka,for what he had done to H is Hol iness our Master
i n transferring him from h is house and lodging him in the
place above mentioned,and reprimanded him for th is .
Next day,therefore , they assigned a room overlooking the
harbour,set apart for the quarters o f the A rti l lery maj or
,as
a lodging for H is Hol iness our Master, wi t h whom were h is
two sons above mentioned , and M irz a Muhammad-qul i . Onthe afternoon of the third day they brought H is Holiness
our Master and those who were wi th him to the Government
H ouse,and
,after in terrogating them , to the house [ass igned
to them ] . On the way th i ther His H ol iness our Master
cal led to h is S ervan t *‘who was imprisoned in th e Govern
men t H ou se with the other Compan ion s and took h im withhim and the above-mentioned period [of h is detention ] wassixty hours or more . Now His Hol iness ourGreat Master
,
when he was at the Government H ouse,was questioned
,as
1 The b ro ther of Baha’
u’llah, ent i tled Masa’ Kalim
, b ecause, l ikethe or ig inal Moses, he conversed w i th God, i .e. Baha’u’llah.
Page 44
I . MiRzA JAWAD’
S H I STORICAL E P ITOME 5 7
i s customary , concern ing his name and country . To th is he
replied,“ My name is Baha’u ’llah and my home is N ii r
”
(or“ the al l uding to h is native country i n Maz andaran
which i s cal led N tir. Then H is Hol iness our Maste r
addressed those who were present in the assembly there,and
said,
“ O people of the assembly , you have adopted yourown principles and have cast beh ind you the principles of
God . What ails you that you will not understand ?” But
since his H onour the S ervant of God hath written a detai ledaccount of th is event
,the author of this book wil l content
himself with this summary.
The period of de tent ion of the Compan ions in the pri sonof the Governmen t House lasted six days, and
on the seventh day they sen t the seven
murderers to the harbour, and the remainder on account ofof the Compan ions to the S hah-verdi Khan , 3
5
25
22112110“
which is S i tuated beside the harbour and is set
apart for military purposes . These were S ixteen in number ,and their imprisonment lasted S ix month s and S ix days .
Towards the end of this period there i ssued from the S upreme
Pen a prayer for del iverance , and a command to the Com
panion s to reci te i t and byf his Help and Grace they were
all released,and reoccupied thei r lodg ings as they were
before . Thi s prayer was as fol lows“ O Lord of the Names and Creator of the H eaven !
Del iver Thy friends from the’
prison of Thine enemies !Veri ly Thou art the R uler of Destiny, who ariseth from thehoriz on Of appari tion . O S ource of Immortali ty, by theL i fe of Baha cut not off hope , but help these [Thy servants]Thou orderest what Thou
“
wil t,and i n Thy hand is the
Kingdom of Creation . The fang s [of foes ] are whetted forthe flesh of the Friends : save the Companions, O Lord of
the necks [of al l men ] and U l timate Judge
5 8 MATERIALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BAE I’
RELIG ION
A s for the seven murderers above mentioned, they were
Punishment condemned,according to the law
,to imprison
of theo
seven ment, one for seven years , two for ten years ,
assassms‘ and the remain ing four for fifteen years,but
during the years o f thei r impri sonment they Obtained a mit igation, according to the cu stom curren t in th i s coun try,namely
,the rem is sion of a th i rd of th e period on certain
special days .‘
But H is H ol ines s our Master Baha ’u ’l lah,
notwith standing the fact that,apart from h is spiri tual control
and inward power,he had enough ex ternal
'
influence and
authori ty to release these seven,or to al leviate thei r duresse
,
d id nevertheless abandon them to thei r legal puni shment,
and did not seek to obta in for them any release or miti
gation,because their action was taken withou t hi s approval
or con sen t, and con trary to permanent and deci sive commands
,as when he says
,
“ That ye should be S lain in
pleasing H im i s be tter for you than that ye should slay
and again,I f anyone is angered again st you
,oppose to him
gentleness ; and if anyone reviles you , revi le him not .”*N i ne years elapsed after th i s even t during which His
H ol iness ou r Master Baha ’u ’llah never wen t
gflfigé
h
h
isouts ide ‘
Akka . But when i t was the 1 2th of
residence out the F i rs t Jumada, A .H . 1 294 ( 2 5 th of May,
he wen t to the Garden of R izwan,
which l ies between the two rivers to the eas tOf the town , where he remained n ine days and then returned
to ‘Akka. And towards the close of the year above-men
tioned he rented the Palace of ‘Abdu ’ llah Pasha wh ich lie s
to the north of ‘Akka at a d istan ce of abou t an hour and a
hal f from the town and at t imes he u sed to l ive i n the town
and at other times in the Palace, unti l the year A .H . 1 2 9 8
(A .D . when he rented the Palace of ‘Hdi Khammar
pag e 45 .
I . MiRzA JAWAD’
S H I S TOR ICAL E P ITOME 59
s i tuated in a northerly di rec tion at a distance of half an hou r
from ‘Akka. Most of his time he passed in this Palace, in
the company of hi s th ree sons and hi s fami ly and hi s Honou rthe S ervan t of God
,while ‘Abbas E fendi with -hi s S i ster and
children remained at ‘Akka . S ometimes he u sed to vi si t
the town , and while he dwel t outside the town vis i tors ,whether pilgrims or[res iden t] Companions, used to have thehonour of seeing him after permission had been obtained
by them , and used to spend some days and nights there, and
then return by permi ssion to thei r dwellings at ‘Akka.
Many spots in the town were honoured by the approach OfourMaster Baha’u ’l lah
,and l ikewise numerous
places and vi llages outside i t, al l of wh ich are fxa
c
l
li’
ggll
ih
i
i
zmentioned in another h istory by the author the ne ighmore detai led than thi s . S O l ikewise he visited
1
3115“ Of
Hayfa four t imes , and on the last occasion he
honoured wi th hi s presence the White House of E l ias
(B ay t I /ya’
s al-Aéy aa’
) in A .H . 1 308 (A .D. and abode
there three months . H e al so honoured Mount Carmel , and
went one day to the French monaste ry on the Moun tain,
where he remained unti l the close of day . There he issued
a Tablet in which he made mention of H is H oliness theS piri t [of God ]
1 and H is su fferings .
In the later years of h is soj ourn at ‘Akka external conditions were the oppos ite of those which fi rst
prevailed , for his fame waxed great power,
majesty and tr i umph were apparent ; and the
eyes of al l were watching th is commun i ty Wi th venerationand respect . His Hol iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah remarked
one day , S ul tan ‘Abdu ’l-‘A z iz banished us to thi s countryIn the greatest abasement , and S ince hi s Obj ect was to
1 i .e. Jesus Chr ist , who is so called b y the Muhammadans.
page 46 .
60 MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BAEI RELIG ION
destroy us and humb l e u s,whenever the mean s of glory
and ease presented themselves,we did not rej ec t them .
I n short,notwith standing these circumstances and
material s of glory,ease and j oy , we used to discover sign s of
sadness in H is H ol iness ourMaster Baha ’u ’l lah to an exten t
which neither writ ing nor u tterance can express, and which
hath never been witnessed at any t ime , as appears from
sundry Holy Tablets . Thus in one of these he says
O thou who c irclest round my Throne and art presen tbefore my Face , dost thou weep for God ’s own sel f working forHis purpose, or do I weep with mine eyes for i t ? By God ’s
L i fe,al l th ings weep for what hath befal len thi s Oppressed
one at the hands of those who deny,after we had created them
for pure Truth , and had taught them the cl ear, s traight way
o f God . I f one should ask thee abou t Baha,say,
‘ Verily
he i s under the claws of hatred . A las,alas for what hath
befal l en me from every tyran t, from every sinner, from every
l iar,from every careless one
,from every deluded one
,from
every su sp ic iou s one , from every decei t ful tricks ter !’ I f
one should ask thee abou t the Lo te-tree say ,‘ Verily
i t i s under the swords o f al l mank ind .
’A las
,alas for what
hath befal len th is oppre ssed one from the hosts Of the
wicked ! The smoke of vain imagin ings hath overwhelmedsome men : there fore doth the eye of my spiri t lamen t andthe groaning of my heart ri se up. We ask God
,mos t
B lessed and mos t H igh i s He, to clean se His servan ts fromthe defilement of doubts and the dust o f vain imaginings :verily he is Powerfu l over al l th ings .”
And i n another passage he says
I n my N ame the Opp ressed,from my most g reat P rison.
*‘ By my l ife, and my sorrow, and my afl‘lic tion, if the S upremePen had add ressed i tsel f wi th the invocation O much
Page 47
I . M I’
R zA JAWAD’
S H I STORICAL E P ITOME 6 1
wronged one !’ from this moment un til the day wh ich hath
no end,i t would have the righ t so to do . Oppress ion in al l
i ts k inds and forms hath descended upon the dawning
places of the L ight and the day-springs of the Theophany,both of old time and now ; but there hath descended on
th is Oppressed one that which hath no l ikeness and nosimil itude .
”
He also said repeatedly,addre ssing some of the Com
panions“ I desi re a dark and narrow dwel ling , that I may lament
and weep over my wrongs
All men used to wonder at beholding these grievou s
sorrows , not knowing what was their cause or who thei roriginator, for how S hould there occur to the heart [of anyone] the events and ci rcumstances wh ich became known
[only] after [the death of] H is Hol iness our Master ?On the 1 2th of S hawwal , A .H . 1 309 ( roth of May,
1 8 9 2) H is Hol iness our Master Baha’u ’llah
Bahé’
u’llah
was attacked by a fever,which ceased after falls sick , May
two days . S ubsequently, however, another1 8 92
attack of fever supervened , and a general disturbance of
heal th resul ted . The period of th is s ickness lasted n ineteen
days,and h is A scen sion [i .e. death ] took place on the second
night of the month of Dhu ’l-Qa ‘da at dawn,
A .H . 1 309 (May 2 8,1 8 9 2 ) in the Palace of
‘Hdi Khammar at [the Garden of] Bahja2
A las how can I describe thi s awful calami ty,thi s supremely
1 Compare Tennyson’
s Maud
“ A lways I long to c reepInto some st ill cavern deepThere to weep , and weep , and
2 This means“
Joy ,
”but Ba/zja is said to b e a co rrupt ion of
Bag i i e/za ,the Turkish wo rd for a garden. S ee the Traveller
’s N arra
tive, i i , pp . xxxvi i— x li .
62 MATE R I ALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RE L IG ION
terribl e even t, whereat tears flowed unceasingly and lamenta
This wo rk t ion s arose from al l s ides . Even now,though
composed twelve years have passed 1,the author ’s eyes
about weep when he sets himself to describe i t, hi s
heart throbs,and h is sp iri t suffers so violen t a perturbation
that naugh t can exceed i t . God knoweth and witnessethwhat I say !
The resting-place of his Ho ly Temple [i .e. body] i s the
P lace ofmost northerly house of the three houses lying
bur ial of to the wes t of th e Palace above-mentioned,
Bahéi
uiuéh' namely the house of Hajj i S ayyid ‘Ali Afnan
"
,
the son-in-law o f H is H ol in ess our Great Master, in thenorthernmost room of that house . The body was there laid
to res t befo re the last prayer on th e thi rd * n igh t of the
mon th of Dhu ’l-Qa ‘da [A .H . 1 309 = May 2 9 ,
When H is Ho l iness our Master Baha’u ’l lah had com
pleted hi s eigh teen th year the mother o f‘Abbas Efendi, whose name was Nawwab ,enjoyed the honour of being received in to h is
presence,i n the year A .H . 1 2 5 1 (A .D . She bore him
fi rst of al l a son named Mirz a S adiq, who was born i nTihran the capital of ‘ Persia, and died there after three or
four years . S econdly ,‘Abbas E fend i , who was born in
T ih ran in A .H . 1 2 5 7 (A .D . Thirdly, a daughter,Bahiyya Khanim
,who was born in T ihran in A .H . 1 260
( A .D . and these two are sti l l l iving . Fourthly,
Mirz a ‘Ali Muhammad , who was born in Tibran , l ived seven
years,and died in Mazandaran . Fi fthly, Mirz a Mahdi, who
was born i n Tih ran and died in the mil i tary barracks at
1 This indicates A . D . 1 904 as the date of composi t ion of this work .
2 The Bab ’
s kinsman,whom I met at
‘Akka in Ap ril , 1 890. S ee
Travel/er’s Narrative, 1 1, pp . xxx vi i— xxx v i i i .
page 48 .
64 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BABi RELIG ION
men and doctors , i n each of which he explained hi s Mani
festation and the objects he had in view. All
of them were co l lected , headed by; an Introduction , and [collec tively] ent itled Saran/ iHay kafl . H e also i ssued the —Aqa
’
as
Most H oly in which‘
are con tained
addresses to certain kings and men of l eading, and l ikewise
many o ther books and letters , amounting , with what hepromulgated before his arrival at ‘Akka, to a hundred
volumes . I n al l these wri t ings he commanded al l men tore form their moral s and conduct , to associate with mankindin love and harmony with Spiri tual facul ties , and , i n Short ,enj oin ing al l that would advan tage them and forb idding al l
that wou ld hurt them,bo th in secret and in publ ic. For a
blessing the author wi l l here set down some of h is loftyu tterances
,so that hi s readers may take cogn iz ance of them .
Amongst other passages he has one in Persian of whichth is i s the translat ion
I swear by the S un ofTru th , which ariseth
and appeare th from the horiz on of th i s Mos tGreat Pri son , that the Beau ty of E tern ity de
sireth not strife and contention , or augh t whereby men’s hearts
are troubled . R efer to the Tablets , where he saysQ:‘ Consort
with [the adherents of ] all rel igion s with spi ri tual ity andfragrance .
’The purpose of thi s Theophany i s that the fi re
o fHate, which hath been kindled in the heart s o f the creeds,should be appeased and ext inguished by the H eavenly Water
3
H is w r i t ing sSara -i
1 S ee my Babis of P ersia , 11 . pp . 954— 8 ; and Baron V. Rosen’
s
Collections seientifiones, Vol. v i , Manuserzts A raaes, pp . 1 9 1— 208 . A lso
the Index ofmy Traveller’
s N arrative, i i , and espec ially the Corrig ena’aon p . lv .
2 This well-known quotat ion is from the A’
i ta’
b-i -A qdas.
3 Kawt/zar, commonly b el ieved by the Musl ims to b e the name of a
fountain or r iver in Paradise.
I . MiRzA JAWAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E P ITOME 6 5
of the D ivine Counsel and Celestial Admonition . I n th is
very year,which is the year A .H . 1 306 (corresponding to
the year 1 8 8 8 A .D . ) there was revealedeI‘a Tablet in the
writing of th is Oppressed One wherein this most exaltedWord shone forth from the horiz on of the S upreme Pen :
O people S peak wel l of [men your fel low servan ts,not
evil , nor that whereby their soul s may be saddened .
’All
mention of evi l , too , i s forbidden in this Law,because the
tongue [exist s] for the commemoration of the Tru th , andit i s an abomination that i t should be defiled with evil
speaking , or should utter words [apt] to cause sorrow toGod’s servants or to grieve them .
”
Again
The most glorious fruit of the Tree of I ntel l igence is
th i s lofty Word : All of you are the fru it of one Tree andthe leaves of one Branch . I t i s not for h im who loves h is
country to be proud, but [rather] for him who l oves the
Whole world .
’
Again
O people of Baha ! Ye are the R i s ing—places of Love
and the Day-springs of the D ivin e Grace . Do not defi le
the tongue wi th the vituperation and cursing of any one .
Keep the eye from that which i s not seemly . Be not the
cause of sorrow,much less of stri fe and sedit ion .
Again
There hath been revealed and manifested the R el igionof God and the Faith of God from the H eaven of the D ivineWil l for the unity and concord of the people of the world .
Make it not then , a cause of difference and strife.
Again
The obj ect of al l that hath been Shown forth i s that
page 50.
B. B .
66 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
men ’s ears should be prepared to l i s ten to th i s lofty Word ,which i s ,
‘ O people of the earth,make not God ’s R el igion
a cause of hatred ! Say,“ By God ’s L i fe
,the Doctrine of
God and H is R el igion have come for un ity and concord,not
for diflerence and strife . To th i s wi tnesseth the Mo ther ofthe Book 1 .”
Again , in the“ Book o f the Last Testament (K itaan
’i
“ The obj ect of th i s Oppressed One in enduring hardshipsand affl ict ions
,reveal ing verses
,and manifesting proofs i s to
extingu ish the F i re of hatred and mal ice , that perchancet he hori zons of men ’s hearts may be i l luminated with theL igh t of Concord, and may attain to true Peace . The
L igh t of th is declaration hath shone forth and arisen from
the horizon of God’s Tablet . Let each one,then
,regard i t !
O people of the World ! I enjoin on you that wh ich wi l l
conduce to the exal tat ion of your stat ion s . Take ho ld o fthe fear of God ; cl ing to the skirt of vi r tue ! I say, The
tongue i s for the commemoration of the Good ; do not
defi le i t 1‘ wi th foul speech . God hath pardoned what hath
passed . H enceforth i t behoves that each one Shou ld Speak
according to what i s fi t ti ng , avoiding cu rs ing and revil ing,and that whereby man i s rendered sorrowful .
And again
O peop l e of the wo rld The Way of God i s for loveand unity do not make i t a cau se of enmity and discord !There hath been revealed from the S upreme Pen what shal l
c onduce to the preservation , and cause the peace and ease,of God ’s servants with those who possess the greater in sightand the larger outlook .
1 Ummu’l-K
’
itab , i .e. the orig inal S crip ture, b efore i t is translatedb y the p rocess of revelat ion into any human tongue.
pag e 5 1 .
6 8 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
nei ther hath sought nor seeketh aught bu t t he purificationof the world from al l matters wh ich conduce to hurt
,harm
and despair. A ri se in the strength of the S upreme Pen ’1‘ ,that perhaps thi s aim may become manifest, and may save
the
Again
The S upreme Pen hath commanded the S aints, bothduring the nigh ts and the days, to do good, and hath for
bidden them to do evi l . I n one of the Tablets th is loftyWord hath been revealed : ‘ Blessed i s that soul which
heareth and doth not speak . I f they see good from anyonelet them strive to reward h im , and
i
i i they see injury,le t
them be pat ien t and leave [him ] to God . S trik ing, curs ing ,war, stri fe, S laying and p lunder are the actions of the wildbeasts of the den s of cruel ty and ignorance : the people of
God are purified and freed from all these things . I t i s neces
sary that al l should strive to reform the world . The world i sone country
,and God ’s servants are one family, did they but
know it . All must work in perfect un ity and concord forit s amel ioration . H e i s t he All-knowing Counsel lo r andthe Wise Exponen t .
’
Again“ Say, O my S ain ts, cl ing to piety and take hold of good
act ions . Adorn your heads with the diadem of j ust ice, andyour bodies with the robe of trustworth iness and equ ity .
Forsake strife and conten tion , and occupy yourselves withun ity and concord .
”
Again
O dil igent servan t ! I t i s hoped that the people o fGod may hearken to H is counsel s, and may not do in anyage or generation augh t but what God hath commandedthem
,but may be steadfast -in wel l-doing and reform , in such
pag e 5 2 .
I . M i’
RzA JAwAD’
S H I S TOR ICAL E P ITOME 69
wise that though the greater part of the people of God should
agree in any matter,and thereafter the savour of m isch ief
Should [be perceived] from i t, they should avoid i t, for thefol lowing of such company is unlawful in God ’s sigh t . Ye
are forbidden sedi tion and strife in the Book of God with a
str ingent proh ibit ion . O people of Baha,unite in wel l ~
doing, and agree in the reformation of the world
Again :
The obj ect of th is Oppressed One from the beginn ingof days unti l now is that men should not make God ’s rel ig ion
a cause of hatred,but should consort and deal with al l who
are on the earth with spiritual i ty and fragrance .
”
Again
O people of God,do not concern yourselves 1‘ with
yourselves : take thought for the reformation of the worldand the purificat ion of i t s peoples . The reformation of the
world wil l be [effected] by good and pure deeds and graciousand well-pleasing virtues . Deeds are the al ly of rel igion
,and
virtues its aider. O people of Baha , cl ing fast to virtue .
This i s what th is Oppressed One hath decreed,and what
this S overeign One hath chosen .
”
Again
Happy that soul which weepeth in i ts bed,while i t s
heart i s il luminated with the love of the people of the
world !”
Again he says in A rabic 1
Look to what i s beside you 2 as ye look to yourselves .This i s the Way of God , i f ye are of those who know,
and
this is the R el igion of God,i f ye are of those who hear.”
page 9 3 °
1 Thus far the c i tations are, apparently , taken from Baha’u’llah’sPersian wr i t ings, t ranslated by the author into A rab ic.
2 i .e. to your o ther fellow-creatures.
70 MATERIALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BABI’
RELIG ION
Again
O my friends,ye were not created for yourselves
,but
for the world . Put as ide what advantageth you [only] , andadopt that whereby the world is advan taged .
”
Again
O son of man,i f thou lookest for virtue, put aside
what advantageth thee, and adopt that whereby [God’s]
servan ts are advan taged ; and if thou lookest for justice,choose for others what thou choosest for thyself. Verily at
one time humil i ty exal teth man to th e H eaven ofGlory andPower
,and at another [i t abaseth him ] to the lowest stat ion
of abasement and contri t ion .
”
Again
O people of earth,make no t God ’s R el igion a cause
of difference amongst you ! Veri ly He hath revealed the
Tru th for the concord of al l who are in the world . FearGod
,and be no t of the ignorant . Blessed i s he who loveth
the world s incerely for the sake of H is Gracious Lord .
”
Again
Blessed i s he who devotes himsel f to the service ofthe world .
”
Again
O my sain ts , verily We have enjoined on you righteousness and piety , and have forbidden you rebel l ion and S in,
and everyth ing whereby [God’s] servants are saddened in
the sphere of humani ty in creat ion . Devote your energies
to the help of [God’s ] servants and that whereat your hearts
shal l rejoice .
”
Again
Beware les t the lusts of the flesh and passion shouldseparate you . Be l ike th e fingers on the hand or the l imbs
i n the body . Thu s doth the Pen of R evelation admon ishyou , i f ye be of those who surely bel ieve .
”
7 2 MATER IALS FoR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
in l oving yourselves , bu t in loving your fel low-creatures.
There i s no vi rtue in loving your country , but i n loving theworld . Be chaste i n your glances
,faith fu l in you r hands
,
tru thful i n your tongue,
* and mindful i n your heart . Do
not degrade those who are learned in [the fai th of] Baha,nor disparage the worth of the governors who exerci se j us ticeamongst you Make j u st ice your army , reason your armour,and forgiveness
,virtue and that whereby the hearts of the
sain ts rej oice your di st inct ive characteristi c .
’
Again :
And those who work misch ief in the earth,and shed
blood,and consume men ’s property wrongfully, from such
we dissociate ourselves, asking God that He wil l not cause
u s to foregather with them either in thi s world or the next,
unless they repen t unto H im veri ly He i s the mos t Merci ful
of the merciful . Verily he who tu rn s to God,i t i s necessary
for h im.
to be dis tingui shed from all others in h is actions ,and to fol low what i s enjoined on him in the S criptu re.
Thus ha th the matter been decided in a perspicuous Book .
”
There are many exhortat ions, i njunct ion s and wi se say ings
after th is sort,for wh ich , did the autho r wish to col lect them ,
th is brief treat ise would not suffice,but rather i t would need
the comp i lat ion of many volumes . Therefore he hath con
tented him sel f wi th th i s amount .
The l oftines s of the teach ings and counsel s of H is
H ol iness ourGreat Master Baha’u ’l lah in H is days produced
a great effect on the character ofH is Compan ions and showedfar-reaching resul ts
,so that they attained in virtuous attri
butes,good manners
,humane conduct and spiri tual qual i ties
to a station where they were seen,on occas ions of affl ic t ion s
,
sorrows,calam i t ie s and troubles, [to be] patien t, acquiescen t,
page 5 5
1 . FNM A JAwAD’
S H IS TOR ICAL EP ITOME 7 3
thankful,acting according to the purport of th is Blessed
Verse of the K ita’
a-i -Ag ilas
Whosoever is angered again st you , meet him with kind
ness,and he who revileth you
,revile him not .”
And th i s verse
That ye should be slain for H is goo d pleasure i s better
than that ye should S lay .
”
In Short,by the elevating influence of H is Hol iness our
Master Baha’u ’l lah they used to meet theAssassmati on
oppressor wi th g entleness, the agg ressor with of Héjj; Mu
pardon , and the vituperator with love . I n hammad,
R iZé
many lands they were slain but did not S lay,(
52521
3?by
notwithstanding their power so to do on‘ I Shqabad ’
a],S ept .some occas i ons
,as happened at I shqabad
(A skabad) in R ussia 1,where the S hi ‘i tes dwell ing there
one'
day murdered one of thi s community named Haj j i
Muhammad R iz a of I sfahan in the publ ic thoroughfare with
cutt i ng,wounding i ron weapons
,such as daggers, knives
and the l ike . The crime was proved against them in the
law-court,and sentence was pronounced by the R ussian
Government that the two murderers 2 should be hanged .
But when the gal lows was erected for their execution , the
Companions [i .e. the Baha’i s] went to the Governor andbegged that in tercession might be made with H is Majes ty
the Emperor for their release and pardon . S o the Governor
in terceded,and the sentence Of death was commuted , by
command of the Emperor, to ban ishment to S iberia .
page 56 .
1 Concerning this event , which happened on S ep temb er 8 ,1 8 89 ,
See my Traveller’
s N arrative, i i , pp . 4 1 1—
4 1 2 , and for a fuller account ,wi th the p ieces justifi eatives, Baron Vic to r Rosen’
s Collections scienti
fiqnes, Vol. vi , Manuscrits A rabes, pp . 249— 250.
2 Their names were Mashhadi ‘A li Akb ar and Mashhadi Husayn .
74 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BAB I’
RELIGION
But alas,alas for what we see to-day All these Spiri tual
vi rtu es and hiimane practices have undergone
a complete change . Concord has been re
placed by di ssen s ion , constancy by cruel ty ,and affect ion by enmi ty . D is sent and mutual
avo idance have appeared in th is community , and their concatenation hath been dis solved and their assembly dispersed .
All thi s that haih been mentioned hath happened by reason ofthe love of self and seeking after supremacy emanating from“ the Most Migh ty B ranch (al— Glznsnn
’
l—A‘
gam)‘Abbas
Denunciat ion E fendi,and hi s Opposi t ion to the last Testa
of ‘A bb gis ment O f H i s H ol i ness our Great Master
Er
gzfigjjAbd“ Baha’u ’l lah . For he says in
Pers ian (may my l i fe be sacrificed to hi su tterance
“ Every soul from which the scen t of exis tence ( i .e.
love of sel f) i s perceived tod ay i s the cause of discord .
”
He hath also in formed us in most of His Tablets thatH is Object in making man ifest H is D i spen sat ion was tocause religious hatred to disappear from the World , and todiffuse love and concord and ki ndl iness amongst the nations .But after H is A scension [i .e. H is death ] events took placeand sayings became curren t which produced great discordand mutual avoidance with in the community
,by reason of
what i ssued from ‘Abbas E fendi , as has been s tated , so that
antagon ism and separat ion arose between father and son,
brother and S i ster, * husband and wife , and so forth ; nay ,God be our refuge ! even enm i ty and hatred .
I n th is connect ion I wi l l men tion certai n events and
matters
’
which gradual ly came to pass after the death of
H is H ol iness our Great Master Baha’u ’l lah , some of whichI beheld with my own eyes
,while others I heard from
pag e 5 7.
76 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BAE i RELIG ION
Let i t not be h idden from person s of discernment thatthe injunct ion s se t forth in
“
the above-mentioned book al l
refe r * to th is community generally ; how then could i t berigh t for ‘Abbas E fend i to disclose what he wished and con
ceal a port ion thereof P For there i s n o doubt that i f whatwas so concealed had not been su itable [for general publ icat ion] H is Holiness Baha
’u ’l lah would not have written it i n
His august wri ting .
The duty of son s i s to carry out the testamentary
in struct ion s of thei r father,not to reveal a portion and
conceal a portion thereof, according to their private ideas
and opin ions or personal incl i nation s,for His H ol in ess
Baha ’u ’l lah says : “ O [D ivine] Beauty Verily I have spen t
my sou l and my spiri t for the glorificat ion of the Word
and the exal ti ng of the D i spensation of thy Glorious and
Beneficent Lord . I f we see one of t he ‘ Branches ’ (Ag /zsan,that i s sons) otherwi se than as God wil le th , we wil l rightful ly
drive him away : veri ly I am the Mighty,the A ll-Powerful .
The second difference was that H is Hol iness our Great
NO further Master hath said i n numerous places in his
Mani festat ion H oly S crip tures, pla i nly and exp l i c i tly, that10 take Place no fresh Mani festat ion shal l take place unti lfor 1 000 years.
a ful l thousand years shal l have passed fromthis Theophany ; and tha t i f anyone advances a claim toany such pos it ion before the completion of the above
mentioned period,whosoever he be
,an d from whatsoever
place he be,he i s a vain pretender worthy of rej ection ; as
when he says i n the “ Most H oly Book (K i tab- i -Aoa’
as)Whosoever layeth claim to a [new] D i spensat ion before
the completion of a ful l thou sand years i s a l iar and pre
varicator. And whosoever construes thi s verse or interprets
i t otherwise than as i t hath been obviously revealed i s
pag e 5 8 .
1 . MiRzA JAWAD’
S H IS TOR ICAL E P ITOME 77
deprived of the S pirit of God , and of H is Mercy which
encompasseth al l the worlds .”
But ‘Abbas E fendi after he had attained to supremacy,
clearly and expl icitly adopted the posi t ion of originali ty ‘,and
claimed such lofty stat ions and high degrees ‘Ab bésas belong exclusively to D ivine Theophan ies, E fendi
’
s
and even proclaimed in publ ic in America Claim
that he was the Messiah and the S on of God, and in India
that he was the prom ised Bahram 2. Thus he says in one
of his wri t ingsThe D i spensat ion in i ts enti rety hath reverted to thi s
vi s ible place 3,
*and i t i s not [permissible] for anyone to s t i r
save after hi s permiss ion .
”
And again
Whosoever cal l s on men in my Name, verily he isfrom me .
”
[But] H is H oliness ourGreat Master says“ Whosoever lays claim to any station
,rapture
,ecstasy
or craving otherwise than in th i s [my] Name , verily he is of
[the number of] the mos t los t , though he speak with al lu tterance“
,and cause rivers to burst forth from rocks
,and
control the winds , and cause the clouds to rain .
”
And‘Abbas Efendi says in Pers ian
Say,‘ the Goal and S um of al l are the products of th i s
Pen,and the Proof is that wh ich th is tongue utters . ’
[But] H is H ol ine ss our Great Master says in PersianWhat thi s Oppressed One desi reth of al l i s Justice and
Equity . Let them not be sat isfied with l is ten ing,but let
them ponder on what hath been manifested by th i s servant .
1 i .e. of being the b earer of a new Revelat ion, and not merely theinterp reter and maintainer of that g iven by Baha’u’llah.
2 The expected S aviour of the Zoroastr ians or Parsees.
3 Meaning himself. pag e 5 9 .
4 Or, wi th all the Bayan,
”i .e. all the utterance of the Bab .
7 8 MATER IALS FOR S TU DY OF TH E BABi RELIG ION
By the Sun of the B ay a’
n ari sing from the horiz on of the
heaven of the K ingdom of[God] the All-merc iful, had therebeen found anyone [el se ] to explain or to speak
,we would
not have made ourselves the Object of men ’ s revil ings and
calumn ies .”
And again,i n the Chapter of the Pen (Saratu
’
l
Qalam)“ S ay, Info the heart of whomsoever i t entereth to rival
thi s Peri l,or to associate h imsel f therewith , or to approach
it, or to know what i s revealed by i t, le t i t be surely knownthat the Devil hath whi spered in to hi s sou l : thus hath the
matter been revealed,i f ye would know
‘Abbas E fendi says i n Pers ian“ This servan t i s th e exposi tor of the Persp icuous Book ,
and whatever of God ’s writ ings i s no t confirmed by th i sservan t i s not worthy o f credence .
”
H is Hol iness our Great Master says“ The Covenant was taken at the t ime of the Dawn from
those who bel ieve that they S hould no t worsh ip [aught] saveGod, nor work mischief i n the earth .
”
‘Abbas E fendi ascribes all the covenants and vowsmentioned in the Sacred Books to himself
,as h is words
prove . Thus he says in Persian“ I n Short
,verily from the beginn ing of Creation unt i l
now there hath not happened or appeared any plain covenan tor c lear promise l ike un to this . Yea
,t here have been
prom i ses , but they were not "‘ beneath the shadow of the
Tree of Prophecy and the Lote-tree of the L imit, bu t wereonly suggested by allegories . But in th is great Cycle andluminous Epoch the Object of the Covenan t i s v is iblei n the hor izons and the Centre of the Promise i s knownamongst the people of the world .
”
1 i .e. Baha’u’llah himself. page 60.
80 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABi RELIG ION
hatred kindled in the hearts of the creeds,and the abatemen t
thereof by theKawthar1 of the utterance of D ivin e Counseland Celest ial Admon i t ion . I n thi s very year
,A .H . 1 306
a Tablet was revealed in the writ ing of th i s
Oppressed one wherein thi s S ubl ime Word shone forth fromthe horiz on of th e S upreme Pen : ‘ O people
,speak wel l o f
[God’s ] servan ts, and speak no t of them evil , or that whereby
their soul s may be troubled .
’ The mention of evi l hath
al so been forbidden in th is Law, because the tongue is for
the commemorat ion of the Truth,and i t i s p i ti ful that i t
should be defiled by backbit ing or u ttering words whichcau se sadness and grief to [God
’s ] servants .”
H e says al so in Pers ian i n the Book of my Wil l“ The obj ect o f th i s Oppressed On e in bearing hardsh ips
an d afi‘liotions i s the reveal ing of Verses and the Showingfo rth of Proofs
,so that the fi re of mal ice and hatred may be
quenched ; then perhaps the hori z ons of men’s hearts may be
i l luminated wi th the l igh t of concord and may attain totrue Peace .
And again i n the same Book“ O people of the world !God ’s rel igion exis ts forLove and
Concord : do not make i t a means to enm ity and discord
But ‘Abbas E fend i hath null ified thi s mos t great gift andmos t h igh and glorious aim , s ince he , for h is
private ends and personal a ims , hath in st i
tuted hatred and discord amongst the peopleof Baha, i n such wise that he hath introduceddiv is ion and separat ion between brothe r and
s is ter,fathers and sons
,husband and wife, friend and o ld
comrade ; and whosoever does no t agree with h im in h isideas and statements
,and does not speak evil concern ing h is
brother Muhammad ‘Ali E fendi “ the Most Great Branch ”
1 The name of a fountain or r iver in Paradise,
1 . MIRZA JAWAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E p ITOME 8 1
(al-G/zusna’
l-Aklzar) and the Holy Family i s accounted a“ violator ” (Na
’
giz ) of the Covenan t and a“ vacil lator ”
(Mntazalz i l), nay, an infidel , wherefore they avoid him and
hold i t unlawful to speak,or converse
,or have any deal ings
wi th him .
ale Let i t not be hidden from the in tell igen t that
the causes of discord are numerou s, but the author has nottouched on them fully from a desire for brevity. The sum
of the matter i s that th i s schism took place on accoun t of
what hath been ment ioned,and for [other reasons] which
have not been mentioned,so that th i s cleavage resul ted, and
thi s community became two communit ies .S chism after
On the one hand are the fol lowers of ‘Abbas Baha’u’llah’
s
Efendi, who consti tute the maj ority. Most of death '
these bel ieve h im to be possessed of the S upreme Immaculacy and to be the Mirror of “ He doeth what He will
,
”
as i s wi tnessed by their publi shed treatises in handwrit ings
wel l-known [to all] . They ascribe to him th e high degrees
and lofty station s pecul iar to the D ivine Man ifestat ions,
and name themselves “ the steadfast (at/z
On the other hand are the minority, who find ‘Abbas
Efendi and h is claim,h is sayings
,and hi s Muhammad
ideas at variance with the commands of H is ‘A 11 and his
H oliness our great Master ; who regard followers.
Muhammad‘Ali E fendi as submiss ive to God and obedient
to the commands of H is H oliness Baha’u ’l lah ; and whoconceive of h im as of a finger who poin ts to his Master
,so
that they agree and uni te with h im , and are called “ Uni
tat ian s ” (alzla’
t-Tarvlzid).When it became certain that a sch ism had taken place
,
Muhammad‘Ali E fendi and those who were with h im
,in
conformity with the commands of H is Holiness our GreatMaster
,where he says in the K itab-i-Agaas
page 62 .
8 2 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E EAB i RELIG ION
I f ye differ in any matter,refer i t to God
,so long as
the Sun con tinues to shinei
from the horiz on of th i s heaven 1
and when i t hath se t,then refer to what hath been revealed
by H im veri ly that sufficeth the worlds ” ; and in anotherplace in Persian
“ O divers peoples , tu rn towards un ity, and becomei l lum inated with the L ight of Concord : meet in some placein godly fash ion , and put away from amongst you whateveri s the cause of difi
’
erence"‘
i n accordance with these precep t s, I say] they re
peatedly commun icated with‘Abbas Efend i
Muhammad
A li’s (0L ask i ng him to appom t a S i t t i ng i n godly fash i on10W€r5 demand and to choose a few representat ives from botha conference.
S i des to d i scu s s the matter W i th the utmos tloving-kindness a s regards the d isagreement and i ts causes
to make the effort s necessary to remove it ; to weigh wordsand thoughts in the balance of God ’s S cripture and to disti ngui sh th e Truth from al l el se by the cri terion of His
words . Moreover they besought the acceptance of thi s proposal with the extreme of suppl icat ion and
si nceri ty, and repeated their reques t many times , but Obtainedno an swer from him [i .e.
‘Abbas E fendi ] , nor Would he inany wise consen t to th i s
,perceiving that reference to the
verses explanatory [o f th i s question] would be contrary tohi s pri vate ideas and personal advantage
,and knowing that
the tru th would be revealed by reference to them , and that
al l men would recogn iz e the van i ty o f the ideas and express ion s cu rren t in the assembl ies of ‘
Abbas E fendi and hi s
fol lowers and contained i n the ir wri tings . S o hatred and
avers ion i ncreased between the two part ie s, and matters
reached a pitch wh ich one disl ikes to describe i n detail , andthey uttered with regard to Muhammad ‘Ali Efendi and
1 i . e. S o long as Baha’u’llah is al ive.
”
pag e 63 .
84 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
REL IG ION
the days when H is Hol iness our Great Master sojourned atAdrianop l e, had wri tten a tract wherein he made mention of
the Misch ief of the days of the Man ifestati on . Thi s tract‘A bbas E fendi named “ the Tablet of the Mischief, saying
that i t was a H oly Tablet revealed from the S upreme Pen ,and ordered i t to be read in the assemblies
,hi s obj ect therein
being to cast doubts in to men ’ s hearts,so that they m ight
imagine that the utmos t importance belonged to h is days .Again our Great Master, before he made known his Mission,warned us of the adven t of “ the grievous days
,
” meaning
thereby the days of H is Manifestat ion . But after the Man i
festation He declared i n one of the H oly Tablets that theyhad come to an end . But ‘Abbas Efendi said in answer to
a quest ion concern ing “ the grievou s days ” that they were
the year of the A scension 1 , in order to establ i sh the import
ance of hi s own days , as hath been mentioned . And notwithstanding al l that we have men tioned , he asserted that
h is brother Muhammad ‘Ali Efendi had tampered wi th the
publ i shed D ivine Verses, I mean the [edi tion of the ] K itabn’
l
H ay kal l i thographed in the days of H is H oli ness our GreatMaster
,whereof many copies ex is t in the writing o f Zayn
[u’
l-Muqarrab in]2
(who i s wel l known amongst thi s commun ityand who co l lated th i s l i thographed edition), and said thatthe verses which were no t confirmed by him were not to berel ied on
,in tending thereby to preven t hi s followers from
referring to these D ivin e Verses,lest they should become
aware of h is [‘Abbas E fendi’s] opposi tion to the H oly
Writ ings" in word , deed, declarat ion and writi ng.
I n the fourth year after [the death of] H is H o l in ess our
1 i .e. of the death of Baha’u’llah.
2 S ee my translat ion of the Traveller’ s Narrative, 1 1, pp . 4 1 2
1 . MiRzA JAWAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E P ITOME 8 5
Great Master 1 , the partisans of‘Abbas E fendi held a meeting
in h is audience-chamber at h is suggestion,
took counsel with one another,and agreed that éé
bbés E
find’
p r ives i s
what was given of the necessaries of l i fe to the b rothersH oly Family and to h is brothers was on no 212322306 5 .
accoun t permi ss ible wherefore Abbas Efendi
cu t i t off completely , so that b e compel led them to borrow forhousehold expenses
,because they were deprived Of means .
This was a wrongful act on hi s part , because what [revenue]reached him from the difl‘erent countrie s was not h is private
property,but belonged to the entire H oly Family
,as wil l
not be hidden from the discern ing . Yet he cut i t off from
them,and spen t i t on whom he would of the official s and
men of influence, in order to effect h is personal aims, notacting conformably to truth
,j ustice and equ ity .
I n the sixth year after [the death of] H is H ol iness ourGreat Master 2 a grievous sickness overcame
Death of
Ziya’
u’
llah E fendi , by reason of the vehement Ziya’
u’llah,
emot ion caused in h im by the exist ing even ts 1 898 ‘
and differences. A fter some days he went for change of air
to Hayfa, where the malady increased in gravity. And
during the days of his i l lness nei ther ‘Abbas E fend i nor any
of his fami ly or followers came to vi s i t hi s S ick brother or toenqu ire after him ; unti l the S ign s of dissolution appeared
,
on the afternoon of the 1 4th of Jumada I I,A .H . 1 3 1 6
(October 30, when ‘Abbas E fendi came , stayed a few
minutes,and then returned to h is lodging . Next morning
he came,accompanied the corpse to the gate o f th e townand aft er a short whi le wen t to the Palace (of Babj a)
tarried a wh ile there, and returned to‘Akka, but was not
present at the funeral , nor anyone of his fam ily and fol lowers .
i .e. ab outi .e. ab out 1 898 .
86 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAE I’
RELIG ION
They did not even close their S hop s and Offices on that *‘ day ,as i s customary, but on the contrary manifested joy andgladnes s and quaffed the drinks commonly u sed on fest ival s
.
This behaviour [on their part] aston ished al l , whether presen tor absen t, kin smen or s trangers .
Ziya’
u’
llah Efendi had a wife whose parents and brothers
were fol lowers of ‘Abbas E fendi
,who sum
A t temp t toabduc t the moned them to his presence, des i r i ng by the i r
of mean s to draw her to h im self. But S i nce afterZiyau llah.
her husband ’s death She chose fai thfu l ness [tohi s memory] and th e service of HerH ol ines s hi s mo ther
,with
whom she dwel t i n the Palace of Babja,
‘Abbas Efendi sen t
her parents and her bro ther to the Ho ly Place. They sen t
a certain woman of the part isan s of ‘Abbas E fend i to her
mo ther-in-law, demanding an interview with the girl , that i s ,the wife of Ziya
’
u’
llah E fendi,i n the H oly Place ; which
request being granted , she came i n company wi th the abovementioned woman to the H oly Place and met her parentsand her bro ther
,who held her i n conversation wi th enqu iries
as to her condition and declaration s of affect ion , walking
meanwhi le towards the gate, on emerging from which herparent s and brother se iz ed her by force
,and carri ed heroff,
holding her hands and feet to drag her to the place where acarriage was in read iness to carry her away .
‘Abbas E fendi ’s
wife was presen t i n person to superintend the arrangementsabove mentioned, while some of her relat ions and fo ll owerswere helping the parents in her abduct ion , she being bare
headed and bare-foo ted , crying out and ask ing for help , and
saying O Baha, help me They have taken me by force
Thi s even t happened at a t ime when Muhammad‘Ali E fendi
and Badi ‘u’
llah E fend i were absen t,and no one was presen t
page 66.
8 8 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
the Immaculate Wri t ings refer exclusively to previous and
subsequent Theophan ies, but‘Abbas Efendi hath appro
priated them to himsel f, and ye have SO accepted them ,
wherein ye have greatly erred .
One of ‘Abbas E fendi ’s fol lowers 1 in formed him o f theS ervan t’s words , whereupon he at once ap
peared on the scene,seiz ed him by the hand
and expel led h im from the house bare-headed
and bare-footed,whi le hi s fol lowers beat him
on the head and face, he crying out meanwhile in a loud
voice,address ing them ,
“ Verily ye * are now in the neigh
bourhood of the H oly Place , whi le I am Speaking to youwith di scriminat ing S ign s (verses), that thereby the true maybe dis tingui shed from the fal se and the polytheis t from theUn itarian .
” Yet not one of them l i stened to him ,but they
continued to beat h im and to drag h im to the H oly Place,
where ‘Abbas E fendi s truck him Wi th hi s hand a painfu l
blow. From the H oly Place they took him by command of‘Abbas E fendi and imprisoned him in a stable, after they had
taken from him such writ ings and letters as he had on h im .
A fter that they denounced him as reprobate , apostate,croaker
,hypocri te and devi l , notwithstanding the recom
mendations o f H is H ol iness our Great Master concern ingh im and H is command to them i n the Book of the [last]Testamen t, and in o ther Tablets al so, to honou r the S ervan t ;even as He says in a Tablet i n H is own holy wri t ing “ And
after the ‘ Branches ’ (Agasan, i .e. the sons of Baha ’u ’l lah )S how honou r to th e S ervan t who stands before the Throne ina laudable s tation
1 S ayy id Hadi was the informer .
pag e 68 .
2 The events here narrated form the subj ect of a separate t rac t of1 6 pages, l i thog raphed, ent i tled Waoi ‘a-i -lza
’i la-i -Kaddim -i -Ab/za
'
a’ar
1 . M i’
RzA JAWAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E P ITQME 89
In short,after this event the S ervan t attached himself to
the Place of our Great Master , and used to spend his t imewith Muhammad ‘
Ali Efendi and the H oly Family in commemorating the Lord (glorious in H is S tate) and in the service
of the Cathol ic Word , as i s proved by his writings in h is own
well-known hand . And after a t ime he went one morning
to the hou se of ‘Abbas E fendi at ‘Akka to discu ss and
confer abou t the actual condit ion s and existing differences
bu t they Shu t the door in his face and prevented him fromentering
,and he sat before them on the ground for the Space
of two hours, begging‘Abbas E fendi and hi s partisan s to
produce th e holy verses and Tablets in thei r possess ion , so
that he might discuss wi th them and they with him according
to their purport,in order that i t might appear what action s
and words were con formable or contrary to them , and which
thereof were acceptable in God ’s S igh t and which displeasing.
But none would give ear ; and final ly ‘Abbas E fendi sen t
his son-in-law named M irz a Muhs in to the Governmen tto say to the [Turkish ] official s that the S ervan t had cometo make mischief. Thereupon an Officer came and took 9"the
S ervan t to the Government House, where they detained him
for a whi le, after which they drove him out from the Palace .
S o he continued worshipping and commemorat ing God and
elucidat ing the S upreme Unity unti l h e fel l S ick . H is s ick
ness lasted fi fteen days , and on the 29 th of
Muharram , A .H . 1 3 1 9 (May i 7th, 1 90 1 ) he £ 5522?responded to the cal l of hi s Master in the {Gradient
Palace of Bahja, and was buried with the gig”, 1 90 1 .
u tmost reverence at Ab i ‘A taba,Muhammad
P anz a-i -Mabaraka-i fi Uly a’
(“ The Dreadful Calam i ty of the S ervant
of Bahain the Blessed and Sup reme Garden The persecutors weretwelve in number, ofwhom eight are named.
page 69 .
90‘
MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABi’
RELIG ION
‘Ali E fend i and the Unitarians seeing to what was necessaryfor h im in the way of wash ing, shrouding and burial .The S ervan t during hi s days [of l i fe] had repeatedly
expressed his wish to the Friends that al l of the H oly
Writings wh ich belonged to h im S hould return to God , andthat after hi s death they should al l be depo s i ted in theH oly Place. S o after his death Muhammad
‘Ali
‘
E fendi,
Badi ‘u’
llah Efendi, and some of the Un itarians, including theauthor
,wen t one day to a house in the neighbourhood of
the H oly Place and exam ined the S acred Mementos whichthe S ervan t had left . These included twelve H o ly portraits,two hundred and seventeen H oly Tablets produced by the
S upreme Pen , and a number of the Holy head-dresses ‘,
garments and hairs,bes ides many Sacred Books and a mass
of correspondence, bound and unbound , and private possessi on s, and a number of tracts composed by the S ervan tconcern ing the D ivine Un ity and the S upreme Immaculate
ness . All these they wrote down [in a l is t] , and placed inthree boxes , which they sealed with two seal s
£ 322
52”and depos i ted as a tru st in the house of S ayyid
vars b ooks ‘Ali Efendi, the son — in-law of H is Hol iness
igiridififat
s
edour Great Master, because he was a R ussian
b y‘Abbas subjec t ’ , so that they m igh t be protected
fif
jpcc
jll
: 1 908 o
_from interference
“
at the hands of tyrants .
R ecently,however, i t appears that ‘Abbas
Efendi in the month O f S afar, A .H . 1 3 26 (March , 1 908 )obtained the consen t o f the B lessed Leaf and the Ho lySpouse,
'
and of S ayy id ‘Ali E fend i Afnan’
, and sen t * his1s
'
a’
n,l i terally “ C rowns
,
”i .e. the tall fel t caps which Bahau. llah
used to wear .2 And therefore not l iab le to b e molested by the Persian or
°
Turk iSh
Government .3 S o called b ecause he was related to the Bab , whose k insmen are
called Af na’
n page 70.
9 2 MATER I ALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
and thereby fi l l ing the hearts of hi s followers wi th hatred,enmity and avers ion
,so that they u sed to di splay the
extreme of d isl ike and detestation i n regard to Muhammad‘Ali E fendi and the H oly Family
,and used to speak un
seemly words concerning them . But when Muhammad‘A li E fendi d iscovered that hi s bro ther ascribed theseoccurrences to h im ,
b e commun icated wi th h im repeatedly
by means of some of the official s and inhab itants of the
city and some of his fol lowers, * and begged h im to agree to
appoin t a t ime and men to enqu ire in to the tru th of thesematters
,i nvestigate these even ts, and ascertain their reasons
and causes . Thi s happened du ring the presence of the
i n spectors,and he requested h im to appoin t two persons on
hi s behal f that th ey m igh t go together to the local government and to the Board of I nspectors and formal ly demand
[the production of ] a note of complain t, i f such were intheir possess ion , on the part o f Muhammad ‘
Ali again st h i s
b rother ‘Abbas Efend i , or an assert ion that they were cog
nizant of some direct complain t on hi s part . For al l official
papers and legal complai n ts are preserved in the original sas wel l a s in copi es by the Government i n i ts records. But‘Abbas Efend i would not accept thi s or agree to it, because
he sought by these fal sehoods and S landers to give effect toh i s plans
,and if he had appoin ted such persons and they
had gone to the above-mentioned official quarters and madeinvestigations
,i t would have become plain to al l that these
accusat ion s were fal se, and these reports devoid of tru th
and real ity . For i t i s no t hidden that the Fal se loves thedarkness and hate s th e l igh t , le s t i ts evi l circumstances anddeeds Should become apparen t . I n Short th is schism and
i ts result s were manifold, but space does no t al low more [tobe said ] than what I have men tioned , so I have contented
pag e 7 1 .
1 . MI'
RzA JAWAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E P ITOME 9 3
mysel f wi th th is summary,having already set forth most of
[the facts connected with ] i t in another treatise .
T/ze Conquest of Ameriea for t/ze B aaa’
i relig ion ay
means of D r [bra/zim George literallytranserilfea
’
from zo/zat t/ze above-mentioned Kaayru’lla
’
a
wrote, patting lzimself in tileposition of a taira
’
person1.
Ibrah im George Khayru ’llah was born on November 1 1 ,1 849 ( 26th of Dhu
’l-Hijja, A .H . 1 265 ) in the B iog raphicalVi l lage of Muhammadrin
2
,one of the Vi l lages sketch of
of Mount L ebanon in S yria .
I b rahimGeorg e
H is father died while he was sti l l a ch ild Khayru’llah.
at the breast 3, and his mother undertook h isBorn NO1“ 1 1 ’
1 849educati on
, placmg him first In the primary
schools,and then sending h im to the Col lege of al-Bustan i
in Beyrout, and thence to the American
Un ivers i ty College, where, in 1 8 70
he obtained the degree of Bachelor of
S cience ‘ . He was one of the five [students] who were thefirst-frui t s of th is celebrated college .
I n A .D . 1 8 72 (A H . 1 28 9 )' he le ft S yria and took up hi s
abode in Egypt for a period of about 2 1 years. Goes to Egyp tThere he foregathered with the late Haj j i 1
b
“ 1 8 72 , and
ecomes ac‘Abdu ’ l-Karim E fendi of T ihran , one of the quainted wi thfollowers of His Hol iness Baha’u ’l lah (glorious Hfijli
‘Abdu
’l'
Karim ofi s H is ment ion who gave him good t idings Tihran.
1 S ince this t ranslat ion was made DrKhayru’llah has pub l ished thesub stance of the informat ion g iven below in a b ook ent i tled 0 C/zristians .
’
way do y e believe not in C/zrist ? pp . 1 65— 1 92 . This b ook was pub
lished in 1 9 1 7 in the p rob ab ly at Chicago , though no p lace isspec ified on the t i tle-pag e. I c i te this as the Eng l ish Autob iog raphy.
”
2 “ Behamdon”in. the Eng l ish version ment ioned in the last foo t
note.
3 “ When I was two years oldpage 72 .
94 MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BAB i RELIG ION
of th i s Most Great Mani festation .
‘
At fi rst he did no tbel ieve these t idings, and began to study the D iv in e
S criptures 1 with the obj ec t of demonstrat ing therefrom thefal s ity of th i s claim , and he remained an unbel iever for anumber o f years, unti l God opened h is eyes and he saw theTruth as i t i s .
’
Then he forwarded a let ter of con trit ion andbel ief to His HolineS S
’
Baha’
u’
llah (glorious is H is praiseand there was reveal ed for h im a Holy Tablet from the
H eaven of Virtue gladden ing h im with the announcemen tthat h is cry had been heard and hi s reques t an swered, and
Conversion t0 that he had been commemorated with a menBaha’ i fai th in t ion whereby [al l men
’s ] hearts would beattracted . This happened in A .D . 1 8 90 (A .H .
and the text o f the abovelmentioned Tablet i s in serted
for a blessing at the end of his book enti tled B alza’a
’
lla’
lz2
which he composed in the Engl i sh language to prove th etruth of th i s most great and wonderfu l Theophany .
On the 1 9th of June , 1 8 9 2 ( 24th of Dhu’l -Qa ‘da
,A .H .
Goes to S tabout three weeks after the Ascen
P etersburg in s ion 3 of H is H ol in ess Baha’u ’l lah,the above
June’ 1 8 92 ° mentioned Ibrah im Khayru ’l lah journeyedfrom Cai ro to S t Petersbu rg, the cap i tal o f the R ussianEmp i re, to fini sh some business wh ich he had there . H is
i n tent ion was to return to Egypt after th ree months , but ,being .unable to fin i sh h is business there, he went to Berl in ,
A rr ives in thence to Le Havre in France , and thence toN ew York , America on a German Sh ip named Swabia. ”Dee ' 1 892 ‘
He reached New York in December, 1 8 9 2
(Jumada 1 1, A .H . th ree or four days before Chris tmas .
1 i .e. the wri t ing s of the Bab and Baha’u’llah.
2 Vol. i i, pp . 5 44
—5 . S ee also p . 1 66 of the E ng l ish Autob iog raphy.
3 i .e. death.
96 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABi RELIGION
In A .D . 1 8 96 (A .H . 1 3 1 4)\the feet Of seekers [after Truth ]
Pub lishes a
crowded on one another in Chicago and
b ook ent i tled Kenosha, * and the bel ievers were counted5
2345
5¢WDM 1 by hundreds . A t th is period he composed a
I 9 book which he named B riana-D in (“ the Gate
of R el igion and in A .D . 1 8 9 7 (A .H . 1 3 1 5 ) he went to
Kansas S tate, _to the ci ty of Enterprise, where he spen t
eight weeks during the summer season in search of res t ;but, finding there a number of people seeking spiritual
knowledge, he preached the message to them,and
there were converted of theni at that time twenty-one
person s .
Towards the end of that year (A .D . 1 8 9 7) Mr [Arthur]Dodge and Mrs [L ida H . ] Talbot , who had
P ropaganda 2 ,
in New York left ( , hi cago and settled at New York, i nv i tedand I thaca h im to proceed th ither and evangel iz e the( 1 89 7) above-mentioned city . At that t ime also one
o f the bel ieving women 1,who had gone from Chicago to
vi si t her fam ily i n New York S tate , i nvi ted h im to cometo her help in the ci ty o f I thaca
,where by his perm iss ion
She was teaching certain people . Therefore , on his way toNew York, he passed by I thaca and spen t some days therein m iss ionary work , un til some of them bel ieved . Then he
left them and went to New York , where he and hi s wife
lodged in the very same house in wh ich Mr Dodge wasl iving . Before leaving Ch icago he appoin ted there and atKenosha male and female m issionaries to impart to studen tsthe same teachings which they had received from him .
Thus was the m ission extended , while the number of en
quirers in creased dai ly .
P ° 74 °
1 Apparently Mrs Getsing er . S ee p . 1 69 of the Eng l ish Autob iog raphy .
I . MiRzA JAwAD’
S H ISTOR ICAL E P ITOME 9 7
F inding that the number of enquirers in New Yorkexceeded two hundred
,b e divided them in to
three classes . He used to in struct the first filfiffifii‘
ficlass in the house where he l ived with Mr in Baha’
i
Dodge,the second class in the house * of the
dgani z e
celebrated Dr Gurnsey , one of the notables of
New York,and the th ird class in the hal l known as N in e
teenth Century Hall .
A t the end of four months one hundred and forty-one ofthe enquirers bel ieved
,and he formed them into a congrega
tion and set over them as evangel i s t (mnlrallzg/z) Mr HowardMacNutt. And
‘
during the period of his soj ourn in NewYork he used to visit th e city of Philadelph ia to help one
of the women evangel ists ’ whom he had sen t there . And
i n tha t c ity eighteen 2 souls bel ie ved . Thus d id God open
[to the Fai th] New York and Ph iladelphia in a shor t t ime .
I n the beginning of June,1 8 98 (Muharram , A .H .
he visi ted Chicago and Kenosha to investigate the condit ion
of the bel ievers there. Then he returned to New York,
whence he went with h is wife and one of the bel ieving
women,Mrs Anna Bel l, to the city of Lubeck in the S tate
of Maine . There he spent n ine weeks, engaged from six to
nine hours daily in dictating oral ly to Mrs Bell,while she
wrote down what he dictated with the type-write r,unti l he
had nearly completed the composition of h i s book enti tledAt this juncture there reached him a telegram
from Cal iforn ia inform ing him that Mrs Phoebe Hears t
wanted him and h i s wife to meet her at New York to gowith her as her guests to ‘Akka to visit the tomb of HisHol iness Baha ’u ’l lah (to whom he glory and to meet the
page 751 Mrs S ara G . H erron. Op . cit .
, p . 1 70.
2 Ab out twenty-five souls.
”Op . cit. , p . 1 70.
B . B.
9 8 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
members Of the H oly Family . He accepted thi s invitation,returned to New York , and prepared for the journey.
Khayru ’l lah carried on hi s m iss ionary and evangel iz ing
effort s amongst the people i n America forD isinterestedcharac ter of love of God W i thou t any remunerat i on at al l,Khaym
'
llah’
s so that *he used even to refu se the presentswork '
which were offered to h im .
.This rule he
made bind ing on himsel f and on al l th e evangel i st s,male
and female,whom b e appoin ted to teach . He used to earn
h is l ivel ihood by hi s lawfu l profession , which was the heal ing
of th e S ick, and o ften times b e expended h is own privateproperty [in such ways ] as
“
the h ire of premises for assembl ie s
of the b el ievers and evangel iz ing work .
Towards the end of June, 1 8 9 81
(Muharram ,A .H . 1 3 1 6)
Ibrah im Khayru’
l lah sailed in the steamer
F iirst Bismarck ” i n company wi th Mrs
Phoebe H ears t . H e stayed some days i n
Pari s, where he completed the convers ion of
the above-mentioned lady by giving her and
some of her attendan ts the Most Great Name . H e also
explici tly instructed such of the bel ievers as dwel t i n England
and France and had received the Most Great Name topreach the Adven t of the Father and
.
H is Kingdom upon
earth . I n thi s way was inaugurated th is Most Great Evangel
amongst the Chri st ian s of Europe .
A fter th i s he travelled alone from Paris making for‘Akka . He disembarked at A lexandria in
Khayruméh E t to visi t h i s two dau ht rs wliand a pai ty of gyp g e 0 wereAmer icans l iving there at that t ime with thei r grandV’S”
iAkké'
mo ther , stayed with them three weeks,
preached the Doctrine to them and converted them . Thence
page 76 .
1 “ In July, 1 898 . 0p. ci t., p . 1 7
100 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
him at one time Columbu s the S econd,Conqueror of
America, and at another Baha’s Peter .
When ‘Abbas Efendi brough t Khayru ’ l lah in to the roomwherein was deposi ted the body of H is Hol iness our Master
Baha’u ’l lah,he to ld h im that he was the fi rst p ilgrim to
whom the door of th is chamber had been opened for entrancethereunto and : to perform the ceremon ies prescribed for the
v i s i tat ion . And thereafter h e began to open i t for the
entrance of o ther pilgrims .
A nother of the dist i nc tion s which he enjoyed was that
Khayru’llah one day ‘Abbas E fendi came to Hayfa and
helps to lay alighted at the house i n which Khayru ’l laht
t
l
i
’
snf-EL’
SSSQ was lodging with hi s family,and invi ted him
the Bab ’s to accompany h im to Mount Carmel to parmauso’eum ’
tic ipate with h im in laying the foundationstone of the mau soleum which was to be erected to receive
the body of the “ F i rst Poin t H is H oli ness the Bab,thi s
honour being ass igned to h im in stead of to ‘Abbas E fendi’s
brother “ the Mos t Great B ranch ” Muhammad‘Ali E fendi .
"‘ S O they wen t togeth er, and there on Moun t Carmel‘Abbas
E fendi took a p ick-axe and gave Khayru ’l lah another pickaxe
,wh ich one of the at tendants had brough t for th is
purpose,and
,after asking help from God , they both began
to dig the foundat ion s,while the servant who was presen t
removed the excavated earth . Thus the work continued
for a few minu tes,when ‘Abbas E fendi laid aside h is pick
axe and ordered Khayru ’l lah to do l ikewise . Then he said
to him,
“ This i s an honour which none of the bel ieversexcep t thee has enj oyed .
”And he kept prai s ing h i s action
and hi s in struction of the American s before th e assembly ofthe bel ievers ; and Often did he make mention thereof i nh is writ ings . H e also en ti tled him “ the S hepherd of God ’s
pag e 78 .
I . MiRzA JAwAD’
S H ISTORICAL E P ITOME 10 1
flocks in America,and presented him with the works of
H is Holiness Baha ( to whom he glory A S for ‘Abbas
E fendi’
s followers , they treated Khayru’l lah wi th al l kindness
and affection .
I t i s worth men tion ing here that Her H oliness Bahiyya
Khanim “ the Blessed Leaf,” the s ister of ‘Abbas E fendi,
gave Khayru ’l lah her book , which was written in a b eautiful
hand and contained a number of H oly Table ts revealed by
the S upreme P en and told him that i t was a presen t from
her to Baha’s Peter,the Conqueror of America
,who had
wrought for the extension of the Fai th what no other of themissionaries had achieved . And he thanked her
,and put
i t by with other precious wri tings .
Notwi thstanding that Khayru ’l lah had repeatedly beggedH is H ol iness ‘Abbas E fend i before he wen t to visi t h im to
send him a volume of the H oly Verses which had been
revealed by the S upreme Pen so that he might comparethem with his teachings , i n order to guard against the
incidence of error, and H is H ol iness‘Abbas E fendi had
promised him th is,yet he sen t him noth ing of what he had
demanded . S o Khayru ’l lah determined when he went to‘Akka to attain th is supreme aim , to wit the acquisit ion of
knowledge at fi rst hand ; and, whenever he foregathered
with ‘Abbas E fendi he used 916 to explain to him the teachings
which he gave to the American s,even translating leng thy
sections thereof, and asking H is H ol iness to correct what
was'
erroneous. But H is H oliness confirmed them and
praised them publicly before al l the bel ievers, both E asterns
and American s . He repeatedly declared expl ici tly to the
American pilgrims that al l wh ich Khayru ’l lah had taught
was correct ; bu t whenever he had explained to the
page 79
I OZ MATE RIALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
Americans any mat ter,and afterwards understood that h is
explanat ion was not i n accordance wi th that given by
Khayru ’l lah , he u sed to avoid disagreemen t by saying that
everything had two mean ings,one sp i r i tual and the other
material,and that th e explanat ion s given to them by himsel f
and by Khayru ’l lah were both correct.
Now S ince His Hol in ess ‘Abbas E fendi used to post
pone the explanat ion of the question s which
Khayru ’l lah put to him , excusing h imsel f on
the ground of the mul tipl ici ty of h is affai rs,
Khayru ’l lah took to propounding them to the missionarieswho were there at that t ime , such as I bnu
’
l
Abhar 1 and hi s fol lowers,and there appeared between them
the most complete difference of Opin ion on numerou s im
portan t matters , such as the immortal i ty of the human spiri t ,and the question of the “ return ”
(rzj‘at) or coming back
[to the l i fe of the world ] , etc . S o‘Abbas E fendi appoin ted
a special t ime for the hearing of the two parties and the
pronouncing of judgement .
After long di scussions H is Hol iness ‘A bbas E fendi said
to Khayru ’l lah,
“ Verily the argument which
you have advanced is plausible,'
but your
assertion that God ’s E ssence i s l im i ted by
His E ssence is a sheer error . ” S O Khayru ’l lah
begged that he might hear the proof to establ ish this,saying ,
S in ce everyth ing wh ich is known is lim ited , and S ince God
knows al l things , and S ince He i s n ecessari ly known to HisE ssence by H is Essence, therefore i t i s poss ible to say,withou t incurring the charge of error, that God
’s E ssence i s
l imited by H is E ssence,S ince He i s known to H imself.”
D iscrepanc iesin doct r ine.
1 P robab ly ident ical wi th the I bn Abhar ment ioned at p . 426 of
my P ersian R evolution .
104 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABi RELIGION
Then there occurred numerous unpleasant events during
G row ingthe vi sit , which, i f they did not Shake the faith
estrangement of Khayru ’llah and hi s two daughters in the
[2132311541] tru th of th i s Most Great Theophany, did
and ‘Ab bas none the les s trouble the cup of their joy,E fendi . and caused them to wonder at the arbitraryconduct of ‘
Abbas E fendi .
Only after their retu rn to America d id God open theireyes so that they saw the Tru th as i t i s . Then indeed they
began to cal l to mind these even ts, and to wonder how they
failed to understand them at the t ime , and to real iz e the
tru th that 2 the apprehen sion of facts and the understandingof them only come by degrees and wi th time . And i n
order to make known the Truth Khayru ’l lah mentionedsome of these occurrences , as wil l be seen , but drew a vei lover many of them from motives of courtesy .
One feature O f the pol icy Of ‘Abbas Efend i was to'
attach
to every pilgrim who came to ‘Akka menP recaut i onstaken by of his own fact i on
,to con sort W i th that
‘A b bas E fend i stranger-pilgrim with the utmost kindness andto reventstringers from tenderness
,wa i t upon him
,rema i n W i th him
331
12311
25116 n igh t and day
,and accompany him wherever
he wen t . Thu s passed the days of his vi si t
wi thout the pilgrim being able to meet one of the H oly
Family or thei r fol lowers, S O that he would return withou tbei ng Informed of the t ruth of the mat ter, or of the causesof the dissension which had ari sen between ‘Abbas E fend i
and Muhammad ‘Ali Efend i .
But i f any one [of th e pi lgrims] was so bold as to askH is H ol iness ‘Abbas E fend i to permi t h im to meet hisbrother Muhammad ‘A li E fendi or his fol lowers
,he would
pag e 8 1 .
I . Mi RzA JAwAD’
s H I STORICAL E P ITOME 105
grant such permission to the seeker,with a smi ling and
cheerful countenance,to go to meet his brother Muhammad
‘Ali E fendi
,expressing an eager desire to be reconciled with
his brother ; but at the same time he would h in t to the
enqui rer that there was absolutely nothing to be gained by
this action of his . Then he would enj oin h is partisan s andat tendants to make it clear to that pilgrim that i t would bea g reat mistake for h im to foregather wi th Muhammad ‘Ali
Efendi,or any of hi s followers
,or to speak with them
,and
that i t was one of the th ings which would distress the
sensibil i ties of ‘Abbas E fendi . S o the pilg rim would refuse
to meet anyone of the rival faction,even as happened to
Khayru ’llah himself, when he refused to meet H is H oliness
the Branch (Gaasn) Badi‘u
’
llah E fendi when the latter
came to call upon him at the inn where he was s taying in
the city of Hayfa . For he refused to meet the above
mentioned Badi ‘u’
llah E fendi , i n consequence of 1‘ what hadbeen suggested to h im by H is Hol iness ‘Abbas E fendi and
hi s followers .
In consequence of what has j ust been set forth,none of
al l the American pilgrims went to in terview H is H ol iness
Muhammad‘Ali Efendi, orHerHo l iness the Mother of the
“ Branches
Besides what has been mentioned , ‘Abbas Efendi used
to take every opportunity i n the presence ofA t temp t to
Khayru ’llah to rise up and speak amongst his p rejud ice thefol lowers and attendants
,and in the presence 32333
1
5
02”
of the pi lgrims and the Americans , explain ing against M 11
to them how he was wronged, . and the vexahammad ‘AH'
tions which he daily su ffered at the hands of the Government and its agen ts
,the origin of al l of which b e ascribed
page 8 2 .
106 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
to the treacherous in trigues of h is brother Muhammad ‘Ali
Efendi,inci t ing them to avenge him
,i nsp i r i ng in thei r
m inds angry su spicions and the very spi ri t of hatred and
enmity,and relating to them stories to the prej udice of the
Members of the Holy House,at which the natural in st in ct
revolted . So l ik ewise h i s fol lowers al so imitated his procedure, communicating to the pilgrims the in famies which
they ascribe to the Members of the H oly H ouse . Gonse
quen tly some of the American p ilgrims commun icated thesescandalou s stories to the bel ievers i n America after thei r
return from ‘Akka .
I s no t such conduct diametrically opposed to the Baha 1S piri t and Tru th , to the Chris t ian S piri t, and to the Spiri tof the Prophets and Apostle s ?
The pol i t ical sagaci ty of ‘Abbas Efendi and the ways in
which he meets the pilgrims with every d isplay
of affect ion , and the proffering of abundan t
distinction s and honours to them,as likewise
h is t rain ing of his fol lowers and attendants tomani fes t towards him and al so the pilgrims tender love
,
kindness and complete hum il i ty, assure h im an absolu te
sovereignty over thei r in tel lects and win for him their bl indconfidence
,S O that they regard him *‘ as great and perfect to
such a degree that i f h e bids them perform action s which
God hath declared unlawful , they do them unwi t tingly. AS
an in stance of th is ,‘Abbas Efend i invited Colonel Bedri
Bey,the commanding officer of the Turk ish t roops there
,
to partake o f food at h is table with th e American pilgrimswho were there at that time . Before they entered thed in ing-room
,however
,
‘Abbas E fend i commanded them
through their i nterpreter at the t ime,Bahiyya the daughter
pag e 8 3 .
108 MATERIALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIGION
and said to h im,
“ Verily thi s was for a good reason whichthou canst not understand at present .”
Amongst hi s prophecies was al so the fol lowing . We
were wi th him at table when one of the
American pilgrims 1 asked him to permit them
to take h is photograph,for i t had never been
taken save when he was a young man Oftwenty-seven in A .H . 1 2 8 4 (A .D . H e refused, how
ever,to gran t perm ission
,saying that i t wou ld only be taken
when his Father’s crown 2 Should be placed on h is head and
he Should be led forth to martyrdom,when thousands of
rifle bul let s should piece h is body . H is words had a great
effect, so that some o f the audi tors wept bi tterly3. S o l ike
wi se in hi s wri tings and speeches he laments and mournson accoun t o f the vexat ion s and calam ities wh ich have be
fal len and wil l befal l h im in God ’s Way . And thi s he did that
men ’s heart s migh t i ncl ine toward s h im,and that he might
s t ir i n them sentiments of compassi on and partisanship .
And amongst th e things wh ich awakened Khayru ’l lah to
I' the double-faced policy of ‘
Abbas E fend i wasshayru llah S
w ife leaves that when he arr i ved W i th hi s W i fe and hi s twohim ' daughters a t Port S aid i n Egypt on their retu rn
from the p i lgrimage [to‘Akka] en route for America
,h is wife
left h im and travel led alone wi thou t saying one word tothem or fulfi ll i ng the formali t ies of leave-tak ing . Those whobeheld th is were amaz ed thereat , having regard to the fact that‘A bbas Efendi , when he bade them farewell
,emphatically
enjoined On them that they Should l ive together in love and
concord .
1 Mr Getsing er . Op . ci t. , p . 1 78 .
2 Ta’
j, i . e. in this case the tall felt cap which Baha’
u’llah used to wear .
3 He has b een pho tog raphed many t imes S ince, and his prophecyhas not b een fulfilled. 0p . ei t .
, p . 1 78 .
I . M i’
RzA JAwAD’
S H I STOR ICAL E P ITOME 109
Another thing which warned Khayru ’l lah and generated
doubt in h is heart was the letter which reachedA lleged
him two months after his return to America dupl ic i ty offrom ‘Abbas E fendi , written in
‘Abbas E fendi ’s
‘Abbas
E fendi .own handwri t i ng and S igned W i th hi s [usual]S ignatu re
CC,” which ” letter i s preserved and can be
produced when necessary . This letter is a reply to a letter
sent by Khayru ’l lah from Paris to ‘Abbas E fendi asking
him to make known in what way he desired Mrs H earst to
send him the money which she had promised to send . Forwhen Mrs H earst met Khayru ’llah in Paris as he was
returning from the pilgrimage [to‘Akka] , she asked him to
correspond wi th ‘Abbas Efendi about thi s . So there came
to h im this letter above-mentioned , wherein‘Abbas Efendi
prai sed him in the most exaggerated terms, ascribing to himlofty qual ities wherewith none S hould be credited save only
the D ivi ne Manifestations . S uch,for instance, were his
Wol‘ ds ' “ Verily thou art a centre of the Circle of God ’s
Love,the pivot of consecration and hum ili ty to God .
” Nowas regards the men of God
,the world and the treasures
which i t contains preoccupy them not,so that i f one of them
passes by a valley of pure gold , hi s spirit doth not incl ine
to take anything therefrom nor is i t possible , things being
so,that money shou ld impel him to write praise l ike that
recorded above, which tore the vei l from the eyes of Khayru’llah, so that he saw the Truth and comprehended thi s
double-faced pol icy. More particularly,he discovered after
carefu l investigation that ‘Abbas E fend i,before the t ime
when he wrote this panegyric, had written another let tercensuring Khayru ’l lah
,which had been communicated to
some of the American pilgrims who were there at the time,
1 The ini t ials of ‘Abbas ‘Abdu’
l-Baha.
page 8 5 .
1 10 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABi RELIG ION
and who,after their retu rn
,communicated i t to the American
bel ievers as i t had been revealed to them by ‘Abbas E fendi .
From thi s mom en t Khayru ’l lah began to read the H oly
Khayru’llahVerses
,to compare therewi th ‘
Abbas E fendi ’s
renounces claims,acts and teach i ngs
,to we igh them in
,
‘Ab bas E fendi the balance of reason,and to measure th em
jfifiifigefif
with the measure of the Holy Law revealed
‘
Muhammad from the S upreme Pen . [Having done so]AH'
he found no escape from abandoning ‘Abbas
Efendi and thereafter turn ing towards H is Hol iness the
Most Great B ranch [ai -G/zasnn’
l-Akbar] Muhammad‘
Ali
Efend i,in obedience to the command contained in Me B ook
of my Testament. S o ere seven mon ths had elap sed fromthe time of h i s pi lgrimage 91‘ I brahim Khayru ’llah joined
h imself to the ranks of His Hol iness Muhammad‘Ali E fendi
,
and about three hundred of the bel ievers in Chicago and
Kenosha followed him , and l ikewise a smal l number from
every c ity wherein bel ievers were to be found . Most of the
bel ievers,however
,con tinued to follow ‘Abbas Efendi .
Now as for the emi ssaries and ambassadors,‘Abdu ’ l
Karim of Tihran , A sadu’l lah of I s fahan
, Haj j i
Mirz a Hasan of Khurasan,Mirz a Abu ’ l-Faz l o f
Gulpayagan and their fol lowers , whom‘Abbas
Efendi sen t to America with the obj ec t ofbringing back Khayru ’l lah to h im
,and what
he su ffered at their hands and from the
American followers of ‘Abbas Efend i in the way of diversvexation s and lying rumours , al l these matters wil l be men
tioned, i f i t please God, in another book , which S hall be a
memorial from which Shal l be di ffu sed the fragrance of
pat ience,forbearance and steadfastness in God ’s rel igion
,
page 86.
1 1 2 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BABI’
R ELIG ION
F oart/zly , that whereas H is Hol iness Baha’u ’l lah in many
passages of H is works and in the Book of H is(4) D i ssensi on
and d iscord Testamen t , commanded th i s commun i ty in
Fifiizl
fiii sl
iy the most categorical manner to pu t aside dis
cord,to extingui sh the fire of sectarian hatred
,
and to consort with [the adherents of al l rel igion s and sectsin courtesy , love , spiri tual i ty and fragrance, ‘Abbas E fendi
made naught of thi s most great gift and most high and
gloriou s aim ; in that he, for h is private ends and personal
ambit ions, la id the foundation s of’
hatred,rancou r
,discord
and diversi ty amongst the People of Baha , i n such wise
that he produced separat ion and discord between brotherand S i s ter
,husband and wi fe
,and father and son . We seek
refuge in God the Preserver,the A lmighty
,from Whom
help is invoked
Finis/zed in Me montfi of Safar, A .H . 1 3 2 2 (Apri l,written and comp ilea
’by M anammaajawa
'
a’
of Qazwin, tile P ersian, at‘Akéa
’
.
1 The E ng l ish Autob iog raphy g oes down to 1 9 1 4 and the estab l ishment o f the National Association of t/ze Un iversal Relig ion (N
IBRAH iM GEORGE KHAYRU’
LLAH AND
THE BAHA’I PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA
B. B.
1 1 6 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
prepared by the above-mentioned A sadu’l lah and later by
hi s son Mirz a Farid Amin , who came to Chicago abou t theend of 1 90 1 . For five years
,during which he publ ished
( in 1 8 96) his pamphlet ent itl ed B a’
bn’d—D in
,Khayru
’
llah’
s
propaganda went qu ietly bu t s teadily forward,without in ter
ference , and withou t attracting much not ice outs ide theUn ited S tates , especial ly in Chicago, New York and I thaca,unti l i n June
,he set out with a few American bel ievers
on the vis i t to ‘Akka which has been ful ly described above
,
and in which were sown the fi rs t seeds of the estrangemen t
be tween him and ‘Abbas E fend i ‘
Aéa’a’l
The most in terest ing(of my American correspondents
was a Miss A . H . of Brooklyn,. New York, from whom
,
between May and S eptember 1 8 9 8 , I rece ived five letters,
together wi th notes of the fi rs t th irteen lectures given by
Khayru ’l lah in hi s course of in struct ion to enquirers . These
throw so much ligh t on the methods employed by h im and
the form g iven to the Baha’i doctrin e in America that I th ink
i t worth wh i le to quote them in ful l .
1 st L etter (May 1 5 ,
My dear Dr Browne
The on ly apo l ogy which I have to offer for th is int rus ion i s that I most earnestly desire information concerningBabism
,and that you are the only one known to me com
peten t to give i t .A most ardent fol lower of Beha’u’
llah1 i s teach ing here,
and I,with many others
,have been attending the classes .
The lecturer,a Dr Kheiralla 1 , has made the most astounding
statements regarding Beha 1,but the proofs brought forward
are sadly inferior to the claims set forth,so i t seems to me .
Most of them are verses taken from the prophet ic books of1 I follow the spell ing adop ted by the wr i ter .
1 1 . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 1 1 7
the Bible . [According to this doctor, Beha was God H imself.He teaches that God did not man ifest t/zrozzg /z the personali ty
of Beha , as in the case of Jesu s, but that He really was God,
and that He wil l not come again during thi s cycle . We are al l
called upon to bel ieve this , or else forever lose our chance of
salvation?) Bel ieving i t makes us the adopted chi ldren of God ,and we are given the power of creat ion . Prayer i s taught
and l i t tl e type writ ten prayers composed by Beha are given
to the students, and they are told to pray forspiritual th ings ,which
,however
,they have no rig/i t to, else they would have
received them,and there would be no need of asking for
them . Thi s i s o’
ne of the principal points in the teachings .
The firs t prayer given i s real ly the most inclusive and truly
beautiful one I have ever known . Angels are placed lower
than man,for they are control led by God , and man is not,
but has free wil l and the power of choosing . [Those whodie wi thout hearing of Beha are reincarnated and have
another chance ; those who have already heard do nofjBel ievers see thei r friends who are not in the earth-body .
God never takes a female form as he selects the stronger
one to manifest H im sel f. There i s to be a great time inthe future when Napoleon IV ,
who i s now a colonel in the
Russian army, wil l war again st the rel igion of Christ , aided
by R ussia , and the R ed Dragon the Pope . France i s tobe an empire . The Napoleon s are the Antich ri sts . Mirz a
Yahya1 i s scarcely spoken of, but when he i s mentioned he
i s call ed S atan . I th ink'
very few of the students know
anything about him . These are a few of the many state
ments made in the course of thirteen lesson s but there i s
not the sl ightest reference throughout the enti re course to
the development of character, and those who claim an inner
guidance are particularly censu red and ridiculed . Certain1 i .e. S ubh-i -A zal .
I 1 8 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI RELIGION
forms of metaphysical thought that have proved helpful to
hundreds of people here rece ive a severe drubbing . Every
thi ng seems to be on the ou tsi de — j ust a bel ief i n the “Mani
festation ” i s what the doc tor cal l s “Truth,
” so far as I have
been able to learn , and that one’s action s have nothing what
ever to do with the case . A t the last lecture the people are
told , i f they bel ie ve in the “Manifestation,
” to write a letter to‘Abbas Efendi , who i s a reincarnation o f Jesu s Chri st, stating
thei r bel i ef and begging to have their names recorded in th e
Book Of the favori tes . They are informed that Abraham,
Jacob , Moses , J oshua , and Dan iel are re incarnated and areat Acre, the
“ H oly Place . [The doctor further says thathe has been sen t by the Father and Jesu s Chri st to del iverthe message concern ing the Man ifestation ” to the people
of th is countrjfl H e claims there are fifty-five mill ion
bel ievers at the presen t time . A great mystery i s made of
the whole thing and the ideas a re given out i n m inute
port ions,as we , i t seems , are accounted S low Ofunderstanding
in thi s country . The “ message ” or pith ,” as i t i s cal led,
i s not given un ti l the eleventh lesson . The effect upon the
people i s very strange . I never knew any one idea to create
so many d ifferen t and curious impression s . You wil l no
doubt be surprised to hear that S ix hundred person s i n
Ch icago,where DrKheiralla taught, are said to have declared
themselves to be bel ievers and that abou t two hundred
person s in New York, SO I am told , have wri tten the lette rs
to ‘Abbas Efendi . The teachings are al l free and are
given with a sinceri ty and earnestness which I heart ily
admire . S uch untiri ng devotion must appeal to al l fa ir
minded persons,no matter how much they may differ as to
the t ru th of the teach ings .
This i s th e firs t that I have known of Babi sm , so I am
very ignoran t concerning i t . What I want so much to know
1 20 MATE R IA LS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
his last lecture that there were forty mill ions at the time ofBeha
’
s death in 1 8 9 2 . T/ze N ew H i story I have not yet
read,but I found your articles on Babism in the Journal of
the R oyal A siatic S ociety for 1 8 8 9 and’
9 2 . Much of i t I
was unable to read on accoun t of it s being wri tten in Pers ian
the Engli sh language i s the on ly one that I know . But when
I found the summary of the “ Most Ho ly Table t ” I wasvery happy because i t gave me some knowledge of Beha.
I have enj oyed‘
i t very much, especial ly whenever there was
any thing abou t the Babi who visi ted Beha so many t imes .
What you wrote in your letter concerning the two views of
God ’s way of deal ing wi th man i s exceedingly helpful,for
th ings have been a trifle haz y s ince I have been investigat ing
Babism,and you wil l understand why when you know more
o f i ts propaganda . My bel ief i s very s imple in spite of a
great fondness for metaphys ics,and there i s nothing I love
so well as to hear abou t the ways to God. The mystics have
always a wondrous charm for me . I t must be true that the
Father man ifests in al l H is ch ildren , but that some mindsare purer and are better media for the L igh t to sh in e through ;that H e i s with each o f u s at al l t imes . I f God i s omn i
presen t , surely He i s with every sou l . You see that I can
accept a “ Man ifestation,
” and when I fi rs t heard of Beha
and ‘Abbas E fendi I was very glad,as I have wished many
times to know some g reat soul on the earth who had made
the “ un ion .
” I have had so many teachers and I find
alas ! they real ly know noth ing about God ; mos t of the irwords are born on the ir l ips and they have not the slightest
percept ion of the profound ideas which they voi ce but whenI met Dr Kheiralla I saw that at last I had found one whoreal ly believes h is own teaching and i s giving al l that he has
to spread what he thinks i s true ; righ t or wrong he i sfaith ful . Beha must have been a marvel lous personal i ty to
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 1 2 1
so con trol another. I wanted to know of the g reat force
back of this new teacher,and I l i s tened to the teach
'
5 very
closely 5 but nothing that I was in search of came . 0 one
day I went to Dr Kheiralla and asked him if he meant to
simply declare the Manifestat ion — if that was no t his onlymessage . H e said yes
,and that was al l he had to do — j ust
to bring the people to God . No ethics, no rel igiou s l ifedoes he pretend to teachjBut he does such a pecul iarth ing ; at the end of the th i rteenth lesson all teaching ends
for those who do not write the letter to ‘Abbas E fendi but
those who do are received in to the fold and are given furtherin struct ions . The fol lowing i s a fairly accurate form of the
letter given to the studentsTo t/ze Greatest B ranek,
I n God’
s N ame, tke Greatest B rant/z,kumbly confess t/ze
oneness and sing leness of tbe Aln kty God, my Creator, and
I believe in ff is appearanee in tb e lzuman form I believe inH is establislzing Eli
'
s lzoly lzouse/zold ; in [dis departure, and
t/zat He li as delivered b'isking dom toTb ee, 0 GreatestB rant/z,
IVis dearest son and my stery . I beg tkat may be aeeepted in
t/zis g lorious kingdom and tlzat my name may be reg istered in
tko ‘ B ook of Believers.
’1 also beg tlze blessing s of worlds to
eome and of tbepresent one for my self and for t/zose w/zo are
near and dear to me (tbe individual may ask for any tking be
likes) for Ike sp iritual g ifts w/zie/z T/zou seest I am bestfi tted
for —for any g ift or power for wkiek Tkou seest me to be best
b fosi kumbly tky servant,
I t i s imposs ible for me to wri te such a letter , for the
doctor has not proved to my sati sfaction that Beha was a
partieular man ifestation and there i s really noth ing in the
letter that I can honestly say I beli eve — except the onenessand singleness of the A lmighty God. Besides
,to beg for
1 22 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
spiri tual gift s and blessings of any human being at Acre or
anywhere el se is to me posit ively shocking. The idea of
favori ti sm is al so very repulsive . But I want very much to
learn al l that I can Of Beha. and ‘Abbas Efendi , and the
ethics and rel igious l i fe of th e sect . The bel ievers are given
some mysteriou s name wh ich openly they always cal l “The
Greatest Name .
” I t i s given very privately and i n a very
solemn manner. They are supposed to make use of i t whenin need . I amsorry to say that some people have sen t thelet ter for the sake of the rest o f the teach ing and for a
myster ious someth ing wh ich they hOpe to get . Thi s propa
ganda i s the strangest and the mo st un ique one that Americahas ever known and I ’m quite sure that you cannot form acorrect idea of i t unless you have heard someth i ng of everyone of the lectures
,and i n the order in wh ich they were
given . I have th erefore concluded to send you what I canof the lead ing ideas of each one . Many things I cannot
explain,for explanat ions were not given , but we were told
that we should know in the future . That future has never
come — it may be reserved for the bel ievers . Besides th e
doctor requested -the studen ts to take no notes up to about
the ten th lecture,when the use of penci l s and paper was
al lowed . The “ message is given in the eleventh les son .
A fter each lectu re I j otted down what I could remember of
the main ideas . There wil l be a good deal of fog , but I hope
you wil l be able to see th rough i t . The doctor repeatedlydeclares that th i s i s a teach ing where everyth ing is proved
and I should l ike you to k now j ust how he proves theManifestation .
”
With thi s l etter I send the first two lectures . I wil l send
the others later on .
S incerely yours ,
A. A . H .
1 24 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
books on th e subj ect . I t i s my impress ion that very few of
the bel ievers have . Th is may not be the case with those i n
Chicago . S ome New York people have sent recently forcopies of the Traveller’s lVarrative. There i s l i ttle chance
for d iscuss ion at any l ecture , as th e doctor has an ex
tremely funny way of tel l ing people who oppose hi s viewsin the class that they are “ excused.
” Of course they have toleave
,and in profound S i lence the su rprised offender arises ,
packs up what belongs to h im and makes as graceful an exi t
as he can under the try ing condit ions . The lesson i s then
resumed with grea t seren ity on the doctor ’s part . At the
fi rs t lecture the people are requested no t to talk over whatthey are told with outs iders . An ai r of mystery i s over the
who le affair and infinite s imal th ings are most enormouslymagnified
,and the way in wh ich [some] matters are m in i
m ized in order to maxim iz e o ther po in ts in the teaching i struly remarkable ; I mean in terpretation s of the Engl ish
B ible . Many people hear al l they care to i n a very few
lessons . The doctor works hard and faith ful ly, s tarting class
after clas s unt i l there are seven or eigh t , al l rece iv ing the
same lectu res . One can repeat a lecture a number of t imesprovided one has heard the previous lesson . I f a studen t
loses one, Mrs Kheiralla somet imes gives the mam po i nts
privately . Publ ic talks on reincarnat ion,evolu t ion , and
B ible in te rpretat ion are given ; but the“ Manifestation ” i s
n ot taught outside of the Classes,or in some private way. A
great deal i s made of vis ion s they are seeing Acre,
‘Abbas
E fend i, t he Old man at A cre that we were told i s joshuare incarnated , and others of the household . The vision s are
to ld to the doctor, and he does the best h e can with themand there i s great sat is fact ion . The bel ievers have organiz ed
in New York with a presiden t and several v ice-presiden ts .The fi rs t v ice-pres ident told me that they are 1 07 or 1 09 in
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 1 2 5
number and that they cal l themselves an “ A ssembly . The
bel ievers ( I do not know that this includes the Chicagopeople) have col lected about one thousand dollars . The
movement was started in New York last February by aMr Dodge, formerly of Chicago, who i s now pres iden t of th eNew York organiz ation . He sen t for DrKheirallawho was
l iving in Chicago, paid the expenses of the doctor and hiswife whi le in New York , and provided the rooms for theclasses which ended in June . The l esson s are to be begunagain in the fal l . I most S incerely hope that ‘Abbas Efendi
wil l send others that we may know whether these ideas are
held in common by the sect one gets a very Imperfect idea
from only one representat ive . I asked Mr Dodge how many
believers there are now, and he said abou t fifty-five or six ty
mill ions ! I was very much amaz ed at the sudden rise in
numbers . Thi s gentleman is exceedingly generou s and is
working hard upon an invention by which he hopes to make
one million dol lars . H is wife told me that he in tends to
put al l of thi s money into the movement this was not toldme in confidence ]1
I enclose two prayers which DrKheiralla gave me in the
class,that you might see the exact form in which they were
g iven . Will you kindly return the smal ler one only, marked“
4th Lesson at your lei su re I am on a summer tour,
but I have al l the lecture notes wi th me and can send themj ust the same . I hope the first two reached you .
R espectful ly yours ,
A . A . H .
1 Mr A . P . Dodg e came to Eng land in Novemb er , 1 900, when Imet him in Camb r idg e . S ee p . 1 48 infra .
1 26 MATER IALS FOR STUDv OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
4tk Letter (Aug . 20,
My dear Dr Browne,Enclosed are five more lectures . I n the ten th lesson
Dr Kheiralla i s en ti rely wrong about the Christian S cien tists .They teach that man i s a reflection of perfec t Mind orP rin ciple— never that he is God. No Chri stian S cient istever says “ I am Brahma ” as a Vedanti s t of the Adwaita
school does . I th ink he has confused the two . He has a
queer conception of some of the ideas promulgated here ;he th inks that those who teach the mother principle of God
mean that He i s a woman . A few of the dates in the
1 1 th l esson concern ing the “ Man ifestat ion the doctor was
not sure abou t, as he rel ied upon h is memory only . The
book writ ten by Beha i s at Acre and in the S ultan ’s l ibrary .
The doctor says that h i s people do not call themselves
Bab is but others do . I bel ieve that I have not mentioned
the doctor ’s heal ing ; he assu red me that he gives no medi
cine, but to some patien ts he gives a hubble-bubble to
inhale the fumes of certain herbs of course th is i s m edic ine .
He has another way of heal ing . A person who has rheu
matism in her fingers told me that she went to h im twice fortreatment and he sat very quietly and held her fingers for at ime . This pat ien t was not helped she was not a bel iever .
But a bel iever told me he had cu red her of some trouble,
and Mrs Kheiralla in formed me that he has quite a practice
in Chicago . The lesson s are free , bu t the treatmen ts are
two dol lars each . Heal ing is said to be a gi ft,but I have
not read anywhere that Babis heal men tal ly . In lesson five
i t i s clearly stated that Beha was a Manifestat ion of God,but
in lesson eleven he i s God H imsel f. I was much pu z z led
and asked DrKheiralla about i t . He very humbly attempted
to explain and began by saying that Beha was a Man ifes ta
1 28 MATERI ALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BABI RELIG ION
M I S S A . A . H .
’S ABSTRACTS OF DR KHAYRU
’LLAH
’
S
L ECTURES .
I st L esson.
Proof of soul and its immortal i ty — Matter i s i nde
structib le — S i lver dol lar u sed as i l lustrat ion — I t s qual it ies,as weigh t
,densi ty
,smoothness
,hardness
,etc . Spoken of.
Back of every qual i ty i s an essence — The essence is un
known ; the quali ti es prove the essence. We can never
know an atom in our present condition . The soul has
n ine qual ities ; namely, perception , wil l , reason , judgment,memory, consciou sness, mental taste, imaginat ion and ab
straction. Back of the qual itie s there must be an essence .
Matter has none Of these qualit ies. I f mat ter is indestruct ible , how much more the soul . The consciousness carrie s
th ings to the soul i t i s a reporter. Perception and intu it ion
are only a strong power of classification (an intuit ive personknows j ust how to place things) . Man has not the creat ive
power, he only combines . God is perfection ; no thing canbe added to H im or taken from H im . He cannot bedivided we are not parts of H im .
2nd L esson.
What mind is. — In all languages m ind means that wh ich
protects uS from what i s harmful, and is the rece iver of that
which i s good . In S yriac i t means a fort bui l t on a hil l .
Mind is a col lect ive name given to the n ine qual i ties or
facul ties of the soul when they are in operat ion . The
qual i t ies act tog ether, never s ingly . They are always fighting
for us they hurry u s to the table when hungry,they tel l u s
to protect ourselves when cold , etc . There i s no mortalmind
,no universal m ind . Each one has a mind and a soul
I I . BAHA’
I’
PRO PAGANDA IN AMERICA 1 29
or spirit . The m i nd i s eternal , because the essence or soul
i s eternal,and i ts qualit ies are eternal . We can receive
nothing except through mind . Thought i s the action of the
mind ’s n ine qual it ies . The action i s never the actor . When
we remember , i t i s the action of the mind .— We are not
memory ; when we judge we think , when we reason we
think . Contact with the outside develops these quali ties a
child left alone would sti l l be a baby at forty years of age .
What i s cal led subj ective and obj ect ive m ind i s the samemind
,only different operations or condi t ion s of that same
mind . Mind has an in ternal,or subj ective, and an external,
or obj ective,action . We have not two minds . D i fferent
working s of a fort l ikened to the quali t ies of the soul . The
Officer ( reason) commands the soldiers (wil l), etc . God isnot Love, He i s Loving ; God has Power , He i s n o t PowerHe i s not Mind
,and those who say so blaspheme . God is
l imi ted to H imself,because He knows H imsel f ; to uS H e
i s l imitless . He i s mani fested through everyth ing,but He
i s not the thing manifested .
grd L esson.
The needs of the S oul and the Body .— The body needs
food,drink , and protection . God has given us kitchens
,to
wit the m ineral , vegetable, and animal kingdoms, where wecan supply the needs of the body, and we do not need to
pray for such things . Man spends most of his t ime in taking
care of the body . Th is teaching has nothing to do with the
body . The teaching i s for the soul and i s spiritual ; the
food for the soul i s not material . What we eat does not
make us Spiritual .'
I he an imals are for us to eat . (Thecondition of India
,which was spoken of as a place of plague
and famine, kept in subj ection by a few red-coats, was
here compared with America, and the vegetarians were
B. B.
1 30 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BAB I’
REL IGION
unmerci ful ly cri tic i sed . ) The-soul needs food,drink
,and
protection . The food of the soul i s the knowledge of God
the drink of the soul i s faith ; the protection of the soul i s
love . We Should ask for knowledge, fai th , and love . The
knowledge of God produces faith . We are taugh t to bel ieve
on ly what we know . We cannot love God if we do not know
Him . ( I have heard the doctor say that we can never know
God . ) When we know H im we S hal l love each o ther,and
we Shal l al so know why knowledge i s knowing facts , whilewisdom is knowing how to use knowledge .
jesu s was the greates t one ever on th is planet . (A greatdifference i s made between Jesu s and Beha ; God i s said tohave man ife sted tlzroug k jesus .)
4tk L esson.
Prayer z— N ine i s a sacred number everything in naturei s planned on the number n ine ( th is was not explained) .
There are nine open ings in the body ; the navel Openingwas locked and you are going to know why ( thi s too was
never explained) . The sacred number n in e is in th is prayer .
( I have marked the divis ion s i n the prayer .) 1 9 , 29 and 90
are al so sacred numbers,but 9 i s the most sacred one . I n
our religion prayer i s cal led commune . We need to pray ;God does not need our prayers . We do not need to
ask fo r those things wh ich God has given us the power toget , things ou t of the earth , etc.
— but we Should ask forwhat we have not received yet — what is no t our rig/i t to
have — and we S hall receive i f we ask earnestly . We Should
pray for spiritual th ings . S ome pray for material th ings ;some pray and use the wrong N ame ; they wil l no t rece ivesome th ink they are gods , and have no need of prayers .We bel ieve in prayer . We are here to battle and we needhelp . We will no t develop i f we do not pray . We Should
1 32 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
5 tli L esson.
S econd prayer given . There are 2 7 [P2 8 ] let ters cal ledthe “ Letters of L uddon l ,
” and every le tter signifies a great
power which can only be rece ived by special permissionfrom head-quarters (Acre) . L uddon mean s presence of God
,
or presence of the A lm igh ty . Thi s prayer i s very importan t,
as i t ask s for growth “ by that let ter let ter mean s growth,
not creat ion .
“‘The frui ts appeared ” ; the tree came fi rs t
and then the frui t . God created one man and one woman
they obeyed the law of mul tipl icat ion and wove a ten t for
another soul . The t rees began to thrive ,”God made one
tree and from the seeds came others .
“ The traces were
destroyed ”
; in al l material growth the last dest roys the
trace s of the fi rst . “ The curtain s were torn asunder
here the S piri tual part of th e prayer begin s . The finite
cannot comprehend the infini te ; thi s i s what is between
God and us . (R ead from I saiah xl ii , I ozand S t John i ,
God is forever unknowable . H e wished to make H imself
known,and as the fin i te cannot comprehend the infini te
H e made a form ,He chose a Face 3,” that through that He
might become known to us . H e i s no t the form ; i t onlyrepresen ts H im . He i s back of i t , and i s not confined to
the form .
“ The fai thfu l hu rried ”: when the fai th ful hear
of th i s “ Face of God they has ten to l ive with th i s form ofGod for ever . The “ face ” i s cal led by differen t names ; as,The Chosen ,
” my S on David,
” etc. H e came here that
we m ight gain higher l im itations . We receive the L etters
o f L uddon i n our new l imitation s . J esus had 1 2 powers,8
1 P rob ab ly “5 503 in the or ig inal A rab ic phrase .
2 Though I have done my b est to ver i fy and co rrec t these referencesto the B ib le, here and in some o ther cases I have failed to do ei ther , andso leave them as they stand .
3 Waj'
h a term which the Bab often appl ied to himself.
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA I N AMER ICA I 33
first,then 4 (did not say what they all were) . One power
i s to communica te without material means ; another one i sS ight . The teacher has no
“power to convey to another
these powers g iven by head-quarters . We gain by being
act ive not pass ive,but gain nothing by S l eep. (The S piritual
were censu red for “S i tting There is such
a thing as S i tt ing in the S i lence .
”
Jesus came to teach the Kingdom of God . (ReadLuke iv
,
The soul does not leave the body unti l death . We do
not travel in the astral [body] and see places . People say
that they have seen a thread connection ’
,but we know i t
i s not so . We see things as i f the l ight were reflected in
one mirror and then in another and another. The soul
th inks i t i s moving when someth ing i s only passing before i t .
6tk Lesson.
EThis i s a very importan t lesson , as i t tel l s where wecame from
,why we are here
,and where we are going)
E den meanS'
the paradise of God . I t i s not a place . Notree of knowledge and evil can grow in the soil ; i t i s not a
real tree (read R evelation xxi i,2 as one proof) . R ivers
mentioned in Genesi s ( i i , I o — I 4) are not real rivers , for younever see rivers branching in to four heads . (We were toldin a later lecture that the Manifestat ion i s the big river
and the four branches are the four son s of Beha . ) There
are three Adams — the race , ourancestor, and we shal l know
the other (Beha) when we get to the“ pith . Adam spoke
the Kurdish language, which has no alphabet and i s a Short
1 This apparently refers to the b el ief (finely set forth near theb eg inning of the F irst Book of the My sticalMatknaw i ) that men
’s souls
escape from thei r b odies dur ing sleep , but are at tached to them by an
immater ial thread which compels them to re-enter thei r respec t ive b odieswhen the night is over .
1 34 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BABI’
RELIGION
spoken language only . S ilen ce wi l l prove th is . Adam does
not mean “ red earth ”
; i t means the“S kin or “ su rface
Eve means life l . God gave A dam and Eve “ coats of skin,
to wi t the body . H e made but two coats of Skin . The
mean ing of “ coats of Skin ” i s H is “ image .
”Adam and
Eve obeyed the law of mult ip l ication and gave tent s too ther souls . They had two Children , Cain and Abel . These
are not material chi ldren . Cain means the material andA bel means th e spiri tual
,and these are always at war .
There are three bibles : the H ebrew, the Egyptian, and the
Chaldean . The H ebrew borrowed from the Egyptian , andthe Egyp tian from the Chaldean . All have [the same]account from Adam to Moses . We were in Eden , the
Paradi se of God . The serpen t,Wisdom
,suggested to u s
that we should go higher and be as gods . We asked God
for th is great privi lege,and we were allowed to come to
earth where th is great privi lege is to be gained . The
flaming sword is the earth . Our wil l i s free at al l t imeswe can choose . Angels are always contro l led by God they
are lower than man and never gain the great priv i lege ,” as
they have no desi re to go hig her. We come to earth toovercome. To overcome means to have the des i re for aknowledge of God above al l des ires . We are not here to
love each other or to be kind to one another ; of course weshould be [so] but that is not what we are here for . Those
who overcome re tu rn to Eden . The tree of knowledge andtree of l ife are God . When we become adopted ch i ldren
we eat of the tree o f l ife . Cain , the material, i s cast out .
Cain ’s “ mark is God ’s image,the Skin (P) . ( I t is the
thickest kind of fog right here . ) Those having the“ mark ”
1 In A rab ic H awwd,from the same roo t as bayy ,
“ l iving , and
b ay a’
t,“ l ife.
1 36 MATERIALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BABI’
REL IGION
8 tlz and g lb L essons (g iven as one lesson).
The prayer and B ible references were given to each
person . The references were to be studied, and each student
was to come to the 1 0th lesson prepared to give h i s idea of
the meaning . The class were then perm itted to ask question s .
These are a few of the statements i n answer to questions .
God never chooses a female form through which to manifestHe chooses the male as i t i s the stronger . There i s no sex
In sp i r i t . “ Curse ” means to pu t in a lower place . The
serpent , Wisdom , was compel led to go l ower . When we dowrong i t b ites our heel or where we are walking. Moses
and E l ias did real ly return to thi s earth and appeared onthe Moun t of Tran sfigurat ion . The accoun ts o f Creat ion
in Genesis were given by three di fferen t persons . The
prophets themselves did not know the meaning of their ownprophecies ; the meaning was always concealed unt i l the
prophecy came to pass . God made di sease ; i t exists because
of the perfection of the law ; i t i s the resul t o f the law . We
must al l d ie . I t i s poss i ble to commun icate with others
without physical contac t. There are 42 mil l ion“ tablets
(alwdlz) in the rel igion o f the Beha’
is.
I otlz Lesson.
The class were asked to give thei r ideas as to the meaning
of the bibl ical references i n the 9 th l esson , but scarcely any
one an swered sati s factori ly . S ome said Jesu s was referredto
,but thi s was denied
'
with great energy by Dr Kheiralla,
and I saiah ix, 6 was given as proof. Jesus was not “ the
A lm igh ty God , the E verlasting Father,the Prince of
Peace he was not a ruler . The an swer which seemed to
give satis fact ion was that a man ifestation of God was fore
told . R evelat ion i was read as evidence that J esus bore
I I . BAHA’
I PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 1 37
witness to the Manifestat ion . Job xix, 2 5 Ez ekiel xl i i i , 4 ;I saiah lxi i i , 1
, and Jude 1 4 are proofs of the Manifestation .
I n I saiah xxiv, 23 the“ moon ” means Turkey and the “ sun ”
means Persia . (H eadquarters at Acre are called Jerusalem ,
and some place in the mountains i s Zion . ) I saiah xlvi i Was
read and a very strong body of rel igion ists i n Americacalled Christ ian S cienti s ts was condemned for saying, “ I am
and none else beside me ” ( verse I I Timothy iv , [3 —
4,
but perhaps I , iv i s meant] was read as referring to thosewho are now promulgating certain ideas here . The mean ing
of “ clouds ” i s ignorance . Jesus taught the Kingdom ofGod 2 26 years after Christ the Trini ty was taught .
I I tlz L esson.
The “Pi th — In 1 844 the Bab appeared in Persia. H e
was 1 9 years old . He came as E l ij ah . He u sed sometimes
to set a chair,covered with cashmere, for the one whose
coming he foreto ld , but'
he did not know when or where the ‘
Manifestation ” would appear. He proclaimed the Kingdom
of God at hand . He said,
“ God is among the human race ;the Father i s come .
”In 1 844 the Mil lerites al so appeared .
The Bab had wonderful spiritual powers and was remarkable
for his,
power of logic . L ike Abraham he was a wanderer ;l ike Mahomet he was a merchant l ike Moses he had power
of argument and he was l ike Christ because he was crucified .
He wrote a large book called the B ey a’
n. The Bab had a
great following. He was persecuted by the Mohammedans ;was arrested by the governmen t ; foretold h is own death.
In 1 8 5 0 the Bab and his secretary were suspended by ropes
froma wall soldiers fired the secretary was ki l led , but the
bul lets cu t the ropes by which the Bab was suspended and
he~ escaped . The soldiers refused to fire again
,but other
sold iers fired and the Bab was killed . Mahomet prophes ied
1 38 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
the Bab ’s death . Mahomet was a true prophet . A tradit ion
1 300 years ago says that Mahomet said Sh ips ( rail roads)would sail on land ; rai lroads were in troduced in 1 8 2 8 . In
1 8 5 2— 1 8 5 3 the Incarnation of God (Beha) appeared . He
left Tihran as an exi le in 1 8 5 2 . He was of family of Kingsl.
Went to Baghdad to R iver Chebar with 7000 prophets
(Ez ekiel xl i i i , H ere he manifested himsel f for 5 days as
the Lord of H osts,hav i ng been previously Shaved by a
barber ( I saiah v ii , after which he veiled h imself. Jesu s
Chri st (‘Abbas Efendi ) as a boy was with him . I n 1 8 63 the
S ultan invited the Manifestation to visi t Constan tinople.A t thi s t ime there were bel ievers . He appeared
before the S ul tan,who asked for proof of his d ivin i ty .
Beha asked the S ul tan i f he bel ieved in Mahomet. The
S ul tan said that h e did,and Beha asked for a S ign .
The
S ultan repli ed that the Koran was a proof. Beha then
wrote a book larger than the Koran in 6 hours as a sign o fh is own divini ty. Beha was ordered to Adrianopl e. A t one
time a regimen t was sen t against h im . Beha rebuked i t
and the regiment re turned,without harm ing him (Psalm
lxxvi ) . Beha declared himself God to the world in 1 8 66 .
He was exiled to Acre in 1 8 68 — 1 8 69 . He prophesied that
the Ship in which he sai led would go to pieces , and it sunkon its return voyage . Micah con tain s an account of Acre,the New Jerusalem . I n 1 8 69
— 1 8 70 Beha sent tablets to
the different rulers cal l ing upon them to throw thei r kingdoms
at his feet and worsh ip h im . He sent Napoleon I I I twotablets
,and the Pope three . A tablet was sen t to General
Gran t . The only ones who repl ied were Queen Victoriaand A l exander I I . The Queen said i f i t was of God i twould stand, and the Cz ar said that he Should investigate the
1 This, of course, is qui te incorrec t . H e was the son of MirzaBuzurg of N t
'
tr.
140 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
3 , The Dragon i s the Pope seven great powers under
the Pope ;“ the . th i rd part ( the Chri st ian s) followed the
Pope . In R evelat ion xi i, [I 5
“ water” mean s “ teach
ings .” I n R evelation xi i,6 “
a thou sand two hundred and
three score days ” mean 1 260 years . (Compare Ez ekiel iv, 6 ,according to which 1 260 days 1 260 years) .
[The year] 1 260 of the Mohammedan era : A .D . 1 844 .
I 260 “ a t ime,and t imes
,and half a t ime .
”
(R evelationxii,Time 360
Times 360 x 2 1 260 .
Half a t ime 1 8 03
Daniel xii,1 1 . The “ Abominat ion i s Napol eon I I I .
Dan iel vi i i , 1 3 . The “ t ran sgressionof desolation ” mean sNapoleon I II The Napoleon s are the anti ~Christs. 48 3
years between vision ” and Chris t ; 2300 days between Chris tand the Manifestat ion .
”
(Daniel ix, 2 5 , and vii i , I 3 ,
Dan iel xii, 7 .
“The man clothed in l inen ” means Christ .
Dan iel xii, 4 . Many shal l run to and fro ” mean s Shal l
read page after page .
“ The book ” i s sealed because i t i s
a prophecy ; i t wi l l be opened when it comes to pass.
Calami ties wil l puri fy the bel ievers .Dani el x i i , 1 2 . The thousand
‘
th ree hundred and five
and thirty days ” mean A .H . 1 3 35 = A .D . 1 9 1 6— 1 9 1 7 .
A .D . 1 8 9 2 1 309 Mohammedan date.
I n the Millennium we S hall l ive as one family .
John was not regenerated .
Abraham,Moses
,Jacob , and Dan ie l are al l at Acre .
I 3tk Lesson.
The household and departure of the “ Manifestation .
Zechariah iv i s a prophecy of th e hou sehold of the Man ifestation. The candlestick IS the “ Manifestation ,
” God
1 1 . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 14 1
(verse He married two wives 1 they are the “ anointed
ones ” or “ ol ive trees . People obj ect to the Mani festa
ti on because o f his being married . A real man ought to
marry ; a monk is the invention of priests . God came as a
man,had a father and mother
,fu lfi l led H is own law
,and
married . In I saiah xlv (9 we are rebuked for thinking
God Should do as we think best . The g reates t reason why
God Should marry is that the race is grafted through H ishaving ch ildren . He i s the Tree of L i fe and we are grafted .
S ee Genesis v i ( 1 —
4) concern ing marriage of the sons of
God A l so I saiah lxvi, 9 . The “Seven lamps or “ seven
eyes are the chi ldren of Beha, 4 males and 3 females . One
wife had two daughters,the other had one . One wife died .
The four son s are cal led Branches”; the three daughters are
the Holy Leaves 3 . E very woman belongs to one of the Holy
Leaves ; every man belong s to one of the Holy Branches .
The eldest son i s Jesus Christ . Mary,the mother is bu ried
at Acre . The eldest daughter i s equal in power with the
eldest son . We are the trees in the Garden of Eden,the big
river i s the “ Manifestat ion,
” and the “ four rivers ” are the
four sons .The body — The heart represents the “ Manifestat ion
the lungs,the two wive s the 24 ribs , the 24 elders . ( I could
not remember other parts— someth ing abou t the tribes of
I srael and leaves of lungs being like th e daughters,etc . )
Zechariah i i i,8 —
9 .
— Joshua took the place of Satan ; thestone means God. The tabernacle of Moses
,Ark of
Noah , Temple of S olomon , Pyramids, and tabernacle of
1 One named Nawwab , the mother of ‘Abbas E fendi and his S isterBahiyya ; the other ent i tledMakd-i ‘
Uly a’
,themo ther ofMuhammad ‘A li ,
Ziya’u’
llah, and Badf‘u’llah. S ee pp . 62—
3 supra and S ect ion i x infra .
2 Gkusn, plural Ag /zsa’
n.
3 Waraqa’
t.
142 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
REL IG ION
Buddha were bu il t on the plan of the “ Man ifestation ’s ”
househo ld . Zechariah xi i , I\O et segg . i s a prophecy of the
death of Beha. A l so Zechariah xi i i, 1 —
7 .
David is sometimes u sed to mean the “ Manifestat ion .
He i s sometimes called My servant .” Ez ekiel xxxiv,2 3
-24.
All prophecy i s about the “ Manifes tat ion,
” and hence
forth there wil l be no more prophecy . At the time of Beha’s
death there were 40 mill ion bel ievers .Dr E . G. Browne of Cambridge was appoin ted by the
R oyal A siatic S ociety to invest igate Babi sm 1.
The accoun t of the vi s i t to Acre in T/ze Traveller’
s
N arra tive was read , and also the announcement of Beha’sdeath sent to Dr Browne by the youngest Branchz . The
members of the class were told what a great privi lege it i s
to have one ’s name wri t ten in the “ Book of the Bel ieve rs
and i t was suggested that they S hould write to the GreatestB ranch 3 to beg th is privi lege . The form of the l et ter was
read and some of the members made copies of the form .
Those who write the l etter and are “ accepted ” join the class
of bel ievers,and the mysteries con tained in the book of
R evelation are revealed to them 4
These notes of Khayru’
llah’
s“ propagandist lectu res in
America, though fragmentary , are in structive as to the
methods he adopted and the modifications he in troducedin to Baha’ i doctrine to adapt it to American taste and
1 This, of course, is a pure fic t ion, though my first papers on the
sub ject were pub l ished in 1 8 89 in thejournal of that society .
2 i .e. Mirza Bacli ‘u’llah, ent i tled Gb usn-i -A nwar, the Most
Lum inous Branch.
” The text and translat ion of this communicat ionw i ll b e found in the for 1 892 , pp . 706—
9 . I t was w r i t tenon June 2 5 , 1 892 .
3 i .e.
‘Abbas E fendi ‘Abdu’
l-Baha, ent i tled G/zusn-i -A ‘z am .
4 Here ends M iss A . A . H .
’
S communicat ion.
144 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BABI’
RELIG ION
adventures . Latterly he became acquain ted wi th Haj j i‘Abdu ’l-Karim of T ihran
,one of the leaders of the Baha’i
Babis in Egypt , and i ncl ined to the ir bel ie f. These two
consul ted frequently as to how they could best renderservice to the ir doctrine, and finally ag reed that I brah im
[Khayru’l lah ] Should go to New York and invite the people
there to embrace the Babi rel ig i on , on the understanding
that Haj j i‘Abdu ’l-Karim shou ld defray the expenses of the
journey . S o Haj j i‘Abdu ’l-Karim , having sought perm ission
from ‘Abbas E fendi, bestowed on him the money and pro
vided h im .wi th the new teach ings . S o the man departed
thither, and devoted himsel f to organ iz ing the propaganda
for he was eloquen t i n speech and resolu te of heart . And
there incl ined to h im a certain rich old American lady, whom
he Insp i red with the des ire of vis i t ing the tomb of Baha andmeeting ‘Abbas E fendi at ‘Akka . There her fai th was con
fi rmed and she gave a donation of J6 . 5 00 to improve the
tomb o f Baha 1 . On her return journey She visi ted Egypt,
where She remained for some while, and where we made her
acquain tance . Thence She journeyed to her country , and
laboured with I brahim Khayru ’l lah to spread the teachings
of Babel amongst the American s, of whom a few incl ined to
her,for seldom does anyone advance any claim [there]
with out evoking an immediate response . And I brahim
Khayru’ l lah reckoned th is accep tance on thei r part a piece
of good luck to himsel f, and set to work to seek subsistence
from them and to ge t money from them 2 by every imaginable
t itle and pretext,while they were l ike wax in h is hands 3
And when he had col lected and stored up abou t £ 3 000
1 This would seem to have b een in the lat ter half of 1 898 .
2 I know of no foundat ion for this i ll-natured assert ion. Cf. p . 1 1 8
supra , 11. 7—
3 from the bo ttom .
3 L it. Like the corpse b etween the hands of the washer
I I . BAHA’
I PROPAGANDA IN AMERICA 145
t iding s of this new and profi table traffic reached Haj j i‘Abdu ’l-Karim ’s ears , and he demanded his share from
Khayru ’llah , who, however, refused to divide the spoi l . Then
Haj j i ‘Abdu ’l-Karim succeeded in obtaining from ‘Abbas
E fendi an order that he S hould go to America and dispute
the accounts wi th Khayru ’l lah . But when he reached NewYork I brahim Khayru ’l lah , hearing of the d ispu te between‘Abbas E fendi and his brother [Muhammad
‘Ali] , seiz ed th isfine opportuni ty to appropriate the money , declaring himsel fan adherent of Mirz a Muhammad ‘
Ali and denouncing‘Abbas Efendi
,whom b e accused of apostasy from the new
rel ig ion S o he set to work to invite the people to accept
Mirz a Muhammad ‘Ali, and dissensions arose amongst the
Babis, and there were sen t from Mirz a Muhammad ‘Ali to
Ibrah im Khayru ’llah letters wherein he exposed the misdeeds of ‘Abbas E fendi. Thus was the community divided
into two parties, whereby the star of Hajj i‘Abdu ’l-Karim ’s
good fortune shone forth,s ince a number of the rich
American Babi s went over to him , from whom he received
several thousand pounds wherewith to strengthen ‘
Abbas
E fendi’
s posi tion . H aving obtained th is he returned to
Cairo ’
,where
,having settled down comfortably
,he suddenly
manifested a dis taste to the Babi rel ig ion , denounced asmisbel ievers the Bab, Baha and
‘Abbas E fendi , and reverted
to I slam . Then he and his son Muhammad Hasan began
to enumerate the vices of the Babis and to declare their evil
deeds , for he had been one of the leading Babis , and was
well acquainted with al l which they revealed or concealed .
S o turmo il arose amongst the Bab is, and they were prodigal
1 The N ew York H erald of S unday , August 1 2 , 1 900, in the courseof a long ar t icle on the Baha
’ i p ropaganda in Amer ica and i ts success,
states that ‘Abdu’l-Karfm had sailed for E urope a week p reviously, i .e.
ab out August 5 , 1 900 .
B. B.
146 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
of al l things , cheap or dear, if the man would but desi s t
from recit ing their vices , or at l east be S i l en t abou t them ;
but he on ly increased in v io lence . S o, when they despaired
of him , they gave ou t that he was mad . But he , together
with h i s son,who is st i l l l iving in Egypt
,remained in the
faith of I slam for a while , unti l he died lately , being about a
hundred years old . And the apostasy of I brahim Khay
ru’llah from ‘Abbas E fendi , together with the retu rn to I slam
of H ajj i ‘Abdu ’l-Karim , was a heavy blow to th e Baha’is .
For some time ‘Abbas E fendi bore wi th these alarmingci rcumstances
,until latterly he set himself to st ir up the
fanaticism of a man named Haj j i Mirz a H asan of Khurasan ,one of the leading Babis in Egypt
,and commiss ioned him
to proceed to America to repair th is ruptu re . The latter
obediently accepted thi s commission , took with him as in ter
preter Husayn R tihi the son of H ajj i Mul la ‘Ali of Tabriz,
and went to America , where he remained some time 1 . At
fi rst he tried to bring back Ibrahim Khayru ’l lah to Abbas
E fendi,but , not succeeding in h is e fforts , he busied himself
for a wh ile in declaring and proving to hi s friends the sancti ty of ‘Abba
'
s E fendi . But he failed to ach ieve h is object,and returned to Egypt,where he was st ricken wi th imbeci ‘
lity, and i s at presen t under treatment in Egypt . Then‘Abbas E fend i sen t M irza A sadu ’l lah
,
‘A li-qul i Khan,and
Mirz a Abu ’l-Faz l [of GulpéyagénT"
, author of the two booksen t itled ad —D uraru
’l-B a/ uyy a (
“ the Pearls of great price1 He was there, as we shall presently see , at the end of 1 900.
2 This seems to have b een early in 1 902 , for the Nor/k American of
S unday , Feb . 1 6, 1 902 , contains a leader on the “astonishing Spread
o f Bab ism ,
”w i th p ictures of ‘Abbas E fendi , M irza A bu’l-Faz l
, and
Hajj i N iyaz of K irman, w i th whom I was acquainted in Cai ro In the
early part of 1 903 . This art icle Speaks of“ hundreds converted to
‘A b bas E fendi in Balt imore .
”
3 Pub l ished at Cai ro in pp . 279 .
1 48 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
As regards the total number of Babis and Baha IS,
differen t wri ters take the most widely divergen t views,
according to theirpredispositions. Lord Cur z on,writ ing in
1 8 9 2 and speaking on ly of Persia, says (P ersia, vol. i , p . 49 9 )The l owest es t imate places th e presen t number of Babis
in Persia at half a m ill ion . I am disposed to th ink , fromconversation s with person s well qualified to judge , that thetotal i s nearer one hear that during the past year
they are reported to have made 1 5 0 Jewi sh converts i n
Tihran , 1 00 in H amadan, 5 0 i n Kashan , and 75 per cent . of
the Jews in Gulpayagan. On the other hand Dr Mirz aMuhammad Mahdi Khan , whom we have just been quot ing,puts the total n umber of Babis of al l sects at the absurdly
low figu re of 7 200, vi z . ( I ) Kullu-S kay z’
s,or O ld Babi s , who
do not concern them selves with any developments subse
quent to the martyrdom of the Bab in 1 8 5 0, 200 souls in
Persia ‘ . ( 2 ) A z alis 2000 or a l i ttle over . ( 3 ) B aba’
i’
s ofboth factions ( i .e. fol lowers of ‘Abbas E fendi
,called by their
opponen ts Mdrioin,
“ R ebel s 0 1“ Apostates ,
” and fol
l owers ofMuhammad‘Ali
,cal led by thei r opponents Nat/thin,
r “ Covenan t 3000 i n Pers ia and 2000 el se
where . AS regards the American Baha ’is (Mr August J .
S tenstrand i s the only American Azal i I ever heard of), oneof them
,Mr A . P . Dodge, who paid me a vi s it at Cambridge
on November 6, 1 900, told me that I brah im Khayru ’l lah ,after three years ’ propaganda in Ch icago
,had made some
hundred converts by 1 8 9 6 , but that latterly their numbers
had greatly increased,and that at the t ime he spoke ( 1 900)
there were at l east 3000, to wit, in Chicago about 1 000 ; i n
New York about 300 ; in Kenosha (Wi scons in ) 300 or
400 ; in C i ncinnat i 5 0 to 1 00 ; and a few more in Boston ,
1 According to the statement of S ayy id Muhsin of Dahaj , whichw ill b e quo ted later, thei r numb er was very much smaller .
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA I N AMERICA 149
Philadelphia,Baltimore
,Wash ing ton , San Francisco ( 20 or
30) Detroit (Michigan ) , Newark (New Jersey)and Hoboken
(New Jersey) . Mr S toyan Krstoff Vatralsky of Boston ,Mass , i n a remarkable attack on the Baha
’i rel igion published i n the American journal of Tkeolog y for January,1 902 (pp . 5 7 and entitled Mohammedan Gnosticism
in America the Orig in , Character, and E soteric Doctrinesof the Tru th—Knowers ,
” writes as follows (p . 5 8 )Ibrahim Khayru ’llah
,the propagandist of the sect ,
claims to have converted two thousand American s in the
Space of two years . How far th is boast i s true I am unable
in every particular to verify but there i s no room to doubt
that the man has had incredible success . I have personal ly
seen large,well -organ iz ed cong regations of hi s converts
both in Kenosha,Wis .
,and in Chicago . I have also reason s
to bel ieve their claims that S im ilarly growing assemb l i es are
holding their secret meeting s in every large city of the
United S tates . This i s the more remarkable when we recal l
the fact that never b efore in the h istory of th e world has a
Mohammedan sect taken root among a Christian people
without the aid of the sword . I bel ieve i t would not have
happened to-day had i t come bearing its own proper name ,flying i ts own nat ive colours . I t has succeeded because
,l ike
a counterfei t coin , i t has passed forwhat i t i s not . Most of
the converts hardly real iz e what they have embraced,and
whither they are drift ing . I consider i t a duty,therefore
,to
tel l the American'
peOple what I know of this secret and
mysterious sect,and what are i t s Orig in
,c haracter
,and
purposes .”
Again he says (p . 69 )“ I t was from there [
‘Akka or Acre in S yria] that amissionary of the sect was sen t to propagate the fa ith in
thi s country, which seems to have proven a fruitful field .
1 50 MATERIALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION0
According to Mulla Ibrah im G . Khayru ’l lah,the Ba
'
bi-Baha 1
missionary to America,b e converted no less than 2000
Americans during h is fi rs t two years of labour. O f theseabout 700 were l iving in Ch icago ; between 2 5 0 and 300 in
Kenosha,R acine
,and Milwaukee about 400 i n New York
and the res t in Boston and other large ci ti es . Lately i t has
been reported , I know not how tru ly, that there are now
about Babis in the Un ited S tates 1 . But as they are
a secret cul t , no out’sider can know thei r exact number.
The means for the propaganda are furn ished, i t i s said, by a
wealth y New York woman , a convert .”
Amongst the l i terary curios it i e s which I possess are threeAmerican newspapers , contain ing accounts of the Baha ’i
propaganda in the Un ited S tates, which were sen t to me by
Dr Ignaz Goldz iher of Buda-Pest .
The fi rst is a copy of the N ew York Herald for S unday ,August 1 2 , 1 900. The fron t page is adorned with a pictu reof the “ City of Acre ,
” an old and atrociously bad portrai t
o f ‘Abba'
s E fend i ‘Abdu ’ l -Baha ; afac— simile of an autograph
letter o f the Bab ’s anotherfac—simi le of part of the instruc
t ions wri tten on the back of Baha ’u ’l lah ’s Epistl e to Nasiru’
d
D in S hah ; and some fan tastic friez es of ancien t Pers ian
soldiers . The head-l i nes are as follows : “ These bel ieve
that Chri s t has returned to Earth .
” “ S t range Fai th Has
A ttracted Many Fol lowers , a large Number of Whom are inNew York City .
’A New Gospel according to ‘
Abbas of
Acre . The accompanying letter-press deals chiefly with the
h istory and doctrines of the Bab is , and begin s as fol lows
I S Chri s t l iving in the world to day ? There are ten s
of thousands of person s who bel ieve that He i s ; that the
Kingdom of H eaven has been establ ished upon earth,and
1 Tire Advance, Chicago , August 30, 1 900 .
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA I N AMER ICA 1 5 1
that the prophecies of the Book of Revelation and the Koranare al ready in process of fulfi lment. There are hundreds
who claim to have looked upon the face and to have l istened
to the voice of the D ivini ty,and there are other hundreds
who can exhibi t personal le tters said to have been tran
scribed by H is own hand .
The article mentions that ‘Abdu ’l-Karim of Tihran had
sai led for the East from New Yo rk a week previously “ after
a vis it to the Faithful in America,” whose numbers are estimated at about two thousand, of whom those of New Yorkare about a hundred
,with their head-quarters at Carneg ie
Hall . Chicago,
” the article concludes,
“ where the Rev.
Ibrah im Khayru ’l lah has been spreading the new faith , i s
another place where they have a number of members ,and there is a considerable colony of Babis at Wankegan,
Wis .
The second i s a copy of Tke Nort/z American (Philadelphia) of S unday, February 1 6 , 1 902 . The front page i s
headed “ The A stonishing S pread of Babism ,
” and contains
fairly good port rai ts of ‘Abbas E fendi as a young man (headand shoulders only), and full-leng th tin ted portraits of M irzaAbu ’l-Faz l of Gulpayagan and H ajj i N iyaz of K irman al so
a picture of ‘Akka from the sea,and a vignette of Colonel
Nat Ward Fi tzgerald,of Washington
,who is described as
“ at present, perhaps, the leading native male expounder of
the new faith in th is coun try .
”The accompanying letter
press is headed H undreds converted to ‘Abbas E fendi in
Bal timore,” and “ They hold that the R edeemer prophesied
is now al ive ,” and begin s with the statement of Mirz a Abu ’l
Faz l of Gulpayagan :“ I f we make the same percentage of
converts throughout the country as we have made in Bal t imore and Washington
,with in a year ’s t ime the Babi faith
wil l have two mill ion adherents in the United S tates .
I 5 2 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
Thus far, i t observes further on ,“ but fol lowers
of ‘Abbas E fendi are claimed i n America . But then no
organiz ed effort has been made unti l now to extend thefaith .
” Mention is al so made of “ Mrs Loua M . Gets inger,
of Wash ington , who has devoted much t ime to the study ofcomprehen s ive comparative] rel igions . For one year She
took up her residence in the A cre domicile of the man whoclaims to be the second Christ, and dai ly had commun ionwi th him . When She left h im ,
‘Abbas E fendi gave to her
the name ‘ Maid S ervan t of the Lord .
’
The th ird i s a copy of the [Yew York Times of S unday,December 1 8 , 1 904, of which p . 5 , headed
“ Babist Propa
ganda making headway here,
” contain s an interesting accountof “ A S unday morn ing gathering of New York believers in
th i s New Orien tal Cult . — Impress ive S piri t of Earnestnessin Evidence — H i story of the R el igion and i ts present H igh
Pries t . The il l ustrat ion s include a portrai t of ‘Abbas
E fendi,
“ the Master at Acre : last photog raph taken 30
years ago a pic ture of the “ Tomb of the ‘Bab,
’ near
Acre and Sketches of the meeting described and types o fi ts American supporters . Thus we have “ Mr H oar openingwith a prayer ” : R eading a Table t from the Master ” “A
Broadway Merchant ” “A Family Group and an elderly
lady in Spectacles label led “ Curiosi ty attracted her.” The
article accompanying these i l lu s trati on s con tain s a fu ll accoun t
of a Baha’ i meeting at 2 26, West Fi fty-eigh th S tree t, at “ a
demure brown-s tone is down on the c i ty
map as Genealogical Hal l . ” The New Rel igion is describedas having “ wi th in forty years il lumined for human
beings the path which leads to Acre and to H im Who L ives
There .
” The congregation , consi sting of nearly two hundred
men and women,i s thus descri bed .
“ Ori ental si lken garments swished sibi lan tly as a group of handsomely gowned
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA I N AMERICA 1 5 3
women en tered the Tabernacle . Men of iron gray hai r and
steel gray eyes thinkers and doers rather than dreamers— accompanied them with such other variation s as meri t
another paragraph . S omewhat as fol lows was . the tou tensemble .
”A fter a florid descript ion of the room in which
the meeting was held,the congregation i s described as
follows . “ Who were the audience ? Among them were a
score of men who have business in the Wall S treet d istrict
and on both Broadway and Fi fth Avenue . They were sol id
men of affairs whose names figure frequently in the publ ic
prints,and whose fortunes run into many figures . AS pillars
of the Babi st cause in th is city they have p lenty of financial
sinew to support the movement and H im Who L ives at
Acre .
”
The chair having been taken by Mr Will iam H . Hoar,of Fanwood , New Jersey , a hymn was sung, followed by aninterval of silen t medi tation , wh ich was brought to an end
by an address from Miss I sabella Brittingham , recently
returned from ‘Akka,of which a pretty ful l report i s given .
At i t s conclusion the whole audience S imul taneously ejacu
lated “A lldlzu “ another hymn was in toned , and then
everybody began talking.
” In conclusion the information
i s vouchsafed that a few days previously nine American
pilgrims, including Mr Howard MacNutt, and Shepherded
by Mirz a Ab u ’l-Faz l of Gulpayagan,had “ started for Acre
to acquaint the One Who L ives There with the amaz ingprogress the cause is making in America. Up at 2 26 West
Fi fty-eighth S treet i t was vouchsafed that the soul of thelate Colonel I ngersoll went to Acre.”
I have not been able to fix exactly the date when Ibrahim
Khayru ’l lah definitively broke with ‘Abbas E fendi and adhered
to the faction of Muhammad ‘Ali, but i t was probably soon
after his return from ‘Akka, for which he set out from America
I 54 MATE RIALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BABI’
REL IG ION
in June 1 8 9 8 , and certain ly before November, 1 900, when
he was reproached and threatened for hi s apostasy by Hajj i
M irz a H asan of Khurasan,as described in the foll owing
remarkable statement,which is in i tial led by I brah im Khayru
’llah
, and was forwarded to me by him ,together wi th other
documents, in a letter writ ten from Chicago on February 26,
1 90 1 .
S tatement of tke words of lll irz a’
H asan Kb ura’
sa’
nz’
to me on N ovember 3ot/z, 1 900 .
I came here especial ly to bring you back to youral legiance to ‘
Abbas E fend i , and am prepared to stay ten
years i f necessary . I f you return to‘Abbas Efend i , I wil l
cause the American beli evers to fol low you as head in every
thing even better than hereto fore . I f you wil l not l i sten to
me and become a follower of ‘Abbas,your abode wil l be in
th e bowels of the earth . I come here because of pi ty for
you,and to save you . If you wil l not l is ten
,your l i fe wil l
be Short . I f ‘Abbas Efendi Should give me the word to cut
you to p ieces, or to tear your eyes out, or to kil l you , I wil ldo so at once . I fear not the consequences to mysel f. You
know that I am from Khurasan,and that the sword of
Khurasan is so powerful that i f a blow i s struck with i t, it
wil l cut from above the stars to the depth of the earth,and
wil l cut even the fi shes of the sea .
’
“ H e then repeated to me the fate of Mirz a Yahya ofJedda
,and offered me a copy of the pamphlet publ i shed by
himself en ti tled ‘ the Great Miracle of ‘A bbas E fendi . ’ The
above is the substance of what he said to me on Friday,
November 30, 1 900 .
“ On S aturday, December I st , 1 900, Mirz a Hasan -i
Khurasan i again called in the company O f Mirz a A sadu ’llah,
and thei r i nterpreter Mirz aHusayn [R tihi] . We all discu ssed
I 56 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIGION
of ‘Abbas Efend i our opponents , have left here for America .
One of them is M i rz a A sadu ’l lah of I sfahan , of whose cunn ing
and Shrewdness of in trigue you cannot fai l to be aware, and
who i s the brother-in-law and secretary Of ‘Abbas Efendi,and
in al l matters his most trusted and confidential agent . To no
one el se does ‘Abbas reveal h is h idden secrets , and these
people are of the most un scrupulous , and wil l hesitate atnothing and fear‘ no con sequences
,being resolved to accom
plish their purpose and spread abroad their vicious principl es ,even by the Shedding of blood and the destruction of l ives byhidden methods and secret in trigues . This obliges me toexplain to you a certain cruel deed which they accompli shed
not long s ince . I t i s one of their many deeds which inspire
detestation and break the heart with horror .Now therefore I say that there was i n the port of Jedda
a certain man O f the Un itarian s named Mirz a Yahya, whowas the son-in-law of one Hajj i M irz a Husayn of Lar
,the
Persian Vice-Consul at Jedda,and a merchan t noted for h i s
wealth . A S i s wel l known to you , these people take greatand exquisi te pain s to at tract to themselves persons of weal thand influence . When , th erefore, they discovered that M irz a
Yahya openly confessed his fai th , and that he was of theparty Of the true Uni tarian s
,and was won t to discuss with
hi s father-in-law the quest ions at i ssue and the difl'
erences
between the two part ie s, they were afraid that i n the future
the words of the son-in-l aw would influence the father- in
law, to wit the Hajj i above ment ioned , and even tual ly bethe cause of depriving them of h is money and weal th .
They were,moreover , convinced of the impossibi l i ty of
bringing Mirz a Yahya over to thei r faction .
“ One of the fo l l owers o f ‘Abbas E fendi named Mirz a
ManS t’
Ir,who i s now in I ndia , was therefore commanded by
hi s master to proceed at once to Jedda and there conspire
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 1 57
with the Haj j i above mentioned for the destruction of M irz a
Yahya. At that t ime the said Hajj i was al so at ‘Akka,but
whether the plot was . concocted there or at Jedda I am
unable to say . To be brief,one night Mli z a Mansur suc
ceeded in admini stering to Mirz a Yahya a poison wh ich
kil led him at once . The subtlety of thi s plot lay in the
perpetration of th is horrid deed in such a ci ty as Jedda 1“ Before the conspiracy had accompli shed i ts purpose
,
‘Abbas E fend i had writ ten from ‘Akka to one of h is friendsin forming him that some such calamity would b efal l Mirz a
Yahya, and that he would be pun ished . Haj j i Mirz a Hasan
of Khurasan publ i shed in Cairo a pamphlet concern ing th iseven t and the ‘ Great miracle ’ wrought herein by
‘Abbas
E fendi . I t i s unnecessary to send you th is lengthy pamphlet,our object being merely to make known to you the characterof these p eoples
’ in trigues . You must employ every needful
precaution , for, S hould they be unsuccessful or disappoin tedin inducing you to return to their par ty, they wil l endeavourby every means and without scruple to inj ure you . Con
cerning what befel Mirz a Yahya we have heard from certain
persons who were at Jedda at the time that as he had no hei rs,
and as his father-in-law, the said Hajj i , was of ‘Abbas Efendi ’sparty
,and was also P ersian Vice-Consul at Jedda, no one
appeared to demand an enquiry into the causes of h is death .
I therefore entreat you carefully to avoid taking fromthe hands of these people any food , drink , or other th ing,although we know that the Lord (Glory he to H im) i s theProtector and S ustainer
,and wi l l without doubt protect H is
friends and shelter those who love H im,especially h im who
has displayed the greatest energy,and has fought so faith
ful ly in preach ing to the people the Manifestat ion of H isMost Great Name al-A bb ci .
1 Where the cr ime would easily passunno t iced , as, in fact , was the case .
1 5 8 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
R EL IG ION
Mirz a A b u ’l-Faz l [of Gulpayagan] and Hajj i Mirz aHasan [of Khurasan ] and the. others
,while they were here
recently , did not vis i t any of the Un itarian s, neither the
Blessed Branches nor the o thers . They neither
wrote nor spoke to them concern ing the d ifferences of faith,
and some of them used even to avert thei r faces from them
if th ey happened to pass each o ther in the street .”
The translat i on of the last o f Mahmud ’s letters,of which
the A rab ic text was communicated to me,i s as fol lows
“ I inform you al so of an event wh ich happened in these
days, which is that Hu sayn the Confectioner who
has a S hop oppos i te to the Governmen t H ouse at Hayfa, asyou wil l remember, died ofpoison on the eve of S aturday the
2 8 th of Ramaz an 2 i n the house of His H ol iness the Mos tMighty Branch ”. He was seen by the municipal doctor
,
who reported that he died of poison . This i s as much as we
have heard hitherto , but should we ob tain more detai ledin formation
,we wil l , please God, communicate i t to you .
“ H ewho prays for you , Mahmrid.
— January 3oth , 1 90 1 .
I t i s my good fortune to possess a copy of Hajj i M irz aH asan -i-Khurasani ’s pamphlet above mentioned , which wassen t to me on March 1 2
,1 90 1 , by Ibrahim Khayru ’ l lah .
I t contai ns only 2 7 pages measuring 5 5 by 35 i nches, i s
en ti tled R isa’
la-i-b’uslzrci wa Ay a-i-Kubra
’
(“ the Trac t of
Good ’
l Iding S and the Most Great was prin ted at
the Hindiyya Press in Egypt, and was comp leted on R ajab 9 ,1 3 1 6 (November 23 , My copy i s signed and sealed
on the last page by the au thor,so that there i s no doubt
1 i .e.
‘Ab bas Efendi’
s three young er half-b ro thers, Muhammad ‘Alf,
Badi‘u’llah, and Ziya
’
u’llah.
2 The year of the lzifra is not ment ioned, butJan. 1 9 , 1 90 1 , appearsto be the date indicated.
3 A l-Gb usnu’l-A ‘
g am,i . e.
‘Ab bas E fendi ‘Abdu
’I-Baha.
1 60 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
ferven t supporter of Muhammad ‘A li
, i n whose favour he
carried on an act ive propaganda .
“ I t IS a curious fact,
”
observes the au thor , “ that the ‘Covenan t—breakers ’ (N a’
oi g in)become the devoted admirers and faith ful friends of every
atheist , A z al i and S ophis t, and of such as deny God’s Holy
Law and di sobey H is command, and are the kind friends
and congenial in timates of every party except the true believers so th‘at the t ru th of the t radi ti on , Infidel ity constitutes a S ingle church ” might become apparent and mani
fest .” So Yahya grew ever bolder in h is opposi t ion to‘A b bas
E fendi,
“ the Great Mys tery of God , and the B ranch derivedfrom the Ancient S tock ,
” un ti l God ’s patience was exhausted
and H isAnger moved to destroy the offender, and a“Table t
(L awlz) was sen t by‘Abbas E fendi to Hajj i Mulla Husayn
of Lair,of which a copy was forwarded to the author enclosed
in a le tter dated the 2nd of Jumada I,1 3 1 6 S eptem
ber 1 8 , Th is “ Tablet, wh ich Haj j i Mirz a Hasan
read aloud at the time of i ts arrival to a c ircle of fe l lowbelievers i n Cairo , i s of cons iderable length and partly inA rabic . The prophetic th reats are con tained in the later
Pers ian port ion,of wh ich a t ran slat ion i s here appended .
“ The glance of [D ivine] Favour embraceth that friend ,and all good i s predestined in respect to h im , but a great
barrier hath in tervened [between us and him ] , and a form idable obs tacle hath appeared ; and God controlleth
[men’s] secret thoughts . Prai se be to God , during the Day
of the Theophany that friend attained to the honour ofmeeting and secured the dis tinction of l i s ten ing to theaddress . You wil l u lt imately appreciate the worth of th isPearl of Great Price of the Divine Covenan t . Forunique Pearl was nourished in the embrace o f the S hel l o f
1 i .e. all m isb el ievers have a natural sympathy for one ano ther , andform ,
as i t were, a coherent communi ty .
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 1 6 1
the Mos t Glorious Kingdom (Malakut-i-Abka’
) and included
in the range of the S upreme Pen , and bath had no peer or
l ike since the beginning of Creation . But certain children,
having gathered together, have vain ly thought to cast the
Joseph of the Covenant i nto the Pi t of Obl ivion , and sothemselves to become famous throughou t the Ci ty and the
market-place , and to sel l th is P recious Pearl for a fewdir/zams, and to endeavour to give currency to their ownpotsherds
,heedless of the fact that the Beloved of
the D ivine Egypt hath come forth from the bottom of the
p it in despite of every envious and obstinate foe,and by the
Favour of the Most S plend id Beauty (f ama’
l-i-A bka’
)2 hath
reached the z en ith of the moon . S oon you wil l see that bythe aid of the Most Glorious Kingdom (Malakut-i-A b/zd) theS tandard of the Promise wil l wave above the Pole of the
H oriz ons,while the Lamp of the Covenant wil l Shine so
brightly through the glass of Contingent Being that th edarknesses of the Violation of the Covenant wil l al together
disappear,and the cry of ‘ By God
,verily God hath pre
ferred H im over al l mankind ’ wil l be heard . I f a l ittle
consideration and reflection be exercised concern ing pastevents
,the truth of the mat ter wi l l become plain and proved .
S ay,‘ O S haykh , th is Covenant i s the L ight of the H oriz ons
and this i s the Prom i se of God, not the plaything of children .
Say,‘ S o shall ye behold yourselves in man ifes t loss
,while
damage Shall reSult and be evident,and injury shall Shortly
overthrow the edifice .
’
S ay, The first hurt,please God
,will
be a warning to you , [making you reflect] what was the causeof thi s hurt and what the reason of th is los s . ’ At al l events do
you observe with new and sharpened sight, so that you may
1 This is the t i tle commonly g iven to Joseph when he was made
governor of E g ypt .2 i .e. of Baha’u’llah.
B . B.
1 62 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI REL IGION
find your way to th e aims of these plotters and destroyers .Consider of whom I t I S said i n the Qu
’ran,‘ Tbey say
wi tk tkeir tong ues wkat i s not in tkeir kearts1 .’ Explain for
them [the verse]‘ And wken tkey see t/zose wko believe, tlzey
say , We believe but w/zen tbey wi tlzdraw privily to t/zeir
devils, tkey say ,
“ We are only scmf ers2 Elucidate the
mean ing of, “B ut God slzall mock at t/zem,and continue
tbem in tkeir imp iety ; tlzey s/zall wander in confusion Say
to h im who was al ive and i s soon to d ie ‘ : ‘ L ike the
covenan t-breakers 5 the children of I srael wrought for themselves S e
'
tmiri6 and the [Go lden ] Cal f. Was not J oshua the
son ofNun divinely designated?’ Thou didst err and make agrievous m istake when thou dids t so vehemently bel ittle andcontemn the divinely designated Centre [o f Authori ty]
7. I f
the E ternal Beauty 8 should say to thee , ‘ How didst thou
cal l the Centre of my Covenan t,the Branch derived from my
A ncien t S tock , h im who was expl ici t ly designated in‘my
Perspicuous Book, and the Expositor of that Book , “ a
1Qur
’
dn , xlvi i i , I I .
2 I bid. i i , 1 3 .
3 l bid. i i, 1 4.
4 There is a word p lay on the name Yabyd, which, connec ted w i ththe roo t bayy ,
means“ He l iveth.
”He was Yabyd
’i , but shal l soon
b e Yamuti , doomed to die.
”
5 n i g in,i .e the par t isans ofMuhammad ‘Alf.
6 The maker of the Golden Calf is so named in the Qur’dn. S ee
xx , 8 7 , 90, 96 . The compar ison of a false c laimant of D ivine or
prOphetic qual i t ies to the Golden Calf, and of his aider , ab et tor andinst igato r to S i m ir i , is common w i th the Bab is. In the Azal i Hasnt
B i b isb t Baha’u’ llah and his amanuensis, M i rzaAqaJan of Kashan, are
made to play these rfiles. S ee Vol. i i of my Traveller’s Narrative,
p . 3 5 5 and n. 2 ad calc.
7 Meaning ‘Ab bas E fendi , whom MirzaYahya is accused of mockingand defy ing .
3 i .e. Bahau llah.
164 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIGION
veri ly humiliat ion S hal l flee from thee by reason of i ts abundance
,and loss Shal l take réfuge from thee with the All
Merciful,and thou shal t behold thysel f i n the lowest depths
of Hel l . For abasemen t, remorse and disgrace S hal l be theport ion of those who violate the Covenan t of the H igh
,the
Mighty .
”
(‘Abbas ‘Abdu ’l-Baha) CC
The author, Hajjt Mirz a Hasan of Khu rasan , next quotes
the covering letter (or Tablet ”) addres sed to himsel f by‘Abbas E fendi , and dated contrary to what is customary ”)the 2nd of Jumada 1 1
,1 3 1 6 (S ept . 1 8 , The lat ter
portion Of th i s run s as fol lows
O Fr iend , you wrote abou t Yahya , who supposed that‘Abdu ’l-Baha was heedless of hi s evil in ten tions and in trigues .
Therefore a l i t tl e wh ile ago a l et te r was writ ten to Jedda, ofwhich a copy i s enclosed . R ead i t , that thou may
’s t be
assured that the clemency o f ‘Abdu ’l —Baha i s great and his
pat ience st rong, but that , when the Command comes, heS peaks and wri tes and crie s, Thi s i s the Truth , and after
the Tru th is naught save error . O Friend , so proclaim theCovenan t that the deaf ears of the [Covenan t-] breakers mayhear
,and so Shine in the A ssembly of Constancy that the
blind eyes of the perjured ones may see . And the Glory
be upon every one who i s s teadfast in the Covenan tof thy Lord the Migh ty .
”
CCNot long after the receipt of th i s le tter, which was read
aloud to the fai thful in Egypt , a letter dated the 2 7th o fJ umada I
,1 3 1 6 October I 3 , 1 8 98 ) was rece ived from
Haj j i Mul la H usayn of Lar from Jedda by Haj j i M irz a
Hasan of Khurasan declaring that “ God , mighty i s H isglory
,had removed Yahya, that incorrigible C ovenant
breaker, and had opened before his face the Door of thefierce threat s of th e All-Glorious Lord , wh ich are expl icit ly
I I . BAHA’
I PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 1 6 5
mentioned in the Two H oly Tablets . The simoom of
D ivine Wrath blew, and the gale of Celes tial Anger breathed ,and his (Yahya
’
s) darkened spiri t, fulfi l led with envy andhatred
,descended to the abyss of H el l . H ere fol lows Hajj i
Mulla Husayn of Lar’s narrative of what took place, as
commun icated by him in a letter to Hajj i Mirz a Hasan of
Khurasan“ Touching the Tablet which was vouchsafed from the
Land of Heart ’s Desire 1 , in truth i f anyone Should possess
the eye of discernment,these same Blessed Words which
were thus fulfi l led are a very great m iracle . But what
profi ts i t,S ince the discern ing eye is lack ing ?
“ I read the Tablet to Mirz a Yahya, and he l istened . I
said ‘A ssuredly thou sayest in thy heart , I do not bel ieve
i n the words He answered ,‘ I t i s even so I
have no sort of bel ief ei ther in him or hi s father 2.
’ I said,
‘ I f that which hath issued from the Blessed Pen does not
speedily overtake you, i t were wel l that they should Shave off
my beard 3 .
’Then he rose up and departed to his own
house .
“ A few nights later towards the dawn one knocked at
the door of my house .
‘Who is it ? ’ I cried . Then,seeing
that it was a maid-servant, I added What wilt thou ? ’She
replied,
‘ Mirza Yahya i s done for . I at once ran thither .
H ajj i Muhammad Baqir also was presen t . I saw that bloodwas flowing from h is (Mirz a Yahya
’
s) throat , and that he
was unable to move. By th is t ime it was morning . I at
once brought th ither an Indian doctor. H e examined him
and said, A blood -vessel in h is lung is ruptured . He must
lie st il l for three days and no t move,and then he wil l
1 A rg-i -Maqsud, i . e.
‘Akka.
2 i .e. e i ther in ‘A b bas Efendi or Bahau llah.
3 i . e. subjec t me to any disg race .
166 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAE I’
RELIG ION
recover. ’ He then gave him some medicine . The haemor
rhage stopped for two days , and h is condi tion improved .
I n spite of th i s he was. not admon ished to return to th eTruth . A fter two days there was a second flow of bloodfrom his throat , and he was nearly finished . The doctorcame again and gave him medicine, but u lt imately i t profited
him no th ing. Twice again he vom ited undiluted blood, andthen surrendered hi s sp iri t to the Angel of Torment .
“ Th is event was i n truth a warning to al l beholders,that
i s to say to such as see and read thi s Tablet . Please God
you have read i t i n i t s entirety and found your way to themeaning thereof. One
'
individual hath He thus swiftly
removed . A ssu redly hereafter the Lord wil l accompl i shevery promise which He hath uttered . I take refuge with
God from the wrath o f God I seek from the Tru th that H e
wil l ai d u s to stand firm in H is Covenant and Compact !
In a l i ttl e whi le th e Covenant-breakers wil l be Overtaken bycalamiti e s such that they Shal l flee bare-headed to the moun
tain s and deserts,but S hal l find there no way of escape .
”
The author, Hajj i M irza Hasan of Khurasan,here
observes that never in any previous dispensation was soclear a threat fol lowed by so swi ft and condign a pun ishment
,or so expl ic i t a prophecy so speedily accomplished .
For, says he, though God’s pat ience is almost inexhaustible
,
there comes an end to i t, espec ial ly i n the case of suchapostates
,who sin against the L igh t
,and who do far more
harm to the cause than the theo logians, jurisconsults andrul ers who ignoran tly oppose and oppres s i t. H e then quotes
ano ther Tablet which was sent to h im by ‘Abbas E fendi
after the death of Mirz a Yahya, and wh ich runs thus“ Write to Mulla Husayn of Lar that these were the
circumstances connected with Yahya the shameless, to witthat he wrote a letter to the leading Covenant-breakers
,and
1 68 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
the Baha i s general ly hold the A zalis, and far surpasses the
di sl ike entertained by any of these three parties for the
adherents of other creeds which stand en tirely outs ide theBabi -Baha ’i c ircle. This phenomenon
,however, i s not
pecul iar to Babiism . At all even ts th i s second schism
amongst the Babi commun ity,wh ich began almost imme
diately after Baha’u ’l lah ’s death i n 1 8 9 2 and culm inated (as
wil l be sub seqriently explained in fuller detai l) in 1 8 9 5 ,
was singularly fierce and bitter,and in due course natural ly
extended to the American Baha ’i s . I brahim Khayru’
llah’
s
secess ion from ‘Abbas E fendi seems to have begun soon after
h is return from ‘Akka (abou t the end of and , as we
have seen,at the end of November, 1 900, the fanatical
Haj j i M irz a Hasan ( the au thor of the pamphlet j ust analysed)was threaten ing h im in Chicago for h is apostasy . The great
maj ori ty of the American Baha ’i s adhered to the party of‘Abbas E fendi , who had establ ished there as el sewhere a
great personal ascendancy wh ich h is half-brother Muhammad‘Ali completely fai led to rival
,though one at least of hi s
adheren ts,Mirz a Ghulamu ’ l lah , the son o fMirz a Muhammad
Jawad of Qazwin, author of the l i fe of Baha’u ’l lah translated
i n the first sect ion of th is volume,vi si ted America to promote
h is Master’s in terests and press h i s c laims ’ . I n 1 90 1 we
find Ibrahim Khayru’l lah defending his posi tion again s t the
American fol lowers of ‘Abbas Efendi in two t racts enti tl ed
respect ively Facts for B alui’zsts (Chicago , and T/ze
Tkree Questions (undated , but published subsequen tly toApril
,The former is prefaced by the fol lowing
S tatemen t of the H ouse of Justice of the S ociety o fBaha’i s ts to al l the fol lowers o f Baha ’u ’l lah
“ The time has come to publ ish some of the numerous1 He was in N ew York in March 1 90 1 , and in Chicago in the
following month, and visi ted me in Camb r idg e on his way to Amer ica.
I I . BAHA’
I’
PROPAGANDA IN AMER ICA 169
facts wh ich have been obtained through a very careful and
strict investigation concerning the di fferences existing
between the eldest son of Baha’u ’l lah [i .e.
‘Abbas E fendi‘Abdu ’l-Baha] and his younger brothers .
For the sake of Truth and Justice we urge everybel iever to read careful ly the con tents of th i s pamphlet , and
judge for h imsel f which of th e two parties is following the
teach ing s of the Father and obeying H is Commandments .I t i s i ntended gradually to publ ish the many facts in our
possession,and they are open at any t ime to those who wish
to investigate them .
“ The Three Question s answered by Khayru ’l lah in h is
second pamphlet are as follows
( 1 )“Why have some followers of Baha
’u ’llah and your
sel f rej ected ‘Abbas E fendi
,the Greates t Branch, and his
teachings ?
( 2 )“ Did you receive the instruction s you gave in
America from Baha’u ’l lah in person , or from ‘Abdu ’l-Karim
of Cairo,Egypt ?
3)“ Why did you not denounce ‘Abbas E fendi upon
your return from ‘AkkaP”
From the answer to the second quest ion it appears (p. 23 )that ‘
Abdu ’l-Karim of Tihran,by whom Khayru ’l lah was
fi rst converted to the Baha’i fai th , and who , as we have seen ,vis ited America in the summero f 1 900, told Khayru
’l lah,in
the presence of some bel ievers , that i f he returned to‘Abbas E fendi he was righ t and all he taught was righ t but
that i f no t he was wrong,and al l he taught was wrong .
“ Besides this,
” says Khayru ’l lah ,“ he promised me plenty
of money , and when I refused he renounced me and al l that
I taugh t, and prohibited the believers from reading orbuying my work
1 70 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE EAE I'
R ELIGION
From the answer to the th i rd questi on we learn that i twas no t unti l nearly seven month s after Khayru
’llah’
s retu rn
to America that he defin itely repudiated ‘Abbas Efendi and
espoused the cause of Muhammad‘Ali and the younger
bro thers . Thi s event must have taken p lace in the year
1 8 99 .
‘Abbas Efendi,as soon as Khayru
’
llah’s defect ion was
known , seems to have taken vigorou s steps to destroy hi ssupremacy and influence in America .
‘Abdu ’l-Karim was
sent to America for th is pu rpose i n 1 900 . A t the end
o f th e same year, as we have seen , another ardent parti sanof ‘Abbas E fendi
,to
'
wit Haj j i M irz a H asan of Khurasan ,was in America
,not only remon strating with but threaten ing
Khayru ’l lah . A l i t tle later Mirz a A sadu ’llah , a vehement
part isan of ‘Abbas Efendi, founded the “ H ouse of S pi ritu
al i ty in Ch icago . About the end of 1 90 1 01 beginning of
1 902 his son , Mirz a Farid Amin , a lad of about twenty, whohad graduated with honours in Engli sh , succeeded and aidedhis father as the recogniz ed tran slator in to Engl ish of theBaha’i wri tings in A rabic and Pers ian .
Early i n 1 902 we find two more prominen t Baha IS , bothadheren ts of Abbas E fendi , to wit the learned and indefatigable .Mirz a Abu ’l-Faz l of Gulpayagan (whose propa
gandist acti vi t ie s were also displayed at ‘I shqabad , or
A skabad,in R uss ian Turk istan and in Egypt) and the
amiable old Hajj i N iyaz of K i rman (with whom I was
acquain ted i n Cairo i n the early part of 1 903 ) carrying on
an act ive propaganda in America . The former, unless he
paid two vi si ts to America , must have remai ned there nearly
three years,for he sai led thence for ‘Akka with n ine American
p ilgrim s , including Mr Howard MacNutt ( formerly asso
ciated with Khayru ’l lah in the publi cation of h i s bookin December, 1 904 .
FURTHE R NOTE S ON BAB I’
,AZAL I
’
AND
BA HA’I L ITE RATURE , OR IENTA L AND
OCC IDE NTA L , PR INTED ,L ITHOGRAPHED
AND MANUS CR IPT
1 76 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
W. Faber and ends with a Short accoun t by the same of thecelebrated S ayyid (or S haykh ) Jamalu
’d-Din al-A fghan 1 .
(2 ) Atrpet (S argis Mubagajlan, an A rmenian of A lex
andrOpOl) i s th e author of several works on Persia in R ussianand A rmenian . The former include one on Multammad
‘A li S ka’
k (MaMelI'
b-AJIM HIax '
E ) ; Tb e N ational Movement
in tlze L and of ‘
tke L ion and tko S un (HapOJIHoe IIBHJE eHi e
B'
B CTpaII’S Item 11 COII II IIa), S h irak Press, A lexandropol ,
1 909 : pp . 1 29 ; one on P ab im d a ( Pan'
I. XaH'
E ) ,which I do no t pos sess ; and one en ti tled I ma
’
mat : t/ze
Country of tlze Worslzippers of t/ze [mdms (P ersian clergy )
( I/ImamaTT : crrpana II OI’UIOHHHROB’
B HmaMOB '
I) ( nepcnircrtoe
JIyXOBeHCTBo) , A lexandropol , 1 909 : pp . 208 , of which the
second part,ent i tled Ba6nTEI II Bex anTLI (B a
’
bis and
B alut’
is) occup ies pp . 8 7— 208 . The lat ter include works
on the lmdmat ; C/zastisements in tb e L ife of P ersia (a
novel ) ; Kb ila’
fat (“ the Cal iphate Turkish hi s torical
i nvestigation s ; and other books .The treat ise on B dbz
’
s and B akd’
z’
s,with which alone we
are here concerned , i s i l lu strated with some remarkableportraits and pictures ( I know no t how far authen tic), including th ree of the Bab (one su spended for execut ion) oneof Muhammad S hah ’s Prime Min i ster, Hajj i M irz a Aghas i ;one of Muhammad S hah ; two of the Babi heroin e andwarrior Rustam-
‘Ali of Zanj an,armed with shield
,sword
and spear ; one of the publ ic degradation at S hiraz of oneof the Bab ’s d isc iples and propagandis ts, who , with half hisbeard and moustache shaved off
,i s moun ted on an ass with
hi s face to the tai l ; one of Hajj i S ulayman Khan , almostnaked and with l ighted candles Inserted in numerou s wounds
in h is body,being led to the place of execut ion ; two of
1 A full account of this remarkab le man is g iven in Chap ter I of myP ersian Revolution .
Vol. 1 C h i c ago . (Aug. 1 . 1910) lsm a No 8
WORDS OF ABDUL -BAHA
F rom notes taken at Hai fa, S yria, by Mi rza
Moneer Zain, (Duri ng the recent v isrt of Mr. Charles
Mason R emey and Mr. Howard C. S truven.
PHOTOG RA PH OF BE L I EVE R S A S S EMB LED AT THE TOMB OF THE BA D .
MOUNT CA RM F L . S Y R IA . M AY
In the ce n tre of the g roup . marke d m th an X. 1 5 the ag e d Afn an , whoS up erv ise d the b ui ld i n g of the Mash rak-e I‘ Az kar m Ish kab ad .
Russra. As soo n as It was fi n i sh e d h e w as calle d to Acc zb y Ab d ul-Baha to remai n the b alan ce of hIS days
f acep 1 7 7 .
The follow ing letter from Mr. R emey to the
BAH A I NEW S makes a fi tting introduct ion to the
notes which follow :
To the E d i tors o f the B A H A I N EW S
M irz a. Moneer Zam has sent m e notes tak en in
P ers ian and then transla ted , from four o f A b dul-B a ha'
s
ta lks g iven wh i le Mr. S truv en and I w ere in H a i fa .
1 78 MATE RIALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
Miss Laura Clifford Barney . I t comprises 236 pp , and
was prin ted by Messrs Brill of L eyden and publi shed byMessrs Kegan Pau l , London , i n 1 908 .
(6) The same publ ishers produced S imul taneously anEngl ish version enti t led S ome answered questions, collected
and translated from tlze P ersian by L aura Clifi'
ord Barney
(PP xiv 344)
( 7) A French vers ion enti tled ‘A bd-oul-Béka Les
L epons de S t jean d’A cre
,recuei llies par Laura Clif
ford
B arney : traduit du p ersan par H ippolyte D reyfus, was pub
lished in the same year ( 1 908 ) by E rnest Leroux of Paris .This comprises pp . 4 1 6 .
( 8 ) Barney , Laura Cl ifford : God’s Heroes : a Babi
drama,with Qurratu
’
l-‘Ayn for the heroine , sumptuously
printed and il luminated in the margin s . Publi shed by
Kegan Paul,London , and L ippincott
,Philadelph ia
,i n
1 9 1 0 : pp . 1 08 + xi i .
( 9 ) Britt ingham,I sabella D . : Tbe R evelation of B alzd
’
u
’lldk ,
in a sequence of four lessons, comp iled by f . D . B .
Ch icago,1 902 : pp. 3 2 .
( 1 0) Dawud,Johanna : l/Vy sterious F orces of Civiliz a
tion, written in P ersian by an eminent B a/zd’
i plzilosoplzer
and newfirstp ut into E ng lis/z byj D . Publi shed by Copeand Fenwick , London, in 1 9 1 0 pp . 242 .
(The orig inal Pers ian enti tled
was l ithographed at Bombay in —
3 , and con tain s
I S4 PP )
( 1 1 ) Dodge,A rthur P ilsbury z
'
W/zence? W/zy ?W/zitker?Man l Tkings / Ot/zer T/zing s / Published by the A rie l
Press,Westwood, Massachuset ts, in 1 907 : pp . 269 .
I I I . FURTH E R NOTE S ON BABI’
LITE RATURE 1 79
( 1 2 ) Dreyfus,H ippolyte : LeL ivrede la Certitude (K i tab
cl nu des L ivres S acre’
sda B alzaisme,traduit da persan
par L lippoly te D reyfus et M irz a Habibulla/z Ckiraz i . Pub
lished by Leroux of Pari s in the B ibliotkegue Orientale
E lz e’
virienne in 1 904 : pp . vi i 2 1 3
Concern ing the Loan (“ Cert itude one of the best
known Babi controversial works composed in —
9
in Baghdad by Baha’u ’l lah before be publ icly put forward hi s
claim to be “ He whom God Shal l mani fest, see my Cata
log ue and D escrip tion of 2 7 B a’
bz’
M anuscrip ts,j. R . A . S .
for 1 8 9 2 , pp . 43 5— 8
, and the references there given .
( 1 3 ) D reyfus,H ippolyte : Tbe Universal R eligion
B aka’
ism,its R ise and Import. Cope and Fenwick, London,
1 99 9 : PP- 1 75
( I 4) D reyfus, H ippolyte : E ssai sur te B e’
kaisme son
lzistoire,sa porte
’
e sociale. Ernest Leroux , Paris, 1 909
pp . 1 38 .
( 1 5 ) Dreyfus,H ippolyte L
’Bpttre ou P its da Louppar
B akc’
t‘
oulldk, traduction franfaise. Champion,Paris
,1 9 1 3
pp. 1 8 5 .
Thi s i s a translation of a letter, or rather an admonition ,
addressed by Baha’u ’ llah towards the end of hi s l i fe (between1 8 8 9 and 1 8 9 2 ) to the notorious Mujtalzid of I sfahan
,Aqa
yi~ Najafi, the son of S haykh Baqir of I sfahan , an implacable
persecutor of the Babis . I ncidental ly i t deals at some
length with the A z al i con troversy.
( I 6 ) H ammond , E ric : T/ze Sp lendour of God,being
ex tractsfrom tlte S acred Wri ting s of tb c B akd’
z’
s,w it/z I ntro
duction by E . H . Published in the Wisdom of fl u E ast
S eries by Murray, London , in 1 909 : pp . 1 24. (A veryslight work . )
( 1 7) Holbach , Maude M . T/ze B aba 2Movement,wit/z
I 2 — 2
1 80 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
some recollections of meeting s w i tk‘A bdu
’
l-B aka’
. (From thelVineteent/z Century and After
‘
for February , 1 9 1 5 , pp . 45 2
Mrs H olbach seems to have met ‘Abbas Efend i i n
America in the autumn of 1 9 1 2 and again in Paris on
May 23 , 1 9 1 4. O ther dates of h is journeys i n Europe givenare London and Paris
'
in the autumn of 1 9 1 1 ; Budapest
(where he met.
Vambéry) i n April , 1 9 1 3 ; S tu ttgart, Vienna
and Budapest in the summer of 1 9 1 4.
“ I n Germany,”
wri tes Mrs Ho lbach , “ the Ba ha ’i l i terature i s be ing trans
lated, and there are Baha’i s at Munich and L eipz ig as wel l
as at S tu ttgart and E ssl ingen , but the movement i s comparatively new,
and the number of i ts adheren ts proportionately
small , though drawn from the mos t thoughtful classes of thecommuni ty .
( 1 8 ) Khayru ’l lah,Ibrahim George : B aib-ed—D i
’
n,t/ze
D oor of true R eligion ( I ) Za-ti-et A lla/z : ( 2 ) E l-F tda .
R evelation from tile E ast : rational argument by I . G .
Kkay ru’lla
’
lz. Chas . H . Kerr and CO ., Ch icago , 1 8 9 7 pp . 84 .
Portrai t of the author as fronti sp iece.
( 1 9 ) Khayru ’l lah,I brahim George
,ass isted by H oward
MacNutt : B e/zd’u’llak (
“tke Glory of The work
compri se s two volumes with con tinuou s paginat ion , pp . xiv
545 , Vol. i i beginn ing with p . 307, and several portraits and
i llu stration s,in cluding ‘Abbas E fendi ‘
Abdu ’l-Baha and h i s
three hal f-bro thers . Publ ished at Chicago on January I,
1 900!
( 20) Khayru ’l lah, Ibrah im George Factsfor Belzaists,translated and edited by I . G . Kb . Chicago
,1 9 0 1 pp 64 .
( 2 1 ) Khayru ’llah , I brahim George : Tb c mrce‘ Ques~
tions. Pp . 26 1 5 of A rabic quo tat ion s . N0 date or place
1 A second smaller edi t ion of this work in one volume has been
pub l ished recently (Chicag o ,
1 8 2 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAE I’
RELIG ION
Bab . Paris , Dujarric, 1 905 :\ pp . 45 8 . Thi s valuable and
scholarly book,which contain s a great deal of new material
cri tical ly treated,comprises a lengthy I ntroduct ion (Avant
propos), pp . 1 —
7 1 ; th ree chapters on Persian or S hi ‘i te
I slam , pp . 75— 1 8 8 and twelve chapters on th e h istory of
the Bab,of whom a traditional portrai t (d
’apre
‘
s un portrai t
al’
aguarelle) forms the fron ti spi ece of the volume, pp . 1 8 9
45 2 . The hi storical narrat ive i s extended beyond the Bab ’s
execu t i on In 1 8 5 0 to the great persecution of the Babis and
the martyrdom of Qurratu’
l-‘Ayn in 1 8 5 2 .
( 26 ) N i colas,A .
-L . Le B éy dn Arabe,lo L ivre
S acre’
du Baby sme de S e’
yyed A li Mokammed di t le Bab,
tradui t de l’Arabe. E . L eroux
,B ibliotbegue Orientale
E lz e'
virzenne,Paris , 1 905 : pp . 23 5 .
( 2 7 ) N icolas,A .
-L .
-M. E ssa i sur le Cbézklzisme. f .
Ckézk/z A limod Labfaki . Paul Genthner, Paris, 1 9 1 0 : pp . 7 2 .
S haykh Ahmad al-Ahsa 1 , th e founder of the Shaykhi S choo lwh ich gave birth to the B abi s
,was born i n and
died on June 2 8,1 8 26 . This pamphlet gives an accoun t of
his l i fe and doctri nes,and concludes with a l is t of 96 o f h is
works .
( 2 8 ) The Orient-Occident Unity low) !S ee next entry, under P ersian-American E duca
tional S ociety .
( 29 ) P ersian-American E ducational S ociety ,B ulletin of
tb e (fl gfi l 5 to be succeeded by tlze
Om'
ent-Occident Unity B ulletin. Vol . i,No . I of the B ulletin
,
dated October,1 9 1 1 , con tain s a statement of the principles
of the S ociety , an account of i t s hi story and progress, and aportrait of the S ecretary , Joseph S . Hannen . The inceptionof the idea of th e S ociety took place at a meeting held atWashington
, D C ,on October 30, 1 909 , and i t was formally
I I I . FURTHE R NOTE S ON BAB I’
LITE RATURE 1 8 3
inaugurated on January 8,1 9 1 0, when Mr Charles Russel l ,
then j ust appointed Un ited S tates Minister to Persia,was
present. Amongst the Persian workers were Mirz a AhmadS uhrab and Qudsiyya (
“ Ghodsia Khanim ,
“ the first
young woman of Persia to come to the United S tates for the
purpose of complet ing her education .
” Mr S ydney S prague,
an active and wel l-known American Baha’i , who founded the
Tarbiy at S chool at Tihran , seems to have been one of the
chief promoters of th is interesting and ph ilanthropic move
ment . The only other number of the Bulletin which I
possess (Vol . i , No . 5 ) i s dated February and con
tain s a portrait of Mirz a Ahmad S uhrab, here described as
the “ Founder and Treasurer of the Persian-American
Educational S ociety . I t also contains an account of the
arrival from Persia of Mr W . Morgan S huster and of the
mass-meeting which he addressed in Carnegie Hall after
hi s return ffrom Persia on March I,1 9 1 2 , as wel l as an
announcement that ‘Abbas E fendi ‘Abdu ’ l-Baha would
address the P .-A . E . S . Conference i n Washing ton on Apri l 1 8
,
1 9 and 20,1 9 1 2 . I also possess the Annual R eport of the
Conference of the P .-A . E . S . held at Washing ton , D C ,
on
June 1 6 — 1 7 , 1 9 1 1 . Of the Orient-Occident Uni ty B ulletin
I possess only one number (Vol. 1. No. dated May
June,1 9 1 2 . This con tain s a portrai t of ‘Abdu ’l-Baha, and
an account of the addresses del ivered by him at the Con
ference at Washington on Apri l 20 ,1 9 1 2 , and on other
subsequent occasions .
( 30) Phelps, Myron H . : L ife and Teacking s of‘Abba
’
s
Efendi : a S tudy of tlze R eligion of Me Bdbz’
s or B abci’
z’
s,
founded by the P ersian B a’
b and by lzis S uccessors, B akd’
u’
lla’
k
and ‘A bbds Efendi , with an I ntroduction by E dward G .
B rowne. G . P . Putnam ’s S ons , New York and London,
1 903 : pp . xli i i 2 5 9 .
184 MATE RIALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAE I’
RELIG ION
(3 1 ) R emey , Charles Mason : T/te B a/zd’
i Movement
for U niversal Religion, B rotberlzood and P eace : a S ketclz ofitsH istory and Teac/zing . Wash ington
,March
,1 9 1 2 : pp . 1 5 .
(3 2 ) R oemer,H ermann . D i e Babi B eka
"i . cine S tudie
zurR elig ionsg escb ic/zte des [slams Potsdam,1 9 1 1 : pp . 1 9 3 .
Thi s book , the author’s I naugural D i s sertat ion for the
Doctorate in H igher Phi losophy in Tii b ingen, contain s anexcel len t
,crit ical and comprehens ive account of the Babi
Baha’i movemen t from the beginning of the Bab ’s miss ion
down to the date of composi tion . The accoun ts of the
recent Baha’ i propaganda in the West (America, France,England, Germany and H ungary) and in the further E as t
( India , Burma), and of the atti tude of the Baha"IS i n Persia
towards the Consti tu t ional Movemen t (pp . 1 48 — 1 60) arevery in teresting , and al l source s of in formation have beenthoroughly used .
( 3 3) R osen , Baron Victor . The earl ier notices of Bab i
MS S .
,publ ished by th is scholar in the Collections S cientifioues
de l’
] nsti tut des Lang ues Orientales de S t P etersbourg (Vol. i ,M anuscritsA rabes, 1 8 7 7 ; Vol. i i i, Manuscri ts P ersans, 1 8 8 6 ;
and Vol. vi , pp . 1 4 1— 2 5 5 , are briefly noticed in the
Notes appended to Vol . i i o f my edit ion and translation of
the Traveller’
s N arrative, pp . 208 — 2 1 1 . I n 1 908 Baron
R osen publ i shed a col lection of Baha 1 A lwa’
lz (01“Tablets ”)
in the H istorico-Philological S ect ion of the Imperial
Academy of S t Petersburg, en ti t led
IIepBEI i’
I C60pnnm) Hocaani ii Ba6II IIa BehayIIJIax a, or
5 Al” Avg U gh.” who) Li) ” dg'jl
L5”W I M l M 3 4M
v.3 9 !
The volume contain s pp . vii i 1 8 6 .
1 86 MATE RIALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
very remarkable facul ty for in terpret ing the prophecies of
the O ld and New Testaments,especial ly those of the Books
of Dan iel and R evelation,in support of the Babi and
Baha’ i claims . To th is topic the present treat i se,which
Shows remarkable ingenu ity,i s en tirely devoted . I remember
hi s cal l ing my attention to the fact that whi le i n the olderA rab ic vers ion s .o i the New Testament the words “ the
glory of God” in R evelat i on xxi
,2 3 , are rendered by
B akd’
u’
lla’
lz (411! in the later vers ion publ ished at
Beyrout i n 1 8 8 2 th i s express ion had (purposely, he declared,to darkenmen ’s understanding ) been rep laced by Majdu
’
lla’
k
(43 ! AM )On the day of hi s death both he and I were en tertained
to lunch by a weal thy Persian Baha’i merchant of Cai ro,
and al l the afternoon he argued vehemently in support of
that fai th . I departed about seven o ’cloc k in the even ing,
l eaving h im there . The next I heard of h im was when , on
return ing to my hotel next afternoon about 4 p m . I found
awaiting me a black-edged card invit ing me to hi s funeral ,which had al ready taken place when I received it . He l eft
a widow (French by national ity) and two l i tt le ch ildren .
(39 ) S tenstrand, August J . A Call of A ttention to tb c
B aka'
ists or B abists of America . Napervi lle,
Feb . I 3 ,
1 907 pp . 36 . A plea for S ubh-i-Az al ’s claim to be regarded
as the S upreme H ead of the Bab is .
(40) S tenstrand, August J. : A Key to tke Heaven of tlze
B ay a’
n,or a tkird call of A ttention to t/ze Balza
’
ists or B a’
bists
of America . Chicago,Jan . 6
,1 9 1 1 pp . 34. (There mus t
ev ident ly be a second Cal l of A t ten tion ” which I do not
possess,and at the beg inn ing of Apri l , 1 9 1 7 , I rece ived
a “ fourth Cal l of A t tent ion ,” a l i ttle Sheet compris ing four
prin ted pages . )
I I I . FURTH ER NOTE S ON BABI’
LITERATURE 1 87
(4 1 ) S tenstrand, August J . A n Open Letter to tli e
B a’
bi’ World
,or an A nswer to a Letter of one of my B akd
’
i’
F riends. (A single S heet, printed on both sides,at Chicago
,
Jan . 6,1 9 1 1 )
(42) Tymancai ii , A . II OCI IIIIHee 0110130 Hexa YII IIH
(LS-Hr“ g lib ), and Hocranie BJIaria B ’ISCTI/I (Gauti e r
from the Zap iski of the R ussian Orien tal S ociety, Vol . VII,
pp . 1 8 3— 1 9 2 and 1 9 3
— 203 . S t Petersb urg,1 8 9 2 : pp . 1
pp . 1 9 3— 203 . Contains the text and translat ion o
I
f
Bah " u ’llah’
S Last Testamen t and of his “ Tablet of GoodTid ings .”
(43) Tynancai i’
r,A . : RT) Bonpocy 06'
s aBToa’
B H0
Top i II II S BTCTEOI’
I 110111. IrneHeM'
I.Tapnx eManyE q n
(w ishCU
B) HJIH Tap I/I x e llmeII IIJIT. twill), from
the Zap iski for 1 8 93, pp . 33—
45 , S t Petersburg . An account,based chiefly on in format ion derived from Mirz a Abu ’ l-Faz lof-Gulpayagan, of the manner in which the Ta
’rikk
or New H i story (of the Bab) was compiled and edited at
the in stance of Manakji, the Zoroastrian Agent i n Tihran .
I t contains valuable materials not to be found elsewhere .
(44) TynaHCE i ii , A . : R l/I ’I ‘afie A EJIeC'
E . The A rabic text
and Ru ssian translat ion of the Kita’
b— i —Agdas, or“ Most
H oly Bopk,”
of Baha ’u ’l lah , publ ished in 1 8 9 9 in the
Me’
moires de l’
A cade'
mie Imperiale des S ciences de S t P eters
bourg , vii i se’
rie,Vol . vii i , No . 6 and last : pp. xlvi i i + 1 29
m . The In troduction contain s much valuable in formation and many Chronological data derived from Russian
offi cial records and not otherwise avai lable.
(45 ) Universal P rinciples of tli e B ali a i Movement,
S ocial,E conomic
,Governmental. Washington , 1 9 1 2 pp . 60 .
Vatralsky, S toyan Krstoff : Mo/i ammedan Gnos
ticis/n in America tlie Origin, H istory , Ckaracter and
1 8 8 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
E soteric D octrines of tli e Trut/i -S eekers.
’ Extract from the
American journal of Tkeology for January , 1 902 , pp . 5 7
78 . The author of this paper i s seriou sly alarmed at th estartl ing success ach ieved by the Baha ’ i propaganda in
America, the s ignificance o f which, he thinks, i s general ly
underrated .
(47) Will iams, Basil : A B rief S ketcb of tire R ise and
D evelopment of B a’
bism, explanatory o f a paper read on th i s
subj ect before the Royal A s iat ic S ociety on Feb .
Eyre and S pott i swoode, London pp . 1 4.
(48 ) Wilson,Dr S amuel Graham
, D .D . B a/id’ism and
i ts Claims : a study of tb e R elig ion promulg ated by B alui’
u
’lla’
k and‘A bdu
’l-B a/i d . F leming H . R evel l Company , New
York,1 9 1 5 : pp . 29 8 . A host i le crit ical s tudy o f Baha’ i
h is tory and doctrin e ’ .
(49 ) Wilson,Dr S amuel Graham , D .D . : T/i e B ayan of
tbe B a’
b . Extract from the P rinceton Tlzeologi cal R eview,
PP o 633
I I . PR INTED AND L ITHOGRAPHED WORKS IN PERS IANAN D ARA B IC.
(
Jud i JR an ow a ) . 0-01 ci gar
I ty a’
nu’
d—D oli'
l, or
“ the Production of the Proof for h imwho would go forward unto the S tra ight Way . This bookwas l ithographed in Egypt (Wadi
’n-N i
’
l) at the beginning
of S afar, 1 3 1 8 May 3 1 , and comprises 1 1 2 pages .
I t was given to me by Mirz a Ghulamu ’l lah of Qazwin in
January,1 90 1 , when he passed through Cambridge on hi s
1 A reply to this attack has b een pub l ished by I b rahim G . Khayru’llah under the t i tle of O C/zristians ! l y do y e believe not in Cbrist ?
S ee ab ove, No . 2 2, p . 1 8 1 .
1 90 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
REL IG ION
advanced by that notable Baha’ i propagandist Mirz a Abdu ’l
Faz l-i-Gulpayagani i n h is K ita’
bu’l-Fara
’
id,publ ished in Cairo
i n 1 3 1 5 1 8 981. Inspite of i ts defects, the I koa
’
ou’
l—H aqq i s
on the whole the best refutation of Bab i and Baha’ i doctrinefrom the Muhammadan poin t of view which I have met
with . I am indebted for one copy which I possess to myfriend Dr S a ‘id Khan of Hamadan , and-for the other to the
author h imsel f.
‘
w sv‘ C”‘M ‘ x dom e
”41" 9 1
1-3 C13 1! (V)
‘
me j fi v’ C”‘
w fi'
fil( 31
A co l lection of selected A lwdlz ( “Tablets of Baha’u’llah, l i thographed In — 1 in excel lent naskli ,
and compri s ing 360 pages . The place o f production and
publ ication is no t indicated , bu t th is, and several similarvolumes un iform with i t , were, I b el ieve, produced in Ind ia
at some press official ly recogn iz ed by the Baha’i leaders .The volume was obtained in November, 1 8 9 6, in Hamadan ,Persia
,by Mr Basi l Will iam s
,who gave i t to me on
February 7 , 1 8 9 7 . There i s no t i t le-page,the vo lume begin
n ing immediately with the Suratu ’
l-H ay kal. .The Copyis t ’sname appears at the end , but un fortunately only in the
“New
Writing ” (Kkatt-i-B adi") of the Baha’i s , which I am unable
to read .
Jig . ( z )
Another s imi lar col lection of A twak, l i thographed (probably in I nd ia , as above) from the writing of the celebratedBaha’i call igraphis t Mushk in Qulam ,
whose colophon i s
dated the 1 3 th Rajab , 1 3 1 0 (January 3 1 , and con
tain ing 3 29 pages . Presented to me by Muhammad Jawad1 S ee p . 1 96 infra .
I I I . FURTHER NOTE S ON BABI"
LITE RATURE 1 9 1
of Qazwin, one of the most prominent adherents of ‘Abbas
E fendi’
s rival and hal f-brother Muhammad ‘Ali, on the 29 th
of Dhu’ l-Qa ‘da, 1 3 1 8 (Feb . 2 5 ,
” 29 4 3: C an’
t: ‘S ry
iyrS t,Cu" , 1
’
IQOI Cf)”
she-fa n“ w a
s
) 5 312-11 ! m 9 ) O 15 L5-r° W Bree
‘aiu ) wl“M a .
”
vi n o j v 9 . 1.0
A history of the Babis from the beginning down to the
time of writing (Raj ab, I 3 2 1= October, enti tled
M ifta’
lzu B a’
bi’
l—A bwa’
b (“ the Key to the
,Gate of
by Dr Mirz a Muhammad Mahd i Khan Za ‘i’
mu’d-D awla
,
owner and edi tor of the Persian newspaper II ikmat
Printed at the Press of A l-Mana’
r,Cairo
,
pp .
r+ u The author, though a deter
mined antagonist of the Babis , writes with some appearance
of moderation . Though often inaccurate, he adds fresh
material s derived oral ly from his father Muhammad Taqi,
who saw the Bab at Tabriz , and from other eye-witnesses .
He also visited Baha’u ’l lah and his sons and followers at‘Akka
,and S ubh-i-A z al at Famagusta in Cyprus , and made
a collection of Babi and Baha’i books , from which he quotes
l engthy extracts in thi s work,and which he subsequently
deposited in the l ibrary of the Mosque and Univers i ty ofal-Az har in Cairo .
In the I ntroduction to this book the author d iscussesthe seven most notable rel igion s of the world , viz . ( I )Buddhism ; ( 2 ) Brahminism ; (3 ) Feti shi sm ; (4) Zoroastrianism 5 ) Judaism , espec i al ly its teachings and prophecies
concerning the Messiah ; (6) Christian ity ; and ( 7) I slam .
He next treats of the S unn i and S hi ‘a trad it ions and bel iefs
concerning the Mahdi, and the return of Jesus Chris t to
earth in the last days ; of Antichrist (D ajjal) ; of the mystical
1 92 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BAB I’
RE LIG ION
signification Of .the “ detached let ters“
of the Qur an
(anvi l A ls ) 3 of S ii fi prognostication s con
cern ing the Mahdi and hi s Adven t and s imilar matters .
Next fol lows the hi story o f the Bab, preceded by accountsof the fol lowing n ine notable heresiarch s who claimed to be
the Mahdi : ( 1 ) A fl -N afsu’z -fi zkzyy a ; ( 2 )
‘ Ubaya’
u’llcifi al
Ma/za’
z’
aZ-F a’
flhzz’
3) 1 5 7: Tzimarz‘
(4) A l-‘A bba
’
s d l—F a’
flmz’
5 ) S ayy id As aa’
, the an tagon i s t of the S ikhs in India ;
(6) M'
z’
rz a’ ‘A lz Mu/zammaa
’t/ze B db ( 7) A s-S as z
’
,whose
son the au thor Vlsi ted at Jaghbub in (8 ) M irzd
G iza/aim Alzmaa” (9 ) Mu/zammaa’A /zmaa
’ the
Mahdi of the Sudan , of whom the author gi ves a ful l andfavourable account . The book concludes wi th the accounto f the spread of Baha’i sm in America which has been translated at pp . 1 43
—
7 supra .
la ." C assi; Ou t 45
15, U
s
Q ua-si ll A ? ) (1 )
R ajmu’sb S /zay fdnfl R ad/m[127-5 4a (
“ the S toning Of
S atan : or the infamies of the Bayan by Haj j i S haykh‘Abdu ’r-R ahim a refu tation , i n Pers ian , of an Apology for
Babi ism en ti tled Kz
'
fdéu’
l-fmdn jz’
I g -lzdrz'
-N uqtalz°
’
l-b’ay a
’
n
(“ the Book of Faith : making plain the Poin t Of the
The book, which is l i thographed , compri ses1 79 pp . ,
bu t there i s no i ndicat ion o f place or date of
publ ication .
A curious feature of the book i s that t he who le tex t o fthe work which it i s wri tten to refu te i s g iven , the au thor’srefutat ion taking the form of a runn ing commentary
,dist in
guished from his adversary ’s words by being overlined.
Each clause of the Kz
’
tcibu’
Z-fmcin i s in troduced by the words
Qa’
la’
r-R ajz’
m (“ the A ccursed One hath said whi le
1 94 MATERI ALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIGION
triumphan tly chronicl ing the fate o f Mirz a Yahya, the exA z ali
,who
,disregarding the threats and warnings addressed
to him by ‘Abbas Efendi ‘Abdu ’l-Baha,died suddenly at
Jedda . S ee pp . 1 5 8— 1 64 sup ra ,
where an analysis of the
contents i s given . H indiyya Press, Cairo, R ajab 9 , I 3 1 6
( z November 30 ,pp . 2 7 of 1 3 x 9 centimetres . S en t
to me by Muhammad Jawad from ‘Akka,Feb . 2 5 , 1 90 1 .
U “ O lg a .
U V” ) ) lé . Q ua .
A t ract wri tten by Khdé’z’
771-z’
—Abfia’
( i .e. Mirza AqaJan ofKashan , entit led f amié-i i n reply to Jahrum i,i n support of the claims of Mirz a Muhammad ‘
Ali and con
test ing those of h i s rival and half-brother ‘Abbas E fendi‘Abdu ’l-Baha . L i thographed at Cairo ( Wda
’
z’n 29
Dhu ’l-Hijja, 1 3 1 9 ( f : Apri l 8 , pp . 2 23 .
( i t-o ww ill! m ! Qt. Cg. ( a)
A Persian treat i se contain ing an account of the li fe andteach ings of S haykh Ahmad Zaynu
’
d- l ) in al-Ahsa’
i, the
founder o f the Shaykh i sect of the S hi ‘a,out of wh ich the
Bab arose . L i thographed at Bombay,without date .
‘
Jw'
fi‘fi fl v‘ ( 55 M ‘
chi”
A l—Qaw/u’
l-f r‘
ag l f z’
Ma‘rzfatz
'
V-Amr wa’
l-Arl,an A rabic
l ithographed tract of 3 2 pp . con tain ing a brief accoun t ofthe origin and developmen t Of the Bab i and Baha ’i fai th s
,
and supporting the claims of Mirz a Muhammad ‘A li against
h is hal f-brother ‘Abbas E fendi ‘
Abdu ’l-Baha . I t i s freely
i l lu s trated by quo tat ion s from the B ible,and was publ i shed
at the beginn ing of Muharram,1 3 20 Ap ri l 1 0,
1 11 . FU RTHE R NOTES ON BAB I’
LITE RATURE 19 5
aim.” self-v“) fir” 4 155 ( N )
This i s the original Of the work translated by YuhannaDawud into
'
English ( see p . 1 78 supra, No . 1 0) under thet i tle My sterious Forces of Civilization, written in P ersian by
an eminent B alzd’
i pni/osopner. L i thographed at Bombay in—
3 : pp . 1 54.
umCr,” ( 5 4 5 9 0 33 1 B um ( n )
The complete text Of the [( ita’
o-i-Aoa’as, fol lowed by a
selection Of “Tablets (A lwa’
li ) by Baha’u ’l lah
,l i thographed
in an excellen t nasé/z in — 1 . According to the
late Baron Victor R osen , from whom I received i t i n
November, 1 8 93 , i t was l i thographed at‘Akka but I have
a pencil note (whence derived I forget) to say that i t and
two s imilar volumes were produced in Bombay at the Press
of Dutt Prashad (also) ; a ; which belongs to the
Afna’
n or kinsmen of the Bab . The copyi st was H aj j i
Mirza’
. Husayn of S hiraz , or,as he call s h imsel f in the
colophon , “ Husayn who was imprisoned in Khartlim”
( £ 5 .19l us W e . ) I t contain s 38 0 pp .
N
Lat; {5 1 Ulla? 415 5 M U
s may a.» 5
L5 49 Li'
s 45m mxinju ”A 5 mun any 5 (an;
46 316 15 6) ustsspfi m Jam v i ”a , Ji tam
Three treat ises by Mirz a Abu ’l-Faz l of Gulpayagan,
printed at Cairo at the Mawsu‘
a’
t Press in at
the expense of Hajj i Mirz a H asan of Khurasan and Faraj u ’llab Zaki the Kurd , by whom al l rights are reserved , and
comprising 2 79 pages . Ad—D uraru’
i —B a/uyy a (“ P earls of
1 3— 2
1 96 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIGION
Great Price fi l l s the great er part of the volume , viz .
pp . 4— 20 2 . This i s fol lowed by a commen tary on the verse
of the Qur’
an ( lxxv , 1 9 )“ and afterwards i t shal l be Our
part to explain i t ” (pp . 203 The thi rd and last
port ion o f the book compri ses the treat ise en t itled [skana’ariyy a A l exandrian pp . 2 I 5
— 2 78 .
j u tu5 4
5
W! B us (u )
(UK-gu f) ( 5 5 3 5 l Ja m U-s'i) Ow l on u
h
The K i taou’
l on the d i fferent kinds O f proofand argument, i n reply to cri tic i sm s d irected by S haykh‘A bdu ’s— S alam agai n st the A /zlu ’
l-foa’
n, i .e. the Baha ’ i s by
the above-mentioned M irz a A bu ’l Faz l of Gulpayagan. This
book compri ses pp . 2 5 73 1 , was completed at Cairo on
the I s t Of S hawwal , 1 3 1 5 ( z February 23 , and wasI
printed at the expense of M irz a ‘Abdu ’ l-Karim of Tihran .
‘w ia js 9 b 4 5UM ‘
d il o (\o )
A Bombay l ithographed edi tion , dated the 26th of
R abi ‘ I I , 1 308 December 6,
of the Traveller’
s
N arrative zvrztten to illustrate tne Ep isode of tne B riowhich
I publ i shed with an Engl i sh tran slat ion and notes at the
Cambridge Un ivers i ty Press in 1 8 9 1 . I t con tain s 240 pp.
M W ‘Ctr“
A refutat ion and exposure of Babi and Baha i doctrine,enti t led [Win/zaju
’
t Ta’
ltain the Way of S eekers by Haj j i
Husayn -qul i f aa’
ia’
u’l—[sldnu The author i s an A rmenian
from Zarkaran near S h irwan , whose original name , before hewas converted to I slam , was, as he in forms us on pp . 5 9
— 60,
1 9 8 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAE I’
RE L IG ION
at the hands of the part isan s Of‘Abbas E fendi ‘Abdu ’ l
Baha on accoun t o f his protest against the claims advancedby the latter
,and his adherence to his hal f-brother and rival
Mirz a Muhammad ‘Ali . This protes t was made on May 2 8 ,1 8 9 7, on the fi fth anniversary of Baha’u ’ l lah ’s death , to a
number of prominen t Baha’i s assembled for th is purpose,and i s ful ly reported , occupying seven pages . I n conse
quence o f th i s protest M irz a Aqa Jan was grievou sly malt reated
,beaten
,impri soned in a stable
,robbed Of h is books
threatened with strangulation,and excommunicated by the
followers of ‘Abbas E fendi .
I I I . MANUSCR I PT L ITERATURE .
Notwi thstanding the con s iderable number of Babi andBaha ’i works wh ich have been prin ted and lithographed inrecen t years , the bulk of th is l i terature and the most
importan t part of i t exi st s on ly i n manuscript . None of thewrit ings of the Bab or S ubh — i-Az al have, so far as I know,ever been printed in their en tire ty , though a few of the
former have been t ran slated and though the K i tao-i -Aqa’
as
and other importan t wri tings of Baha '
u ’llah have been prin ted
or l i thographed,many Of these al so are only available i n
manuscript .
Twenty-five years ago I publ ished in the journal of tb c
R oyal A siatic S ociety for 1 8 9 2 (pp . 433—
499 and 63 7 —
7 1 0)a Catalog ue and D escrip tion of 2 7 Babi Manuscrip ts which
at that t ime consti tuted my co l lection . S ince then I have
acquired a certai n number more MS S . , some from Cyprus ,but the most valuable and in teresting portion from a Babi
(Az ali ) copyist i n Tih ran with whom I was put in touch bya learned Persian friend (a convert to Christian i ty) i n 1 9 1 2 .
The Bri t ish Museum also acquired abou t the years.
1 8 9 7
I I I . FURTHE R NOTE S ON BABI LITE RATURE 1 99
1 8 99 some 5 3 Babi and Az al i MS S .,wh ich have not yet been
described in prin t . These al l came from Cyprus, through
the late Commissioner of Larnaca, Mr Claude Delaval
Cobham,from S ubh-i-Az al ’s son R izwan ‘Ali, who finally
made profess ion of the Christ ian rel igion and adopted the
name Of “ Constantine the Pers ian . These MS S .,of which
the class-marks range from Or. 5 080 to Or. 68 8 7, were
examined by my friend Dr Ahmad Khan , for some time
Universi ty teacher of Persian in Cambridge, who, before
leaving E ng land abou t the end of 1 9 1 5 , presen ted me with
the notes which he had writ ten on them .
I do not propose to give here a formal description of
these manuscripts, but only to enumerate the chief worksrepresented amongst them
,sometimes by two or th ree
separate MS S . , ut il iz ing for this purpose both my own MS S .
and DrAhmad Khan ’s descriptions of those in the Brit ish
Museum,suppl ied (as many of my
'
own were) by R izwan‘Ali . Both these collections are der ived almost enti relyfrom Az al i sources , but there are al so many Baha
’i MS S . i n
the Briti sh Museum , of which I have no notes,and Of
which,therefore, I can offer no description . I shall arrange
the manuscript ‘
works which I propose to notice in the fol
lowing classes
(A ) Works by the Bab .
(B ) Works byf ando-i Qua’a’us (Hajj i Mulla Muhammad
‘Ali of Barfurush) , who was killed at Bérfurti sh in Maz an
daran after the reduct ion of the Babi stronghold at S haykh
Tabarsi .
(C) Works by Mirz a Yahya Suon-i -A zal.
(D ) Works by Mulla Rajab‘AlI
’
Qa/u’
r (assassinated at
Baghdad or Karbala by Baha’i s ) and other A zalis,such as
Shaykh Ahmad Rant Of Kirman and Mirza AqaKhan of
200 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE EASTRE LIG ION
Kirman ( both put to death \at Tabriz , together with Mirz aH asan Khan Knaoz’ru’
l-Mul/e, by Muhammad‘Ali Mirza , on
July 1 7 , I
(E ) Baha i works , which should be subdivided in tothose writ ten by h imsel f or h is fol lowers during hi s l i fetime ,and those written after h i s death by h is rival sons ‘AbbasE fend i ‘
Abdu ’ l-B aha and Mirz a Muhammad‘Alf
,and their
respect ive parti sans . A S,however
,I shal l have occas ion to
mention here but few Baha’ i works,I shal l ignore thi s
”
l ogical d ivi s ion .
(F ) S undry hi s torical monograph s of Bab i authorsh ip .
(A ) WORKS BY THE BAB.
As-Santfatu oay na l—H aramayn,
“ the Tract [revealed or
publi shed ] between the two H oly Cities,” i n answer to ques
t ions propounded by al-Mu/zz’
t and S ayyid ‘Ali of Kirman .
Thi s i s one of the Bab ’s earl ies t works , having been com
posed in the spring of 1 26 1 A .D . in the fi rs t year
of the Man ifestat ion . Cons iderable u se has been made of
i t by M . A .-L.
-M . N icolas in h is excel len t and erudite workS eyyea
'
A li Monammea’ a’
zt le Baa (pp. 42—
3 , 47— 8 , 206
,
207 , 209 , etc) .
R izwan ‘Ali sen t two Copies of thi s work to England,
one,now marked Or. 5 325 , to the Brit i sh Museum ,
and one
(C . to mysel f. The best and oldest manuscript which
I have seen,however, Oopied at S h iraz in belongs
to the Leyden l ibrary , and form s the n in th‘
and last com
ponen t part of MS . N o . 241 4. I t beg ins
1 S ee my Persian Revolu tion , pp . 93—
96.
202 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
has furnished me wi th a note on the Bri t ish Museum MS S .
Or. 5 276 and Or. 5 277, described by him as contain ing
commen taries, on th e fi rs t two suras of the Qur’
an, vi z . the
Suratu’
l-F a’
tz'
lza and the Saratu’
l-B agara, and copied in1 8 9 7 by S ubh-i-Az al
’s son R izwan ‘Ali’
. A ccord ing to a
s tatemen t made to me by S ubh-i-A zall , Janab-i-QuddI’
I S al sowro te a commen tary on the S aratu ’
l-H a ina’
( i .e. the Saratu ’
l
Perhaps the Bab ’s commentary on th is sura
should be regarded s imply as forming the in i t ial portion of
the better-known commentary to be next -mentioned . In
confirmation of th i s Vi ew see my Catalog ue . . in thej R . A S .
fo r 1 8 9 2 , pp . 498—
9 .
‘ sf i 'fll by M (V)
Commentary on the second chapter of the Qunan,ent itled Suratu’
l-B aoara . Of thi s,as menti oned in the las t
art icl e, there i s a manuscript i n the Brit ish Museum ,and I
have al so a manuscrip t (B B F . 6) transmitted to me fromPers ia about the end of 1 8 90 th rough S ubh-i-A z al . I t i s
ful ly descr ibed in my in thef R . A . S . for 1 8 9 2 ,pp . 49 3
—
9 , where the passage referring to i t i n theTa
’
rz’
n/z-i -jaa’z’
cl i s also ci ted .
‘W x M ( i )
Commentary on the S aratu Yusuf (S ti ra xi i of the
Qur’
cin) . There are two Copies O f th is in the Brit i sh Museum(Or. 35 39 and Or. at leas t one other (described bythe late Baron Victor R osen in his Collections S cientifioues
Manuscri ts A rabes,pp . 1 70
— 1 9 1 ) at Petrograd ; and
another,copied for me in Constant inople in 1 8 9 1 , i n my
own l ibrary (B B C . Concerning thi s work, which i s
also cal led Qayy zi inu’
l-A szna and Ansanu’
l-Qisas, see
1 Traveller’s Narrative, i i , p . 340 .
I I I . FURTHE R NOTE S ON BARTLITERATURE 203
f . R . A . S . for 1 8 8 9 , pp . 904—
909 ; ioia’
, 1 8 9 2 , pp . 26 1
2 68 and 699—
70 1 5 and the Traveller’
s N arrative,11, p . 3 ,
n . 3 .
Th is book is a rhapsody rather than a commentary,con
tain ing as many chapters'
Or sa’
ras ( t r1 ) as there are verses
in the orig inal si ira in the Qur’
a’
n, to each of which a special
t i tle i s ass igned . The specimens printed by Baron Rosen
( see previous parag raph) are amply sufficient to enable the
studen t conversan t with A rabic to form a j udgment of the
work .
533 “ MCommentary on the S tirata’
l-‘A sr (S ti ra ci i i of the
Qur’
afl ). There i s a manuscript of thi s (Or. 5 1 1 2) in the
Brit i sh Museum,copied by Kin
’
in ‘Ali in 1 8 9 7, and I
possess ano ther manuscript (B B F 7 ) described in my Cata
log ue of B a’
oz’
M S S . (f . R . A . S . for 1 8 9 2, pp . 63 7
In bo th MS S . th is work i s fol lowed by the Tasoi’li -i Fa’
tima
Doxology of Fatima
This commentary was composed by the Ba i in I sfahan
about 1 846 at the request of the [mam-jum‘a of that city ,
and is remarkable for the humil ity of i ts tone . Thus he
says i n the preface “ Before mentioning one word of the
nature Of commentary,I beg H is R everence (may God con
tinne the Shadow of his clemency !) to forgive me if he shouldnotice any error of my pen
,since faul tiness is of the nature
of man of every
3 49 i ” 539 “ M ( 1 )
Commentary on the Sarata ’
l-Kawt/zar (S ti ra cvii i of theThere i s a manuscript of th is work (Or. 5 080) in
the Briti sh Museum,copied in — 1 , apparen tly
1 For the orig inal , see ] . If . A . S . for 1 892 , p . 639.ll. 1 8 — 2 I .
204 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RE LI G ION
by R izwan ‘Ali , and I al so possess a manuscript (B B F . 8 )described on pp . 643
— 8 of my Catalog ue of B al i M S S .
(f . R . A . S . for I t was composed by the Bab for
S ayyid Yahya of Darab ( the leader of the NayrI’
z insurrec
t ion ), who i s addressed by name in a passage near thebeginn ing .
‘AM Jffij) ( Y)
The “ S even Proofs (B ata’il— i of which the
French translation by A .-L . N icolas (Paris , 1 902 ) has
been already mentioned. There i s a MS . (Or. 5 1 00) in the
B rit ish Museum , on which.
Dr Ahmad Khan has the fo ll owing caustic remarks
“ Nei th er the style nor the Composi tion i s good , but theauthor h im sel f declares that A ccidence, S yntax , and other
exoteric sc iences exist on ly for the comprehension of theH eaven ly S criptures and D ivine S ciences, therefore what
need of them has one who i s h im self the source of thethis book i s by the Bab
,i t i s a very extraordinary
thing that he seeks to e stabl ish the tru th of h is miss ion bythe words’ of those who bel ieve i n him
,adducing to this end
the arguments of S ayyid Yahya of Darab .
“ The manuscript i s transcribed in the handwriting of
R izwan ‘A li
’
, and i n addition to the badness o f the style ,for which the original i s responsible
,i t al so suffers from
numerou s clerical errors . I t would appear that R iz wan ‘Ali
was so much occupied with hi s religion and doctr i ne, and
the tran scription [of books connected therewi th ] that he hadno t ime to read the Qui ’ da , all the verses ci ted from which
are erroneously e t ten .
Another copy of the “ S even Proofs form s the con
cluding port ion ( ff. 9 2 — 1 60) o f one of my MS S . (B B P .
I made a copy of this and submitted i t to S ubh -i—Az al in
206 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
l’
fusti tut a’es Langues Ori
'
entales a’o S az'
ut-Retersoourg , Vo l . i i i ,Manuscrits P ersaus, pp . 1 —
3 2 ) in R uss ia ; and two (B B P . 8
and B B C . 3 ) i n my own l ibrary. For description of the
latter,see my Catalog ue (j. R . A . S . for 1 8 9 2 , pp . 450
— 1
and 69 8 S ee al so ] . R . A . S . for 1 8 8 9 , pp . 9 1 8 et seoq.
and passive ; also the Traveller’s N arrative,Vol. i i, passim .
I have al so publi shed an analytical I ndex of the subj ect
matter i n my edit ion of Hajj i M irz a Jani ’s Nuotatu’
l-Kaf‘,
pp . l iv— xcv.
( 1 0) B ooks of“ N ames or
“ N ames of A ll T/ziug s.
O f al l the Bab ’s wri tings no category i s so unin tel l igible ,and , to the ordinary reader, so tedious and so unprofi table
as th is . I t i s repre sented in the Briti sh Museum by the
MS S . Or. 5 278 , Or. 548 1 , Or. 5 48 7 , Or. 548 8 , Or. 5 489 ,
Or. 5490, Or. 5 8 69 and Or. 625 5 ; and in my l ibrary by
B E F . 9 and B B P . 1 0 (seej. R . A . S . for 1 8 9 2 , pp . 648
and two other vo lumes,corresponding to these, each
to each , copied in and sen t to me in June, 1 9 1 3by the Babi copyi st i n Persia m entioned on p . 1 98 supra .
The t i tles of these volumes d iffer a l i ttle ( slo u’
jl g li b,
alw vlw ifi , C55 slo u l and I canno t say positively how far they represent identical ly the same work , butthey are at l east very similar, and are al l in tolerably mono
tonous . The S ix l ines ci ted on p . 649 of thej. R . A . S . for
1 8 9 2 are, mutatis mutaua’is ( i .e. substitu ting a new “ Attri
bute or“ Name o f God in each section ) a fair sample of
the whole . I doubt i f anyone , even the most enthusias ti cbel iever, could read or understand them ,
and I am certain
that n o one could tran slate them .
1 Vo l. x v o f the E . I/V. Gib/2 [Memorial S eries.
I I I . FURTHER NOTE S ON BAB I’
LITERATURE 207
( 1 1 ) S liu’
zi u-i -klzamsa (“ Five G rades or “ S tyles
A llusion has al ready been made to the “ Five Gradesor “ S tyles ” in to which the Bath divided al l that he wrote l ,and amongst Babi MS S . we not unfrequen tly come acros s
volumes bearing thi s t itl e and contain ing selections fromeach of these “ Five Grades. One such volume in myl ibrary (B E F . 2 ) i s described in my Catalog ue ( j. R . A . S .
for 1 8 9 2 , pp . 46 2 Two apparently S imilar MS S . in
the Briti sh Museum (Or. 5 6 1 2 and Or. 6680) are entitledrespectively a t,” g lut p and
U9 Q UE
W 025-1
"
‘
n , 137 zahafn , 137 ( u )
Two of my MS S . (B B F . 1 and B B P . 3 ) bear the titles
of “ Works of the Poin t,”i .e. the Bab
,or “
of the Bayan ”
-N ugta ,-B ayau ) . Descriptions of them
wil l be found in my Catalog ue (f . R . A . S . for 1 8 9 2 ,
pp . 4 5 1—
46 2 and 470 A MS . in the Brit ish Museum
( Or. 5 629 ) bears the similar ti t le of At/za’
r-i -mutafarriga— i
B aya’
u D ivers Works of the Bayan These works are
similar,but not iden tical , each form i ng a kind of chresto
mathy of the innumerable Prayers,Visi tations
,I nvocation s
,
etc . composed by the Bab . The contents of B E F . 3 include
pieces of much greater interest than anything to be found inB E F . 1 . The British MuseumMS . I have not seen
,and
Dr Ahmad Khan ’s notice of i t i s too brief to render any
judgement on i t possible .
Cl) " (W )
Letters from the Bab to various persons . The Briti sh
Museum MS . Or. 5 63 1 i s thus enti tled, but I have no t seen
1 S ee p . 20 1 supra ; for 1 892 , p . 45 3 ; and the Traveller’s
Narrative, i i , pp . 344— 6.
208 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RE L IG ION
i t, and Dr Ahmad Khan gi ves l i t tl e more than the t it le .
I possess a MS . sent to me on Nov . 4, 1 9 1 2 by the Babi
copyist al ready alluded to . I t comprises 2 3 2 pp . of epi stles ,al l i n Arabic , addressed to various individuals (mostlybel ievers) whose names are general ly specified in the rubric
wh ich precedes each . These include S ayyid Yahya of
Darab S haykh Nasiru’
d-D in Karbala’ i ; Minuchihr Khan
Mu‘tamaa
’
u’
zt—Dawla, who was Governor of I sfahan when
the Bath fled thi ther from S hiraz,and who favoured and pro
tected h im so long as he l ived ; the Governor of S hush tar ;A sadu ’l lah of Qazwin Mulla Rajab ‘A li ; S ayyid Ahmad
Aqa— z ada ; Mirz a Muhammad‘A li ; Mirz a
‘Abdu ’l-Wahhab
i-Munsh i’
the father of S ayyid Hu sayn [Pof Yazd the Bab’s
secretary] ; jana’
b-l a’
lzira ( Qurratu’
l MIrza Naj afqul i ; and Mulla Ahmad , enti tled
“ he who betook himsel f
in fl igh t to God the One (al—Mu/zajir ila’
lla’
lzz"l The
las t let ter i s addressed to the ‘U/ama’ or doctors of Theology.
S everal of these le t ters belong to the earl iest period of theBab ’s m iss ion
,while othe rs were wri t ten from his prison at
MakL’
I . Another MS ., received from the same scribe i n
October, 1 9 1 2 , contains at the end ( 1 8 pp . ) a few letters
from the Bab to the Shah , S ulayman Khan , etc .
,and al so a
short tract ( 5 pp . ) ent i t led Sali tja-i -R igawiyy a .
(B ) WORKS BY MULLA MUHAMMAD ‘ALf OF BARFURUS H ,
KNOWN A S f s jB -I -Qop oas.
Of th i s notable adherent o f th e Bath , whom some of hi s
fo llowers regarded a s the Qa’
im or Imam Mahdi , and who
was put to death at Barfurtish i n the summer of 1 849 after
the reduction of the Babi stronghold of S haykh Tabarsi by
the R oyal i st s, some of the writings are preserved in the
2 10 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
I followed my whom be tb c peace ofand bercin verily I lzad an evidentpride.
’
“ At the end of th i s l etter he has added some l ines inPers ian .
“ Th i s sentence occurs at the beginning of another letter
it. W i p e Uri};
Tb e writings of Quddzis (n /zty and g lorious is be I) tothe learned . divine of tbc land H a
’
jji Mulla’
Mullammad.
’
Thi s sen tence al so occurs in th is letter :
MA S-o 49 41-5 41" 1 }s v M 07 0-0 w ‘ 9
0» o le» Lo ui
e / s." w e, a m fi u w
m a ga z ine‘s-“
ag a te u » si c-9 C'
s-u £3! 3 ea
‘And fear lest t/zou snoula’
st be field to account before t/ze
[ma’
m (may God Izasten b is g lad advent !) because t/zou art
commissioned to oppose leim. By tby Trut/z, today is not as i t
was aforetime, and verily lzave a g reat message of joy were
i t permitted to me I would inform tbee of it but it will
become manifest in its tz'
me.
’
I t does not appear from th is prayer for the ‘
g lad
advent’ and the promise o f some ‘ messag e of foy
’ which hegives whether he wrote this le tte r before the Man ifestationof the Bab, o r whether h e had in view some other ‘ glad
t idings . ’
“ I t appears from the words o f Quddzis that he himselfal so advanced some great claim , even as with most of theearl ier fol lowers of Mirz a ‘Ali Muhammad the Bab each
one regarded himsel f as the Man ifestation of an Imam , orP rophet .
”
I I I . FURTHER NOTE S ON BAE I'
,LITERATUR E 2 1 1
The s ix pieces written by jana’
b-i-Quda’
zis which fi l l
pp . 1 — 20 of my manuscript B B F . 4 seem to be qui tedifferent from those in the Brit ish Museum MS . The
Opening passage of each wil l be found on pp . 484—
7 ofj. R . A . S . for 1 8 9 2 .
(C)' WORKS BY MiR zA YAHYA .SUB fI -I -A ZA L .
S ome twenty-s ix work s by S ubh-i-A z al are represented
by the MS S . i n the Bri ti sh Museum and in my own l ibrary .
All of them are in Arabic , except th ree or four which are in
Pers ian . The latter include a continuation of the Persian
B ay a’
n,a long mat/znawz
’
poem of some 7000 verses ent i tledK i ta
’
b-l uba’
,and a coll ection of letters and other pieces in
Pers ian entitled A'
t/zdr-i-A z alzyya . All these MS S . emanate
directly from the A z al i head-quarters at Famagusta in Cyprus,
and most of them were transcribed by S ubh-i-A z al ’s sonR izwan ‘Ali . Arranged in alphabetical order by t itles they
are as fol lows
«in I ts?
S everal col lect ion s of S ubh-i-A zal ’s Persian wri tings bear
thi s general t itle which is not specific,and does not imply
their identity . I have one such MS ‘
. (B B F . 5 : see] . R . A . S .
for 1 8 9 2 , pp . 49 2—
3 ) so en t itled . This is wholly or ch iefly
in prose ; but Or. 5 628 of the Brit i sh Museum containspoems by h im which Dr Ahmad Khan describes as “ rela
tively better than some qasi’
das of hi s already mentioned ,but lacking poetical beauties , and not worthy to be includedamongst the fine poetry of the notable Pers ian poetsi
’
, olfia-l ( c)
Abbam-i -B aya'
n (“ Laws of the The British
Museum MS . Or. 5 48 6 i s so entitled . I t i s described by
I 4— 2
2 1 2 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
R EL IGroN
DrAhmad Khan as an ep anation by S ubh-i-A z al of the
laws and ordinances of the B aya’
n. I t Is wr i tten in A rabic
and arranged in the u sual fash ion in Wdlzidssubdivided in to chapters .
J) ‘ Cl) ” (V)
Epis tle s or Tablet s (A lwa’
li ) of Subh-i-A z al,addressed
to various persons,mostly h i s fol lowers . E ight such collec
t ion s in the Brit ish Museum are described by Dr Ahmad
Khan . These are a s fol lows
Or. 5 1 08 . This con tains some 6 7 pieces , of which five
are of the k ind cal led D u‘a’
y i—H aykal ( see infra, pp. 2 1 6 —
7 ,
s.v. and one a Persian qasida i n praise of
Queen V i c to ria, contain ing the date of her birth (A .D . 1 8 1 9 )and coronation (A .D . Dr Ahmad Khan , who read
most of the conten t s of thi s volume,describes them as
“ monotonous,
”and makes spec ial mention of only two
pieces , NOS . 4 1 and 46. The former contain s a prohi bit iono f marriage with unbel ievers , and a s trong recommendationof the u se of the ve i l by women . The lat ter contain s the
fol lowing historical data . The Manifestation of the ‘ Po in t ’
(N uota , i .e. the Bath) was according to one reckon ing (Pby
solar years) at the age of 24, while according to the lunar
reckon ing he was just entering hi s 2 5 th year. A fter de
claring his m ission he fled to Mecca, whence [he retu rned]to S hiraz . H is total apparent [i .e. earthly] l i fe was 3 2 years ,o f which he passed five in prison and 2 7 i n S h iraz and its
environs and in other lands . I [fi rst] read the‘Tablets ’
revealed to h im in —
5 0, when I was 1 9 years
of age . From this date unt i l now I have rendered faithfuland obedient service . The period of my sojourn in T ib ranand entrance into th i s fai th dated from the m iddle of
2 14 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RELIG ION
‘
Jj'
filcm ” M 5 3 ( i )
L ike the Bab , S ubh— i-A zal wrote a commentary on
t he second chapter of the Qur’a’n,the Saratu’
l-Baga
Thi s commentary i s in two volumes,the fi rs t (Or. 5 695 )
ent i tledjawr wa’
tli -Tizamar ( sic)fz’
Tafsiri Surati’
l-B aoar,
and the second (Or. 5 696) entitled ' R zZ/z wa’
l— Qamar ftTafsiri Surati
’l-B agar. This commentary contain s a very
l i teral P ersIan rendering of the A rab ic original .
‘
JJNJ‘ O b i )
The D iwa’
n Of Az al . O f th is I pos sess two MS S . (B . 40
and B . while a th ird (Or. 5 303 ) exis ts i n the Brit i sh
Museum . I t i s a prose Arabic work,and
,as Dr Ahmad
Khan remarks in h is notes,there i s no eviden t reason why
i t should be cal led a D iwa’n. I t contain s suras in im itat ion
of the Qur’a’
n, but ful l of vain repetit ions and g rammat icalerrors . Dr Ahmad Khan cri tic iz es i t somewhat harshlyi n the fo l lowing word s . “ A l though h i s (S ubh-i-A z al ’s )brother Mirz a Husayn ‘Ali a lso lays claim toD ivin ity with the utmost audaci ty, yet he at least has someexcuse conformable to their term inology , s ince he claim sto be ‘ He whom God shal l man ifest . ’ But i t does n ot
appear why, or in what sen se, by what standard , or by what
t i tle,one who on ly claims the posi t ion of a vicar or executor
[to the Bab ] , shou ld name hi s absurdit ies S criptu res
revealed from H eaven .
’
u“) l5 O le-3 Jés ( 1 )
S uppl ement to the Bab’s Persian B ay dn by S ubh-i-A z al ,
beginn ing with Wa’
b id ix,ch . 1 1 and ending with PVa
’
lzid xi ,ch . 1 9 . I possess one MS . compr is ing 1 2 2 (f. (B .
received from Cypru s on Dec . 4, 1 8 96 .
I I I. FURTH ER NOTE S ON BAB I’
LITERATURE 2 1 5
0-34 : l ué la) (V)
Or. 5494 of the Briti sh Museum contain s a col lection ofprayers and suppl icat ions so described , amongst wh ich are
some intended for use in the Babi month of Fast ing calledS ba/zru
’l Compare Or. 5 492 of the same L ibrary,
which is enti tled Salufatu’r-R i/
'
a li-ayya’
mi S ba/zri’l
djl U na -o ( A)
Besides the work las t ment ioned there are numeroustracts by Subh-i-Az al enutled Salli/
fa (plural Sana
’zf ), such
as the Salufa -i —Majdzyya, S ab ifatu’l-Miraya(Or. 5496 of the
Sabifa-i Wajdiyya wa Kbutba-l ibab zyya (Or.
etc . One of my MS S . (B . 402
) in two parts (pp . 3 1 4
and 2 9 2 respectively ) conta i ns, besides .Muna’
ja’
t (Prayers
or S uppl ications), many such Salza’
z'
j, the first of which is
ent itled Sabifatu’
l-Awsa‘zyy a .
The K i ta’
bu’
l-H aya’
t (“ Book of L i fe i s represen ted by
Or. 5 630 of the British Museum . According to DrAhmadKhan ’s description
,i t was composed in R amadan
,1 28 5
( z end of 1 8 68 or beginning of and the MS . was
copied thirty years later ( i n 1 899 ) by R izwan‘Ali. I t derives
its name merely from the fact that i t was begun on the dayof the month called by the Ba
’
bis H ay a’
t. I n style i t
resembles the Lama ‘a’
tu’l-Azal and K i ta
’
bu’l-H ayab il, con
cern ing which see below, pp . 2 1 6 — 2 1 7 .
15 9319 4 25 (v )
K'
i ta’
b-i a long Persian matbnawi poem contain ing
stories and moral reflections,by S ubh-i-Azal . I possess a
MS . of th is work (B . 1 ) copied in 1 8 9 7 by his son R izwan‘Ali, who presented i t to the late Mr C . D. Cobham ,
2 1 6 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
formerly Commiss ioner o f Larnaca, Cyprus , who gave i tto me in Augus t, 1 906 . Thi s Ms. contains 5 8 7 pp . and
the poem cons ist s o f rather more than 7000 verses . I ts
conten ts appear to be ethical rather than rel igious incharacter, and to p resen t few i f any specifically Babi feature s .
w e“
K i ta’
b i represented by Or. 5 8 68 , ff. 2 7 et segg . ,
and Or. 625 2 o f the B rit i sh Museum . I t i s described by
DrAhmad Khan as one of S ubh-i-A z al ’s cl ays d’
ceuvre.
” 3 we“? 1 )
This i s one of th e best known of S ubh-i-A z al ’s works at
any rate by name l,and i s represen ted by three MS S . In the
Brit i sh Museum (Or. 5 326 , Or. 549 1 and Or. while
another MS . (Or. 6654) con tain s an I ndex of the 7 7 suras
which compose it . I t cons ist s of A rabic a’y a’
t i n im itat ionof the Qur’a
’
n, and thus belongs to the first or h ighes t of
the F ive Grades ( S /zu’
un-i -bnamsa ) i n to which the Babi
scriptures are divided . There are two books of th is name ,a larger and a smal ler , bo th by S ubh- i-Az al . See Vol . i i o f
my Traveller’
s N arrative, pp . 340— 1 .
J—‘fl afl ‘ 4 25 ( i t )
H ay a’
b il (plu ral of H ay kal,“ Temple
,
” “ Form is the
name given by the Bab is to the i nscri bed pen tacles whichserved them as tal i smans . S im ilar ci rcular figures for the
use of women are termed D awa”ir Ci rcles, plural of
Da’
ira). The A rabic formulae contained in the class ofbooks enti tled Ki ta
’
bu’
l—Hay db il are presumably in tended
I I t is ment ioned by Gob ineau (R el. et P /z i /os. a’
ans l’
Asie Centrale,
pp . 3 1 2 and descr ib ed by M . Cl. Huar t (journal A siatique for
1 8 8 7. pp . 1 33
2 1 8 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIGION
01 0 4
M M (w )
The Mustayoidfi (“ S leeper awakened by S ubh-i-A zal
Of th i s work the Briti sh Museum possesses five MS S ., viz .
Or. 5 1 1 1 , Or. 625 1 , Or. 6254, Or. 625 7 and Or. 6329 .
This book 18 i n terest ing on accoun t of i t s open ing passage
( in Persian) wherein S ub h-i A zal relates his conversion , andalso on accoun t of i t s denunciation s of Mirz a A sadu ’l lah ofKhIiy, known as jana
’
b— i-D ayya’
n, a prominent fo l lower ofthe Bab
,who
,after the death of the latter, la id c laim to the
supreme authori ty in the Babi community , and was by some
of them drowned in the Tigri s or Euphrates, as men tionedby Gobin eau ‘ . That he had a certai n fol lowing appearsfrom references to the A sadiyy zin by S ubh-i-Az al
, who not
only revi les him in the coarses t language , but expresse s
surpri se that hi s adheren ts s i t s i lent i n their places and donot transfix him with thei r S pears ,
” or “ rend his bowel s with
their hands . The translation of the open ing passage , as
cop ied by Dr Ahmad Khan , i s as follows :“ O brothers in the Faith ! I had been asleep al l my
l i fe,and was of al l i n my family the meanest and most
il l i terate,nor was there anyone to awaken me from sleep ,
unt il one day I sti rred in th is world of s lumber, awoke fromsleep , and saw a number of person s striving, struggl ing andcontending ; and who had strife and war amongst them . I
asked,‘0 people, what i s the cause of your st
'
ri fe ? ’ They
replied,
‘ Hast thou then no t heard that the R esurrectionhas come
,and that the Two L ight s are un ited in one
garmentgP’ ‘ No
,
’ I answered,I have not heard it . And
1 L es R eligions et les P b i losop/z ies clans l’A sie Centrale, pp . 2 77
— 8 .
S ee also Vol. i i of my Traveller’
s N arrative, pp . 33 1 , 3 5 7 and 365 .
2 Meaning ‘A li and Muhammad,whose names and virtues were
comb ined in ‘A li Muhammad the Bab .
I I I . FURTHER NOTE S ON BAB I’
LITERATURE 2 1 9
have ye,who lay claim to this station
,any proof ? ’ They
answered,I nfinite and thereon gave me a book in
the beginning of which was writ ten A lisanu’l-Qisas - wa
Qayyumu’
l-Asma’ 1
. I asked, Have you any further proof?’
They repl ied,‘ Many
,
’ and [gave me] other books, somecorresponding to verses [of the Qur
’
a’
n] and similar to theH eavenly S criptures , but better ; others corresponding to
prayers,t racts and hom iliesz. When I had read these books
,
a great disquiet and trouble arose wi thin me . Then I
asked ,‘ H ave ye a Wall"who wil l be you r guide and pilot
after your Master ?’ They replied , ‘ Yes
,and he i s now
alive, possessing ample proofs and cogent signs.’I said ,
‘ Give me a book that I may understand the t ruth of the
matter. ’ Then they gave me the ‘ B oole of Leg/u; which
compri ses more than verses . I t was at th is j uncture
that I met wi th a party who called themselves Asadzyyun"
The bulk of the book i s in Arabic . I t ends abruptly as
follows : S ays the S leeper awakened : ‘Verily when I reached
thi s place I refrained from further comment on the book.
’
Apart from some further col lections of prayers and other
rel igious formulae (Or. 5493 , Or. 5495 of the Brit i sh
Museum ) the only other important work by S ubh-i-Az al ofwhich I have knowledge i s the N ag lzama
’
tu’
r-Rulc Melo
dies of the O f this I have two manuscripts (A . 40
1 That is the Bab ’
s well-known Commentary on tlze Sura-i -Yusuf :
For descr ip t ion, see ] . R . A . S . for'
1 8 92 , p p . 26 1 — 8 .
2 i .e. in each of the F ive G rades ” recogniz ed by the Bab is.
3 i .e. a S aint or S uccessor to a P rophet.4 A sadts, i . e. followers of the above-ment ioned Mirza Asadu’llah,
enti tled jana’
b-i -D aygxa'
n , and denounced,by S ubh
-i-A zal as A bu ’
s/z
S /zurzir,“the Father of Mal ice .
”
220 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
and B . both,unfortunately , represen t ing the second
volume only . The work i s entirely in A rabic, and takes the
form of a commentary on a text wh ich i s overlined, and to
each citation from which i s prefixed the word h i s
saying There i s no divis ion of the book into chapters orsect ion s
,and i t appears devoid of hi storical interest .
(D) WORKS BY MULLA RAJAB ‘AL i QA HlR AND
OTHER AZALIS .
Amongst the fol lowers of S ubh-i-Az al who have writtenbooks st i l l extan t the earl iest i s probably Mul la R ajab
‘Ali
Qa/zirl
,who was assassi nated at Karbala by Nasi r the
A rab, one of the fo l lowers of Baha’u’
llahg. I possess one
Ms. of h i s wri t ings which was sen t to me from Persia inFebruary, 1 9 1 3 . I t con si s ts of an A rab ic preface
,superior
i n poin t o f style and correctness to most of the Babi writ ingsin that language , and fou r chapters wri tten in Persian . The
main purpose of the book appears to be to prove the
legit imacy of S ubh -i-A z al ’s claim to succeed the Bab as
S upreme Pon tiff of the Faith . I t contain s numerous quotations from the Mat/i nawi ofJalalu
’
d-D in Rumi , and many
more from various writ ings of the Bab, these latte r be ing
mostly in A rabic.
The Az alis, i n spite of the paucity of their numbers, have
produced several -remarkable men,some of whom have been
1Qalzz
’
r and Rajab ‘Ali are numerically equal, the sum of the let terscomposing each b eing 3 1 5 .
2 S ee Vol. i i of the Traveller’
s Narrative, pp . 356, 35 9 , 363 , 3 7 1 .
MullaRajab ‘A l i ’s sister was the Bab ’
s second wife . She d ied only asho rt t ime ago (Safar I 4, A .H . 1 335 : Dec . 10, 1 9 1 6 ) at the advancedag e of 84.
22 2 MATE R I ALS FOR STUDY OF THE EABI’
RE L IG ION
.hi story entitledA'
ina-i-S ikandari the Mirror ofA lexandertwo vo lumes of an imaginary correspondence between twofi cti t ious Princes
,Kamalu
’d-Dawla of D ib l i and jalalu
’
d
D awla of Persia ; and sundry o ther tracts exist ing only inmanuscript and very
'
rare even in that form . On Babidoctrine and history
,so far as I know, he wrote no thing .
’
The imaginary correspondence between Prince Kamalu’
d
Da a and Prince jalalu’d-Dawla i s con tained in two separate
vol umes , o f which manuscript copies were sent me as l i terarycuriosit ie s by a Bab i copyis t i n Tihran in the year 1 9 1 2 .
One of them,though entitled Copy of three letters writ ten
by the noble Prince Kamalu’
d-Dawla o f India, etc . , i s , in
fact,one unbroken diatribe again st the A rabs , I slam and
the post-Muhammadan dynasties of Pers ia,amongst whom
,
curiously enough,he holds up the Safawis to special exe
crat ion because of the schism in I slam which they fomented,
and because of thei r encouragement o f the Sh i ‘ i te doctors,
such as Mulla Muhammad Baqir and M ir Damad,who,
together wi th the mystic s and darw is/zes,are the object s of
h is especial cen su re. He i s fi l led with admiration for theancien t Persian s
,and has an exaggerated admiration for the
Zoroastrian rel igion (of which in fact he appears to knowvery l ittle) , ascribing al l the misfortunes and miserie s o fmodern Persia to the barbarous l izard-eat ing A rabs .” He
makes great d isplay of h is knowledge of Europe ; talks of“ when I was i n Pari s ” and “ when I was i n London ”
; fi l l s
hi s sen tences with French words , a score of which he explain sin the Preface, pretending that they cannot be tran slated intoPersian and has a passion for the mos t extravagant popularetymologies . Not only does he seek to prove the closeaffin ity of th e Persian with the French language by comparing
jeune withjuwa'
n mort with murda pére with p idar porte'
with burda apportéwith dwurda dent with dinda’
n ; and levre
I I I . FURTHER NOTES ON BAB I’
LITERATURE 223
withlab he identifies the last syl lable of the name of the town
of A rdabi’
l with the French ville, and demands the expulsionfrom Persian of al l A rab ic words
,which , according to his
view,have prevented his mother-tongue from taking the
same position in the E ast that its “ Western S i ster ” has
attained in Europe . . He gives a graphic description of
certain unrecorded horrors of the g reat persecut ion of the
Babis in 1 8 5 2 , and expresses admirat ion at their. revol t
against I slam,but regrets that they also succumbed to the
general atmosphere of mysticism and Zzaslzis/z-in spired meta
physics . Of Baha’u ’l lah he speaks wi th contempt andavers ion
,while of Subh-i-Az al he makes no ment ion . A very
graphic picture of P ersIan misgovernment and of the methods
of ex actionp ractised by provincial Governors i s g Iven In a
dialogue between one Susma’
ru’
d-D awla (“ the L iz ard of the
Empire ”) and the or mayor, of his new govern
ment . The whole book is, i n spite of i ts grotesque ex ag
gerations, depress ing to the last degree . I t was apparently
composed in -
4.
The second volume of thi s imaginary correspondence is
ent itled “ Copy of one hundred Letters writ ten by the noble
Prince Kamalu’d-Dawla of D ihli , whose father [ancestor]
fled from Persia to the land of India In the time of the
Emperor Timur, to h is valued friend Prince jalalu’
d-Dawla
of Persia,describing the desolat ion thereof ” [i .e. of Persia] .
A S a matter of fact the volume contains not a hundred but onlyforty-two letters
,the last of which breaks off abruptly in the
middle of a sentence. The burden of the whole book i s
that the Pers ians are the most wretched , miserable, super
stitious and ignoble of mankind,having in ancien t and
happier days been one of the most fortunate,glorious and
talented of nations ; and that al l th is misery i s due to theA rab conquest and the in troduction of I slam . The book is
224 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAE I’
RE LIG ION
wearisome,mono tonous and depres sing ; every clas s of
Pers ians i s reviled and bel i t tled in turn,not only the c ivi l and
eccles iast ical au thori ties , but also the ph ilosophers, mystics ,poets
,Shaykhis and Babis . The only sects of which he has
a good word to say are the fol lowers of Mazdak the com
munist, who was put to death by Nushirwan the S asanian ,and the A ssassi n s of Alam ti t, whom he confounds with theDruz es . I ndeed in one passage near the end of the book
(L etter 4 1 ) he goes so far as to say that“ the only class of
the peop l e of Pers ia who are excluded from the c ircle ofOppressors and are to be accoun ted vict ims con si st s of thosesame children in thei r mothers ’ wombs on whom fal l al l themi sdeeds of the ir fathers and mo thers
,of the K ing and h is
subj ects,and of the Al a/leis and R awza
A no ther short treat ise of 24 pages by M irz a AqaKhan,
composed soon afte r R ajab 1 , 1 3 1 0 ( z january 1 9 , 1 8 93)bears the curiou s t i tle of Tb e Treatise of “What God wil l ”
in refutation of tlze Treatise of“ I f God will
,composed by
S ayy id Bur/zdnu’
d—D z’
n of P al/en. On the date above mentioned,
a fest ival observed by the O t toman Turks under theA rabic name of L ay latu
’
r—R ag /za’ib and the Turki sh name
of Qandi’l—g eyjesi (“ Lamp -n ight the author attended a
reception given in Constan t inop le by Yusu f R ig a Pasha athi s house at Besh ik-tash . Amongst the o ther guests p resen twere the no toriou s Abu ’l-Huda (ast rologer to the late
S ultan ‘Abdu ’l -H amid) ; Ahmad A s ‘ad E fendi S ayyid
jamalu’d-Din, called
“al-A fghan ” S haykh Zeifir Shaykhu
’
r
R a’ i s Abu ’l-Ma ‘al i ; Bahjat Bey ; and S ayyid Burhanu’d-Din
ib n S haykh S ulayman Of Balkh , author of the ja’
mi ‘a’
l
Muwaddat. as wel l as of the tract to which thi s i s a rep ly .
The pronlem at i s sue i s of a metaphys ical character, viz .
how to reconcile the in tell igen t use of the formula “ I f God
p lease” with a bel ief in Predest inat ion . The general purpor t
226 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
I am disposed to think that the author has imported i ntoi t a system and a number of ideas peculiar to h imself and
foreign to the Bab ’s thought .I possess in manuscript two other incomplete works of
the same author . One,ent i tled Ta ’
rc’
én-i -Muoaddas-i-H ina
’i
I ndian S acred H is to ry comprises on ly 8 ff.,appears to
be a translation from some H indubook , and has nothing todo with the Babis. The o ther, en ti tled F aslu’
l f z’
Tar/umati A /zwa’
li’
l-B a'
b (“ the Decis ive S tatement as to
the Bab ’s comprises 64 ff. and ends abruptly
i n the middle of S ection i ii . The book should con tain foursect ions and a conclu sion , as fol lows
S ection i ( ff. 2b A ccoun t of the Bab .
S ection i i ( ff. 2 5“
—
5 H i s torical and rational argu
ments employed by the Babis against the ir adversaries .
S ection i i i ( ff. 5 6a where the MS . ends) . On the
superio ri ty of the Code of the B ay a’
n to al l o ther codes andsy stem s .
[S ection iv. On the Laws and Ord inances o f the B aya’
n,
and the mysterie s underlying them .
Conclusion. What resu l ts wil l be seen in the twenty-first
cen tu ry o f the Chris t ian era i f the Bab ’s rel igion and lawsshould be generally accepted ]Th is book profes ses to be a t ran slation from an I tal ian
work by Lu igi Bonell i o f Naples,but of such a work by th is
Orien tal is t ( i f i t exi s t at al l) I have no knowledge . Thoughon a smaller scale, th i s book in i ts genera l tone and plan
resembles the H as/i t B ili isb t already mentioned .
The same S haykh Ahmad of Ki rman has al so contributedthe th ird portion of a composite t reatise highly esteemed bythe A zalis of Persia and known as the Tanbz’nu’
n
(“ the Awaken ing of the Thi s comprises three
I I I . FURTHE R NOTE S ON BAB I’
LITE RATURE 227
parts : ( 1 ) a letter from‘Abbas E fendi (
‘Abdu ’l-Baha) to
h is aunt,known as Kba
’
nz’
m-i —B uz urg (“ the Great Lady ”
)urging her to bel ieve i n Baha’u ’l lah and to abjure her otherhal f-brother S ubh-iLAzal, to whom she inclines ; ( 2 ) a longand caust ic reply to this from the aforesaid R
'
lza’
nim-i-B uz urg ,
contain ing a con siderable amoun t of interesting historical and
biographical matter about the Babis, especial ly during theBaghdad period
,and the schism between the Baha’ is and
Azalis ; th i s port ion of the book being commonly cal led
R isa’
la-i- ‘Amma (“ the Aunt ’s (3 ) a homily
(b/zutba) in Arabic fol lowed by a R efutation (R isa’
la-i
R addiyya) i n Persian , both by Shaykh Ahmad of Kirman .
Of these th ree pieces “ the Aunt ’s E pistle ” i s much the
longest,occupying pp . 23
— 2 1 4 o f my manuscr ipt 1 , while‘Abbas E fendi ’s let ter occupies pp . 1—2 2
,and S haykh
Ahmad ’s two tracts, together with a brief in troductory not iceof him
,pp . 2 1 5
— 266.
“ The Aun t ’s Epi stle ” i s remark
able for i t s vigour,and for the knowledge of Bab i h istory,
Muhammadan theology, and even H i ndu bel iefs which i t
displays . I t scoffs at Baha ’u ’l lah ’s preten sion s , quotes with
derision some of the poetry he apparently composed, andstaunchly supports S ubh-i-Azal ’s claim s, but nevertheless
admits,while condoning
,his responsibi l i ty for the death of
Mirz a A sadu ’l lah of Khuy,known as jana
’
b-i -D ayya’
n, and
later branded as Abu’s/z-S burur
,
“ the Father of Evil s .This E pistle
,which deserves publ ication or at least tran s
lation , was apparen tly composed soon after A .H . 1 300 (A .D .
1 8 8 3 )
Tadlzb iratu’
l G iza’
filin (“ the R eminder of the H eedless
an anonymou s A zal i work , apparently composed by a Bab I1 I have a second MS . of the same wo rk in which the three portions
occupy pp . 1 — 1 6, 1 7—
1 5 4, and 1 5 4— 1 99 respect ively .
22 8 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RE LIG ION
of N i raq,endeavouring to pro ve
,by quotation s from variou s
wri tings o f the Bab,beginning wi th the A /zsanu’
Z-Qig ag , Or
commentary on the S zZm that M irz a Yahya was
duly appo in ted by the Bab as hi s successor , and that the rivalclaim s o f h is half-brother Mirz a Husayn ‘
Ali Baha’u ’l lah
are unfounded and untenable . The manuscrip t,wri tten
in a cl ear naskfi, compr i se s 2 2 8 pages , i s dated S afar 8,
A .H . 1 33 1 ( z Jan. I 7 , 1 9 1 3 ) and was sen t to me in the fo llowing month by the Babi scribe to whom I am indebtedfor so many in terest ing works and documents .
db a ka-W t p L5” ; , w‘
n -b 08 3 5 f . Jol i -o O le?
The Qasid’a-zlA /zfiyya , o r Qasida rhyming throughou ti n alz
'
f , of Mirz a A s lam of N i’
Ir, compri sing 1 9 Un i ties
explain ing the term inology employed by the
Peopl e of th e Bayan , or Babi s .Concern ing the author I have been unable to discover
any part iculars , but he I S eviden tly an Az ali , and, be i ng
from N ti t i n Maz andaran , i s a fel low-countryman of bo thAza l and Baha
’u ’l lah . The poem i s incomplete, breakingoff after the 8 th verse of the I i th or Un i ty .
” Each
in the usual Bab i fash ion , compri ses 1 9 verses .
The t i tle s o f the I I extan t “Uni tie s ” are in A rabi c as
fol lows‘ wfl l 5 M
“ ufi
‘
w fi '
fll 3 «35W ( 55 435v U
5
,fi , 31: s i 5 1 U s
‘3 i s“ O 4 OM. u' L;
‘ asé z-b -o’l1 S ee pp . 202—
3 supra .
23o MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
al so the original A rabi c MSTof the s e of by
Muhammad Jawad of Qazwin,the tran slation of which forms
th e basi s o f the presen t work .
Ano ther treat ise in Persian by the same writer,of which ,
unfortunately,I po sses s on ly th e last half ( pp . 1 6
deserves, however, a brief notice . I t was concluded on
S afar 7, A . H. 1 3 1 9 ( x May 2 5 , and i s a denunciation
of ‘Abbas Efend i ‘
Abdu ’ l-Baha and his al leged m isdeeds .
The fragment begin s i n the m iddle of an account of“h is
withdrawal to Tabariyya (Tiberias), apparently in the fourthyear after Baha’u ’l lah ’s dea th (May
?
1 8 9 5— May and
the mo tives which prompted i t and th is i s fol lowed by anaccount of the final rupture between ‘Abbas E fendi and hi s
bro thers,l ead ing to a comple te su spen sion of friendly rela
t ions between them . Under the fi fth year (May 1 8 96
May 1 8 9 7) i s recounted the harsh t reatment meted out by‘Abbas Efendi and h is part isan s to Mirz a AqaJan of Kashan ,better known as f ancia-i (
“ His R everence the
S ervant of God on May 28,1 8 9 7 , the fi fth ann iversary o f
Baha’u ’ l lah ’s death ; an even t described in great detai l in
the l ithographed tract enti tled “ the Terri ble Episode of theB le ssed Mauso l eum ” which has been al ready mentioned
on pp . 1 9 7— 8 (No . 1 8 ) supra . Next fo l lows an account of
‘Abbas E fendi’s harsh repulse of a certain Hajj i S ayyid ‘Ali
Lawasanf, who wished to bring to his not ice a document
emanating from Baha’u’
l lah,and his command that no
“ Tablet,
” even i f in Baha ’u ’l lah ’s own writing , should be
accepted unles s sealed and confi rmed by him self. The
events ch ronicled in 1 8 9 8 include the stoppage by‘Abbas
E fendi of hi s brothers ’ al lowances on January 9 , and thedeath and burial of h is bro ther Mirz a Ziya
’u’
llah on October
30, on which occasion , according to ou r author’s account ,
‘Abbas E fendi Showed an i ndifference and lack of conside ra
I I I . FURTHER NOTES ON BABI L ITERATURE 23 1
t ion which astonished even the Christ ian and Muhammadaninhabi tants of ‘Akka. The attempted abduction of Ziya
’
u
’llah
’s widow and i ts frustration are next recorded
,and the
intrigues by which Hajj i Mirz a S ayyid ‘Ali Afnan (a kinsman
of the Bab and son-in-law to Baha ’u ’l lah) was preventedfrom sel l ing an estate of hi s at Hayfa for the benefi t of‘Abbas E fendi ’s younger brothers . A ctual charges of em
bez z lement are formulated against ‘Abbas E fendi,who i s
al leged to have spent for private ends sums of money collected by the American believers for the relief of the poor.The death of M irz a Aqa Jan (jana
’
b— i on
May 5 , 1 90 1 , at the age of seventy years, i s next recorded ,and it is asserted that no t only did ‘
Abbas Efendi and his
partisans refrain from attending the funeral,but that they
openly manifested their delight . H ere ends the tract , which,as al ready no ted
,was written only three weeks after the
even t last mentioned .
Another small tract, apparently by the same author,dated A .H . I 3 1 6 (A.D . 1 8 9 8 and written sho rtly afterZiya
’
u’
llah’
s death,i s even more bitter in tone , and ends as
fol lows “ In conclus ion, S ince cursing and revil ing have
been forbidden in this Most Mighty Manifestation , therefore
the writer recites and sets down in writing the verse revealed
in the Qur’
a’
u (xi , 2 1 ) S /za/Znot t/ze Curse of Goa’ae upon
t/ze eruelpeople
Written from the same point of view as the above ( that
of a fol lower of Baha’u ’llah who, after h i s death , adhered to
Muhammad ‘Ali and repudiated ‘Abbas Efendi) , but much
more extensive and importan t,i s a MS . of pp .
composed about 1 9 1 3 by S ayyid Mahdi of Dahaj (near
S hahr-i-Babak) in reply to my Persian Introduction to
Haj j i Mirz a Jani’s N ugfatu
’Z-Ka
’
f, published in 1 9 1 0 in the
E . W. Gibb Memorial S eries (Vol. xv).
232 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
The au thor was born at Yaz d on May 1 9 , 1 8 36 , and was
therefore eight years of age at the t ime of the Man ifestation
of the Bab,whose rel igion b e embraced at the early age of
thirteen . The Bab himsel f he never met, but he saw S ayyid
Yahya of Darab (jaua'
a-i I/Va/zz’
d-i -Awiaal), one of the mostno table early Babis and martyrs
,when he vis ited Ya z d . At
the age of twen ty-two (about A .D . 1 8 5 8 ) he went to Baghdad ,at that time the head-quarters of the Babi s
,in tending to see
S ubh-i-A zal , whom he found li ving in great seclusiona nd as
far as possible avoiding al l in tercourse wi th his fel lows . By
Baha’u ’llah,on the other hand
,he was greatly impressed ,
and , when he claimed to be“ He whom God Shal l mani fes t,”
became h is disc iple, and remained“ under hi s shadow ” for
th i rty-five years , unti l h is death ( in 1 8 9 2 ) twenty-th ree lunar
years before the t ime of writ ing .
As one who had been a believer almost from the beginn ing, the author was repeatedly urged by his friendsandco-rel ig ionis ts to write a hi sto ry of the Bab i movement
,but
he declined , con sidering him sel f unequal to the task . He
con sented,however , to wri te h is au tobiography , i n which ,
owing to his clo se and l ife-long rela tion s wi th the leadingspiri t s of the new rel igion , much in formation on thi s subj ect
would incidental ly be given . On th is autobiography he wasactual ly engaged , and had carried i t down to the 1 7th year
after Baha’u ’l lah ’s death (A .D . when his son Mirz a
Hasan brough t h im a copy of my edi tion of Hajj i M irz aJan i’s hi story o f the Bab
,composed i n 1 8 5 3 , only three
years after the Bab ’s martyrdom . Having read my In troduction to th i s work
,i n wh ich I endeavoured fairly to state
the case as between the fol lowers of Baha’u ’llah and S ubh-iA z al , he was moved to lay as ide h i s au tobiography in order
the resul t . I t is wri tten with a wide knowledge of th e facts,
234 MATE RIALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RELIGION
A . FROM AZALfs.
I . F rom Sq z-i-A z al. ( 1 ) July 29 , 1 8 8 9 . ( 2 ) Oct. 1 ,
1 8 8 9 . ( 3 ) Dec . 3 , 1 8 8 9 . (4) Jan . 7 , 1 8 90. ( 5 ) March orApri l
,1 8 90. (6 7 ) Two undated letters . (8 ) Apr il or
May,
1 8 90 . (9 ) Nov. 2 5 , 1 8 90 . ( 1 0) Jan . 20,
1 8 9 1 .
( 1 1 ) May 26,1 8 9 1 . ( 1 2 ) Aug . 1 8
,1 8 9 1 . ( 1 3 ) Nov . 1 7,
1 8 9 1 . ( 1 4) Jan . 2 5 , 1 8 9 2 . ( 1 5 ) March 1 5 , 1 8 9 2 . ( 1 6 )May 1 7, 1 8 96.
I I . F rom Suo/z-i-A z al’s sou
‘Aoa’u’
l-A lz’
. ( I ) May , 1 8 90 .
( 2) Jan . 20,1 8 9 1 . ( 3 ) May 26, 1 8 9 1 . (4) Aug . 1 8 , 1 8 96 .
( 5 ) May 1 7 , 1 8 96 . (6) June 5 , 1 8 96 .
I I I . F rom Sq l-i-A z al’s sou R iz a/sin ‘A li . 1 ) May
IV. From Suofi— i-A z al’
s uep/zew ( 1 ) May
V. From Sq z-i-A z al’
sfollower‘Aao
'
u’
l—Alzaa’of Zanjan
( in clud ing several poems composed by h imself and al so anarrat ive of the s iege of Zanj an in A .D . 1 8 5 0, written fromhis own reco l lect ions, of which I publ i shed a tran slation inthe ] . R . A . S . for 1 8 9 7 , pp . 76 1 ( I ) May , 1 8 90.
( 2 ) Dec . 8 , 1 8 90. ( 3 ) May 26,1 8 9 1 . (4) Aug . 1 8
,1 8 9 1 .
( 5 ) Nov. 1 7, 1 8 9 1 . (6) May 1 7 , 1 8 96 .
VI . From Sq Z-i -A z al’
sfollower Mas ua’iou MuZzam
maa’
f affar of K irma’
n,t/zeoroi /lzer of S b aykfi A /zmaa
’ “Ru/i i”
of K irma’
u. ( 1 ) July 4 , 1 806 .
B . FROM BAHA’
IS .
I . F rom ‘Aooa'
s E fendi‘Aba
’
u’
l eldest sou ofB a/za
’
u Ila/i . ( 1 ) Aug 4, 1 8 90 ( 2 ) April 3 , 1 8 9 1 . (3 ) Apri l
I I I . FURTHER NOTE S ON BABI LITERATURE 23 5
8 , 1 8 9 1 . (4) Aug . 1 9 , 1 8 9 1 , containing account of the
Yazd persecution . ( 5 ) March 24, 1 8 9 3 . (6 ) Feb . 1 , 1 90 1 .
( 7 ) April 8 , 1 90 1 . ( 8 ) March ( 9 ) Chris tmas ,1 903 . ( 1 0) June 20 ,
1 904. ( 1 1 ) S ept. 7, 1 9 1 1 . ( 1 2 ) Oct . 11 9 1 1 . ( 1 3 ) F .eb 9 , 1 9 1 3 ( from Paris) . W MI I . F rom M irza
’
M ubammad ‘A lz’
,son of
( 1 ) April 3 , 1 90 1 .
I I I . F rom Af z’
rza’
son of ( 1 )June 1 1
,1 89 0 . ( 2 ) Aug . 20
,1 8 90, enclosing a
“ Tablet .
( 3 ) Oct . 2 , 1 8 90. (4) July 24, 1 8 9 1 . ( 5 ) August, 1 8 9 1 , on
the persecution at Yaz d . (6) Feb . 1 7 , 1 8 9 2 . ( 7 ) July 2 5 ,
1 8 9 2 , announcing Baha’
u’
llahi
’
s death . ( 8 ) Feb . 4, 1 903 .
Circular let ter announcing his repentance at having sup
ported his brother Muhammad‘Ali against ‘Abbas E fend i
‘Abdu ’l-Baha . (9 ) March 1 1 , 1 903 . Private letter of re
cantation in the same sense as the preceding one . ( 1 0)S ept . 2 5 , 1 909 .
IV. From M z’
rzd son of B alzd’ulla
’
lz
( 1 ) April 30, 1 8 90. ( 2 ) S ept . 3 , 1 8 90.
V . F rom Hajji S ayy id‘A li a kinsman of tbe
B a’
b and follower of after zobose deat/i befirst
followed Mullammad‘A li , but later, in February ,
1 903 ,
renounced b is alleg iance to him and transferred it to‘Abba
’
s
Efendi‘Abdufl ( 1 ) Aug . 20
,1 8 90 . ( 2 ) Oct. 1 3 ,
1 8 90 . (3 ) July 30, 1 8 9 1 . (4 ) July 2,1 90 2 . ( 5 ) Feb . 4 ,
1 903 . Circular letter of recantation and repentance .
VI . From Hajji Alubammad ‘A lz
’
Yazdi,P ersian
merebant and B alid’
i’
agent resident in E gypt, by mbom most
of tbe above letters were transmitted. ( I ) May 3 1 , 1 8 90 .
( 2 ) June 2 1 , 1 8 90. (3) Aug . 1 2 , 1 8 90 . (4) Aug . 2 5 , 1 8 90.
( 5 ) S ept . 9 , 1 8 90. (6) Oct . 4, 1 8 90. ( 7) Oct . 1 9 , 1 8 90.
( 8 ) Dec . 2,1 8 90 . ( 9 ) Dec . 6 , 1 8 90. ( 1 0) April 7, 1 8 9 1 .
V
236 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
( 1 1 ) July 2 7 , 1 8 9 1 . ( 1 2 ) Aug . ( 1 3) S ept. 8 ,1 8 9 1 , forwarding account of persecu tion of Babis at Yaz d
in th e previous summer. ( 1 4) Dec . 2 3 , 1 8 9 1 . ( 1 5 ) Feb . 2 2,
1 8 9 2 . ( 1 6) Apri1 2 5 , 1 8 9 2 . ( 1 7 ) May 1 1,1 8 9 2 . ( 1 8 ) June
2 8 , 1 8 9 2 . ( 1 9 ) Apri l 20,
1 8 93 . ( 20) Feb . 3 , 1 90 1 .
( 2 1 ) Apri l 1 8 , 1 90 1 .
VI I . F rom Hajji S ayy id Mubammad Tagz’
Mans/zadz’
,
B ab ci’
i ag ent at H ay/d. ( 1 ) March 2 8,1 903 . ( 2 ) Ap ri l
VI I I . From A/zmad-i Yazdi’
,B a/za z agent at P ort S aid.
( 1 ) Dec . 1 6 , 1 903 . ( 2 ) Jan . 2 6, 1 9 04.
IX. F rom H usayn-i -Yazdi , copy of an account of tbe
p ersecution of B a’
bc’
s at Yazd in tb e early summer of 1 8 9 1 .
( I ) May 1 4 , 1 8 9 1 .
X. F rom M irz a’
Asaa’
u’
lla’
li of B aba i mission
ary in America . ( 1 ) March 2 2 , 1 902 . ( 2 ) Apri l 2 1 , 1 902 ,enclos ing copy of “ Tablet ” (Lace/Z2) revealed at Adrianop le .
XI . F rom Aminu’lla
’
lz,son of tbe above. ( 1 ) April 2 1 ,
1 902 .
XI I . F rom Hajji Mirza H usay n, known as A'
oa’
Kucb ab,of S /zira
’
z . ( 1 ) March 1 6,1 8 96 , enclosing l i tho
graphed appeal on behal f o f Baha ’ is .
XI I I . F romMubammadjawa’
d of Qazw in, aut/zor of tb e
biog rap /zy of B alza’u’
lla’
lz translated in tlzis volume, and, after
deat/z, one of tile c/zief followers of Mubammad‘A lz
’
. ( 1 ) April 4, 1 90 1 . ( 2 ) July 28,1 90 1 . ( 3 ) S ept . 7,
1 90 1 . (4) Oc t. ( 5 ) Apri l 1 4, 1 902 . ( 6) July 5 ,1 902 . ( 7 ) Oct . 2 2
,1 9 02 .
XIV . F rom Mirza of Qazw in, sonof t/ze
above, B a/zd’
z’
missionary in A merica . 1 ) March 1 9 , 1 90 1 ,
238 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RELIG ION
and the s iege of Shaykh Tabarsi, sent to me in October, 1 9 1 2 ,by the Babi scribe to whom I have already had occasion toal lude repeatedly .
( 1 ) The fi rst of these monographs , ent it led Waga’
y i‘i
fll z’
miyy a, or“ Even ts [i n the Land] of M .
”
(t.e. Maz andaran )i s by S ayyid Muhammad Husayn ibn Muhammad H eidi of
Zuwara, poet ical ly surnamed Mali/"
ctr. I t appears to have
been composed in the fi fth year of the Man ifestation of the
Bab (A .H . 1 26 5 = A .D . 1 848 Thi s date i s fol lowed by
the date A .H . 1 2 78 A .D . 1 8 6 1 which must be th e date
of t ran script ion of the origi nal from which thi s copy,which
i s qu ite modern,was made . The narrat ive was compiled
at the request of the mother and si ste r of Mulla’. Husayn ofBushrawayh, en ti tl ed jana
’
b-i-B a’
bu’
l-E a’
b, and i s based , in
part at least , on the accoun t of one o f th e few survivorsamongst th e insurgents, Hajj i ‘
A bdu ’l-Maj id ibn Ha’
jj i
Muhammad of N I’
shap i ir. Th is part of the Ms. compri ses
9 1 pages .
The careers of jana’
b— i-Quddus and janab-i-Bdbu’l-Ba
’
b
are briefly sketched from A .H . 1 26 1 (A .D . the year
after the Manifestation , but th e detai led narrative b egin s
on S ha ‘ban 1 9 , 1 264 (July 2 1 , 1 8 48 ) with the departure o fthe former and hi s fol lowers from Mashhad westwards onthe journey which ended at S haykh Tabarsr
’
. The number
of Bab is who entered Mazandaran was 3 1 8 , of whom Isfahansuppl ied 40, Ardis tan 7 , S h iraz 8 , K i rman 3 , Mashhad 2 2
,
Bushrawayh 24 ( some say Qum 1 2,Turbat 5 , H erat 1 4 ,
Tursh iz 1 0, Kakhak 4, Mayami 1 4, Qa’i n 4, Tihran 9 ,
Kashan 6 , Karbala 5 , Qazwin 1 0, Hamadan 6 , Tabriz 5 ,Zanj an 1 2
,Kirmanshah 3 , Barfuri
’
I Sh 4 ( some say 40, some
S ang-i-sar I O,S hah Mirz ar (P) 9 , Amul 2
, S haykh
Tabarsi 2 , Khriy 3 , Kand 2 , Yazd 3 , Shahrtid ,3 , Turkey in
A s ia (Rom) 3 , I ndia 4. The narrat ive of the siege o f S haykh
I I I . FURTHE R NOTE S ON BAEI LITERATURE 239
Tabarsi, which lasted from about August, 1 848 , to April ,1 8 49 , i s given in great detai l , and in general outl ine agreeswith the account given by Hajj i M irz a Jan i and in the N ew
[Jistory (pp. 45 et seoo. of my translation ). I n many cases
the author gives the authority ( isna’
d) for his statements,mentioning the name of h is in forman t .
( 2 ) The second monograph (pp . 9 2 written
partly in verse,partly. in prose , i s by the same S ayyid Husayn
Mahjii r,” and describes the death or “ martyrdom ”
of
Mulla Husayn of Bushrawayh, variously entit led B a’
bu’
l-B db,
Qa’im-i-Kb urdsdnz’
and S ulta’
n Mansur. I t i s ent i tled
I t begin s wi th 23 verses of poetry of whi ch the firs t i s
c o’ “ 30 o
‘o
v
fi re‘s-” l th
e M [4J“ f r o?) e> ) 3 ~ M U ) ?
The whole composi t ion i s i n the style used by the rawg ablzwa
’
ns who celebrate in the , month of Muharram the
sufferings of the Imams . The p i eces of poetry yvith which
the narrat ive i s ornamented are in various metres. The
colophon is dated Ramaz an 2 1 , 1 330 (S eptember 3 ,
(3 ) The thi rd monograph , compris ing 1 28 pp .
,contain s
another account of the Mazandaran insurrection by Lutf‘Ali Mirz a, a Prince of the Qajar hou se. This, at least , i s
the opin ion of the sender ( the Babi scribe al ready so oftenmentioned) as to its
‘
authorship , of which the manuscript
240 MATE RIALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
i t sel f gives no i ndicat ion,thOugh wri tten throughou t in the
fi rs t person as the au tobiography of one who took part inthe even ts narrated . Thus i t begin s
‘ LV'? u ?‘
9 3 0-3‘ Use 4 Ou r-e) M 43
As. usflfast»w t w as jl c a s t” 3! ga s
g us ts Jih a d jl M M i s o
f42: J) “
was sale A UB‘ aa h? 9 324 ail-3 use
atom s-na is» w e: A 43
ask » w «m
db -’L° J Sh ow 154» crue l
On the twelfth of Ramaz an , A .H . 1 264 ( z August 1 2 ,when th i s worthless atom
,after retu rn ing from wait ing
upon the S upreme S ource ‘ , set ou t for the Land of Kha
( i .e. Khurasan ), I had the honour of kiss ing the dust at thefee t of H is H ol iness th e 13s (upon whom be the Peace ofGod) at a station named Dih-i-Mulla
,one of the dependencies
of Damghan , and il lum i nated my dimmed eyes with thelight of his comel iness , and had th e honour Of waiting onthe Friends 3
The narrat ive i s very detai led,but appears to be incom
plete, ending about two months before the final tragedy, i .e.
in - February,1 849 . There i s no colophon or date at the
end , and the work has no apparent t i tle .
1 i .e. the Bab or Nuq ta , who was then imp r isoned at Mak ti .2 i . e. Mulla Husayn of Bushrawayh, to whom the o r ig inal Bab
t ransferred this t i tle when he himself took the higher one o f “the
Po int ” (N uota). Mulla H usayn is also , w i th less r isk of confusion,
entitled (as in the previ ously descr ibed narrat ive) B a’
bu’l-Bdb ,
“the
Gate of the Gate .
”
3 i .e. the o ther Bab is, the disc iples and followers OfMullaHusayn.
242 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BAB I’
RE L IG ION
to be bu ried with hi s arms . A fter his death the Babis made
a desperate sally and put thEbesiegers to death .
“ The i n su rrect ion had now become form idable,and
Prince Mahdi-qul i M irz a was appointed to suppress i t . H is
t roops were 2000 in number and he had both field-arti l lery
and mortars .“ He took up hi s quarters at a place cal led Weiskus
abou t two miles from S haykh Tabarsi, and during the n igh this camp was so invaded by the Bab is that he had barely
t ime to escape by a window and h ide himsel f in the
j ungle
The whole vil lage was on fi re ; two unlucky Princes,Dawud Mirz a and hi s uncle S ahib -Qiran M irz a
,perished in
the flames,and a great S laughter was made amongst the
royal troops .
Mahdi-qul i M irz a,after wandering about in fear of hi s
l i fe,lucki ly met with one of his own servants , who, al though
a fugi t ive l ike h imself, had a horse upon wh ich the Princemounted and thus reached ‘
Al i’
abad .
“ A fter col lecting the scattered remnants of hi s army and
rece iving a number of tufang c/zts and o ther riffraff, he againse t abou t bes ieging the Babis, who , al though pressed byhunger and i l l fu rn i sh ed with ammuni tion
,held out for two
month s more .
“ At the end of thi s period, the Prince , seeing that hecould no t take the place and that by driving the rebel s todesperation he would run the ri sk of being defeated a secondtime
,offered them terms .
“ He in formed them that i f they abandoned their
posi t ion and wen t away quietly , each man to his own home ,they would not be mo l es ted .
The Babi s con sen ted to thi s arrangemen t, and cameforth to the number of about 200 fighting men . They were
1 1 1 . FURTHER NOTE S ON BAB I’
LITERATURE 243
then deprived of their arms , and the greater number, with
the usual A siatic respect for treaties, were massacred on the
spotS ome victims
,amongst whom was their leader Haj j i
Muhammad‘Ali
,were reserved for a more barbarous
punishment . They were taken to BarfurIi sh and burn t
al ive on the S abz i Maydan ( the green plain lying betweenthe town and the Bagh-i-S hah) . Thus ended the Ba'bi
revolt in Maz andaran,after costing about 1 5 00 l ives .
”
‘
16— 2
I n February, 1 9 1 2 , I received from M . H ippolyte
D reyfus , the most em inent and learned European adheren t
of the Baha’ i doctrin e, three photographs of documents
connected with the interrogation to which the Bab was sub
jected at Tabriz in the presence of Nasiru’
d-D i’
n Mirz a
(afterwards S hah), at that time Wali-‘abd or Crown Prince
,
during the latter days of the reign of Muhammad S hah,who died on S ept. 4 , 1 8 48 . Concern ing these documentsM . Dreyfus wrote as fol lows in two l e t ters dated respect ivelyFeb. 4 and Feb . 9 , 1 9 1 2
Cher Monsieur Browne,
“ J ’ai grand p lai si r a vous communiquer les deuxdocuments ci-inclus
,sur lesquels je se rais t res-heureux
d’avo ir votre opin ion .
“ Le premier (A ) est la photographie d’une lettre de
Nacer-oud-D i’
n Mirz a (alors Wali‘a/zd ) a son pere su r
un prétendu in terrogatoire du Bab a Tabriz . Croyez -vous
que ce soit une relation plus ou moin s exacte de l’
interroga
toire rapporté également dans le ZVuotatu’
l—d ? Ou biens ’agit-il d ’un autre i nterrogatoire ?
“Le deux ieme (B ) parai t bien etre de lecriture si
caracte’
ristique du Bab,et etre adressé au meme Nacer
oud-D i’
n Mirza . 11 y nie toute prétentIon a une‘ Cause
(fi l) et implore la clémence .
248 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE L IGION
B 1 est la réponse desWudjta/ u’
ds.
C royez -vous ce second document authen tique ? I l
constituerai t une seconde amende honorable,apres le
ren iemen t de Chiraz dont parle N i colas dan s la traductiondu Baya
’
n persan .
“
Je serai s t res dési reux d’
avoir votre opin ion sur cesdocuments , que je m
’
ex cuse de vou s prier de bien voulo irme retourner quand vous les aurez lu s , ayant eu grand peinea me les procurer. I l va san s dire que vous pouvei les faire
photographier,car j ’ai peur que le photographe de Téhéran
ne l es l ivre pas vo lon tie rs .“ Avec mes mei lleu res sympath ies croyez moi toujours
votre dévoué If . D reyfus. 4. 2 .
Cher Monsieur,“ Apres avo i r examiné un peu plu s atten tivement la
l ettre du Bab ,je ne croi s pas, vu sa forme , qu’ el le soi t adressée
a Nacer-oud-D i’
n Mirz a, et je me demande s i ce n’est pas la
lettre ad ressée au gouverneur de Chiraz don t parle N icolasdan s la préface du B ay dn persan . Je fa is rechercher les
noms des Mudjta/uds de Chiraz , cc qu i pourra me fixer .“ En tou s cas je serai s heureux d
’
avoir votre opin ion
B ien cordialement a vous , I f . D reyfus. 9 . 2 . 1 2 .
Here fol low the texts and translat ions of these documents .
As regards the fi rs t (A ) i t appears certain that the writer of i t
was Amir Aslan Khan (in g /zula’
m,
“ th is servan t,” as he calls
h imself), who, as Mirz a Jan i in forms us , was presen t atth is interrogatory ‘ , and was maternal uncle to Nasiru’
d-Din
Mirz a,who nominal ly pres ided at i t . I t would appear, from
certain expressions u sed , to be addressed to the then reigning
1 S ee my N ew H istory Ba’
b , p . 28 7 , n . 2 aa calc .
F ac-s im ile of docum en t A .
To facep . 249 .
IV . F IVE OR IG INAL DOCUME NTS 249
King , Muhammad S hah . That i t refers to the in terrogatoryof the Bab at Tabriz i s clear from I ts agreemen t, as regards
th e questions asked and the repl ies g iven , with the accountsof the same tran saction g iven both by the Babi and the
Muhammadan hi storian s 1
A .
saisUllx li an, s
a lefi 9 L! a le ) 3 é é vlw 6 ‘s 3 “ 0923
sum-I aw as 3 9? w ,.t. ul-em has
deg— o g x i, » s ofa -ll w a‘
M lo-i 3 6 33 5 ‘ la
«as; s w ou A s ia ow l dies) ‘ st A s s; u ”wasp
M ‘ w A E ‘ 5 ‘ 1 315 s ass-w 0 4—53 O i l 0 b”
M 3 5 7 -59 43 9W 4 2 4‘é w ‘ u w oNJ‘ w C
4 9 1 3
$ 39“ saue Us}‘s‘
f—w s-i 5 a s?» UI va l:
M y } Ag o-i fié b l bu fi ud fi
'i o j é é-a 'i -o
5 u-a BM 3 Ow
'
fic ‘ fl “ A M us‘ Q ‘s-5 3 3 J‘
i t» U s ta a; w a s A s ata A b i-e
M fi ul 35“ CM 3 3 4 5 > A” CM
45314 0534 A “H Ja b 45“425 fi sts-15 U
éw-ss sw 9
1 These accounts I have comb ined in Note M at the end of Vol. i io f my edi t ion and t ranslat ion o f the Traveller
’s Narrative (pp . 277
290L
2 50 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BAB I’
REL IG ION
w l w b w l om m l j w u b g w1 ) O )
‘M 9 L" l’l é .) l JJN to »! f ) L) " “ F l-b l
u l 19 ° 03 519 « i i i Ab M 5 owns? fl aw s
M AS jl 13, a} ;‘
uzs p jl ga s? in s
a
is i,,
5 15 . 0 Cfi ) ‘ M ti l-fi 91 > “ fl a k -A 29 9 P “
ur é l Aficé fl m s lad-4 3 3M
M lf 2‘ 1 3 ° W j‘ fl ‘“ Jr,» “9 7 M agi -flea Dal
2 5 2 MATE R IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RE LIG ION
) Lé b t ‘ 5 , 0v a lso . A3
york -A
A “ M L: 5 355"
5 5 411“ 5 44m 5 345 d ud e
5 MW ( 5 95 449 W e my «5
C” ism-xv g a le“ w-fi ‘ QM ‘fi ca n !
w ‘oa-zu N 5 “ w ms é w an
H E is G01) , ex alted is [Jis S tale.
May I be the sacrifice of the dust of Thy blessed feet 1
As concerning the Bab , the Command whose course is
as that of Fate had been issued that the_
1earned on both
sides should be convened and d ispute with him . There
fore,in accordance with the Imperial Command, I sent an
officer to bring him in chains from Urum iyya [i .e. the Castleof Chihriq] and hand him over to Kaz im Khan ; and
“
I
wrote a note to H is Holiness the [Ch ief] Mujla/zia’ that he
should come and hold d iscussion w ith him with the argu
ments, proofs and laws of the Perspicuous R el igion [of Islam ] .H is Hol iness the Maf ia/l id, however, wrote in reply , From
the declarations of numerous trustworthy persons and the
perusal of documents, [it appears that] th is person [i .e. the
Bab ] is devoid of relig ion , and that his infideli ty is clearer
than the sun and more obvious than yesterday. After such
evidencei
of witnesses there is no obligation on your humble
servant to renew the discussion.
’
IV. F IVE ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS 2 5 3
I therefore summoned Akh und-i-Mulla Muhammad 1
and MullaMurtaza-qul i 2, wh ile of [YourMajesty ’s] servantsthis slave Aslan Khan, MirzaYahyaand Kaz im Khan werealso present in the assembly .
“F irst Hajj i MullaMahmud 3 asked , saying : ‘ I t hath
been heard that thou sayest ,“ I am the Imam ’
s vicegerent
and the Bab”
nay, that thou hast u ttered certain words
implying that thou art actually the Imam or a Prophet.’
The Bab answered,‘ Yes my friend , my Qibla, I am the
Imam ’
s Vice-gerent and the Bab , and what I have said and
you have heard is true. I t is incumbent on you to obeyme
,by virtue of [the saying]
“ Enter the Door [B a’
b] withadoration.
”But I did not utter these words : He uttered
them who u ttered them .
’ They asked,
‘Who,then, is the
speaker? ’
He answered ,‘ He who shone forth on Mount
S inai :
[I f-to say]
‘ I am the Truth ’
be seemly in a Tree“,
Why should it not b e seemly on the part of somefavoured man
5
There is no I -ness in the case : God hath said thesethings
,wh i le I am b ut as the Tree [or Burning Bush ] on
S inai . At that time [the Divine Word] was created in it,
and now in me. And I swear by God that I am that person
whom you have been expec ting from the beginning of
I slam unti l now I am he whom forty thousand doctors wil l
denyfi
1 Cal ledMa’
mgtim’
,a notable S haykh i div ine entitledH ujjatu
’
l-lsla’
m .
2 Of Marand , entitled ‘AZamu
’
l-H adri .
3 The tutor of the Crown-Prince,
entitled Mulld and
N z'
z a’
mu’
l U/ama’
.
4 A l lud ing to the Burning Bush .
5 A l luding to the'
celebrated S t'
rfi mystic Husayn ibn Mansur-iHal laj , who was put to death in A.D . 9 2 1 for heresy and blasphemy
,
and chiefly forhis saying A na’l-Haqq, I am the Truth .
”
2 54 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
REL IG ION
They enquired ,‘In what book is th is tradition that
forty thousand doctors wi l l deny ? ’
He replied,‘ I f it be
not forty thousand, it is at any rate four thousand .
’ MullaMurtaza-qul i said ,
‘ Very wel l then according to this state
ment , thou art the Authorof a [new] D ispensation. But it is
in the Tradi tions and a necessary part of our Faith that the
[Prom ised] One shal l appear from Mecca, and that the
leaders of men and jinn, together with forty-five thousand
jinni'
s wil l bel ieve in him ,and that he wil l have with him
the heir-looms of the Prophets, such as David ’s coat-of-mai l,
the rod of Moses, S olomon’
s ring, and the White Hand 1
.
Where,now,
are the rod of Moses and the Wh ite Hand ? ’
The Bab answered ,‘I am not perm itted to bring them .
’
Akh und-i—MullaMuhammad said,
‘ Thou d idst err in com ing
without perm ission.
’
Then they asked him,
‘What hast
thou of signs and m iracles? ’He replied, My m iracle is
th is, that I can cause verses to b e revealed for my
whereupon he began to recite the following words
I nMeN ame of Goa'liteMerciful the Forgi ving . Glory
be to Goa’toe H oly tlze Glorified, W/zo erea/ea
’ the Heavens
and the E arth as H e orealea’ Mis staj; as one of [1 1
'
s S igns.
’
But according to the rules of [Arabic] grammar he wronglyvocal iz ed the word S amawa
’
t (Heavens) as S amdwa’
ta . They
said , Make its [final] vowel i .’Then he recited the word
al—Ara'
(the Earth) also with a [final] i . Am ir Aslan Khanobserved that if such words were of the nature of ‘ S igns,
’
he
l ikewise could produce such , and proceeded to recite :P raise be ia Goa
’
zono oreaz‘ea
’i/ze stafi as He created t/ze
morning and t/ze eoening’: whereat the Bab was greatly
ashamed .
“ Afterwards Haj j i Mulla Mahm ud enquired saying
1 i .e. the Hand of Moses, wh ich he drew forthfrom underhis cloakas wh ite as snow .
”
2 56 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
The second document, unsigned and undated , is apparently in the Bab
’
s h andwriting and consists of a completerecantation and renunc1ation of any superhuman c laim whichhe may have advanced orhave appeared to advance. There
is noth ing to Show to whom it is addressed, or whether it is
the recantation referred to in the last paragraph of the
preceding document or another. The handwriting, though
graceful,is not easily legible, and t he text appears to run as
fo llows
é m c Ml g lé t
gles M s A at» r“ 1 : we» a » ) 3 M f
ame
07 41 ° 4 5 ° li e » , 35'
41" .Aoa-e u g h},
Jock?
43 1-5 4 4-5 0930-5 >3 5~ 3 a s?) bak
fl a g-13 3 oum fi fia 9 OKM J‘ 35‘ any
F ac-s im i le of d ocum ent B .
To f acep . 25 6.
2 5 8 MATERIALS FOR STUDY OF THE EABI’
RELIG ION
that hath been revealed on the part of God, I hOpe for HisMercy. Never have I desired aught contrary to the W111
” of
God, and, if words contrary to H is . good pleasure hav‘
e
flowed from my pen, my ob ject was not disobedience, andin any case I repent and ask forgiveness of Him . This
servant has absolutely no knowledge connected with any
[superhuman] claiml
. I ask forgiveness of God my Lord
and I repent unto H im of [the idea] that there should be
ascribed to me any [D ivine] Mission. As forcertain~
prayers
and words wh ich have flowed from my tongue,these do not
imply any such MissIOn (a inr), and any [apparent] claim toany special vicegerency for H is Holiness the Proof o f God 2
(on whom b e P eace !) is a purely baseless claim, such as
th is servant has never put forward, nay, nor any claim l ikeunto it. Therefore it is thus hoped from the clemency of
H is Imperial Majesty and of Your Excel lency , that they wil lexal t the head of him who continual ly prays for them by
the favours and graces of their clement and compassionatecourt . Farewell . ”
B l.
The th ird document , likewise undated, is addressed to
Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad the Ba
'
b,and contains the fatzoa
’
,
or ecclesiastical‘
sentence,of the ‘
a/ama,by two of whom
,
Abu ’l-Qasim al-'
Hasani al-Husayn i and ‘Ali Asgharal-Hasan i
al Husayni, it is formal ly sealed . The latter is probably the
S /taykfza’
Z-Jstam, who caused the Bab to be beaten after the
Tabriz interrogatory3the former I have not yet been able
to identify .
1 S uch as that he wasthe Gate of Knowledge Or
thel ike.
2 i .e. the Twelfth Imam or Imam Mahd i .3 S ee Traveller’s Narrative, i i , pp . 20—
.
2 L and 2 78 .
260 MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAE I’
RELIGION
The last two documents, which are in English , werekindly communicated to meby MrW. A . Shedd, who wrote
concerning them as follows in a letter dated March I,1 9 1 I
“ Dear Professor Browne,“ In going over papers of my father, I found some
thing wh ich I think may be of value from a h istorical point
of view . I have no books here, nor are any accessible here,to be certain whether th is b it of testimony (or rather thesetwo bi ts) have been used or not. I th ink probably not
,and
I am sure that I can do nothing b etter than send them to
you,with the wish that you may use them as you th ink best .
Of the authent icity of the papers there can be no doubt .“ Yours very truly , W . A . S hedd .
The first of these two documents is very valuable as
giving the personal impression produced by the Bab , during
the period of his Imprlsonment and suffering,on a cul tivated
and impartial Western m ind . Very few Western Christians
can have had the opportunity of seeing, stil l less of con
versing with , the Bab , and I do not know of any other who
has recorded his impressions. The second document,
belonging to a later period , describes the circumstancesattending the presentation to Nasiru’
d-D in S hah of theletter addressed to him by Baha’u ’llah and transm i tted bythe hand of MirzaBadf‘ in July, 1 8 69
1.
I .
DR CORM I CK ’
S ACCOUNTS OF H IS PE R SONAL IMP R E S S IONS OFMiRzA ‘ALf MUHAMMAD THE BAB
,EXTRACTED FROM
LETTE R S WR ITTEN BY H IM To THE R EV. BENJAMINLABARE E , D .D .
You ask me for some particulars of my interview'
with
the founder of the sect known as Babis. Nothing of any1 S ee Traveller
’
s N arrative, i i , p . 393 .
IV . FIVE OR IG INAL DOCUMENTS 26 1
importance transpired in th is interview, as the Bab was
aware of my having been sent wi th two otherPersian doctors
to see whether he was of sane m ind or merely a madman,
to decide the question whether to put him to death or not.
With th is knowledge he was loth to answer any questions
put ' to him. To all enquiries he merely regarded us with a
m ild look, chanting in a low melodious vo ice some hymns,
I suppose. Two other S ayy ia’s1
, his int imate friends, were
also present, who subsequently were put to death with him2,
besides a couple of government offic ials. He only once
deigned to answer me, on my saying that I was not a
Musulman and was w ill ing to know someth ing about his
rel igion, as I m ight perhaps be inc l ined to adopt it. He
regarded me very intently on my saying th is,and replied
that he had no doubt of all E uropeans com ing over to hisreligion. Our report to the S hah at that time was of a
nature to spare his l ife. He was put to death some timeafter by the order of the Ami
’
r-i-m ga’
i /z MirzaTaqi Khan.
On ourreport he merely got the bastinado, in which operation
a farrasn, whether intentional ly or not, struck him acrossthe face with the stick destined for his feet, which produced
a great wound and swel l ing of the face . On being asked
whether a Persian surgeon should be brought to treat him,
he expressed a desire that I should be sent for, and I
accordingly treated him for a few days,but in the interviews
consequent on th is I could never get him to have a con
fidential chat with me,as some Government people were
always present, he being a prisoner.
1 These Were, no doubt, the two brothers Sayy id Hasan and SayyidHusayn of Yaz d , of whom the latter was especial ly his amanuensis.
2 Th is is an error. S ayyid Husayn was put to death in the great
persecution of 1 8 5 2 , two years after the Bab .
262 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
He was very thankfu l for my attentions to him . H e
was a very m i ld and delicate-looking man,rather smal l in
stature and very fair for a Persian, with a melodious soft
vo ice,wh ich struck me much . Being a Sayyid , he was
dressed in the hab i ts of that sect, as were also his‘
two
compani ons. In fact his whole look and deportment went
far to dispose one in his favour. Of his doctrine I heard
nothing from his own lips, although the idea was that there
existed in his religion a certain approach to Christianity .
H e was seen by some Armenian carpenters, who were sent
to make some repairs in his prison,read ing the Bible, and
he took no pains to conceal it, but on the contrary told
them of it. Most assuredly the Musulman fanat ic ism does
not exist in his rel igion, as appl ied to Christians, nor is there
that restraint of females that now ex ists.
ATTEMPT OF THE BABIS To S E CURE TOLE RATION .
The story of the Babis having reappeared in Tihran,threatening the S hah ’s life, etc .
,some time back, was partly
true . The version of the story,as related to me by S ulay
man Khan,who was in Tihran at the t ime, and confirmed
by others,is th is. The S hah
,when out riding one day,
perceived at some litt le d istance a man mounted and
equipped watching him attentively '. He immediately sent
to have him seiz ed and brought to him . The S hah said,on
his being brought,‘ 1 have observed you for some time past
always following me when out rid ing, and as you are not a
1 The man to whom reference is here made was undoubtedly M irzaBadi ‘ who brought Baha’u’l lah ’s letter to Nasiru’
d-Dfn S hah from‘Akka to T ihran in July , 1 869 .
264 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAE I’
RELIG ION
some little'
disturbance took place i nTibran in search ing for
Babis, but not with much result . The Babis succeeded ,however, in setting fire to an [mdnz-z a
’
a’
a and burning it
down. There was,however, no S ign of any conspiracy
existing . There are some people who th ink that both the
S hah and the M ustazvfiy a’l-Mamalik wi th other great per
sonages are d isposed to al low the Bab is to exercise their
rel ig ion openly in P ersia, but the fear of the Mnlla’
s, and“
their power to create a revolution against them , prevents
them doing so .
”
(E x tract from a letter to Mr Labaree. )
The above was found among papers belonging to the
late Rev. H . S hedd, D .D., of the American Mission at
Urt’
Imiyya, P ersia, in whose handwriting it is. DrCorm ick
was an E ngl ish physician long resident in Tabriz , where he
was h ighly respected . The letter was certainly written and
the copy of the extractsmade beforeJune,1 8 70. MrLabarce
is the Rev. Benjam in Labaree , D .D .
,of the same Mission
as Dr S hedd . The letter was certainly written after 1 8 62
and probably in 1 8 69 or 1 8 70, as Dr Labaree spent somemonths in Tabriz in 1 8 69 . An [mam-zaa
’
a is the tomb of a
reputed descendant of one of the Imams, and, as such , ashrine. There are many such in Persia.
“W. A . S hedd .
AN AUSTR IAN OFF ICE R ’
S ACCOUNTOF THE CRUE LTIE S P RA CTIS ED ONTHE BAS IS WHO S UFFE RE D IN THE
GRE AT PE R S E CUTION OF 1 8 5 2
268 MATERIALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BABI’
RELIG ION
eluc idates to some extent the attempt in question. Th is
letter runs as follows
Tihran, August 2 9 , 1 8 5 2 .
DearFriend, My last letterof the 20th inst . mentioned
the attempt on the King . I will now communicate to you
the resul t of the interrogation to wh ich the two crim inals
were subjec ted . In spi te of the terrible tortures infl icted,the exam ination extorted no comprehensive confession the
l ips of the fanatics remained C losed, even when by means
of red-hot pincers and l imb-rend ing screws they sought to
discover the Ch ief conspirator. All that transpired was that
they belonged to the Bab i sect . These Bab is are heretics
though they pray to the Prophet (sic yet they d iffer in many
usages from the orthodox Musulmans. Th is sect was founded
about fi fteen years ago1 by a certain B a
’
b,who was shot by
the King ’s command . The most faithful of his adherents
fled to Zanjan,where, two years ago, they were reduced by
the R oyal Troops, and, aswas general ly bel ieved, were exter
minated without regard for age or sex . L ike all religious
intolerance, this unmeasured persecut ion produced exactly
the opposite of the effects intended . The Bab’
s teach ing
gained more and more ground , and is at the present moment
d iffused through the whole country . S ince the government
obstinately clung to the system of persecution,the sch is
matics found occasion to steel theirresolution, and to develop
qual it ies which, contrasted with the effem inate luxury of the
S tate Rel igion, compel led respect . Very ski lfully had the
P rophet [i .e. the Bab ] pointed out to the disciples of his
teaching that the way to Paradise lay through the torture
1 Th is is, of course,an error. for the Bab ’s Manifestation tookplace in A .D . 1 844 (A .H . only eight years before th is letter waswritten.
V. AU STRIAN OFFICER’
S NARRATIVE 269
chamber. I f he spoke truly, then the present Shah has
deserved great merit, forhe strenuously endeavours to people
all the realms of the Saints with Babis H is last edict sti l lfurther enjoins on the Royal servants the annih ilation of
the sect . I f these simply fol lowed the Royal command and
rendered harmless such of the fanatics as are arrested byinfl ic ting on them a swift and lawful death
,one must needs,
from the Oriental standpoint , approve of th is ; but the manner
of infl ic ting the sentence,the Circumstances wh ich precede
the end, the agonies which consume the bodies of the
victims unti l their life is extinguished in the last convulsionare so horrible that the blood curdles in my veins if I now
endeavour to depict the scene for you , even in outline. In
numerable blows with sticks which fal l heavi ly on the backand soles of the feet, brandings of difi
'
erent parts of the body
with red-hot irons, are such usual inflictions that the victim
who undergoes only such caresses is to be accounted fortunate. But follow me my friend, you who lay claim to a
heart and European ethics,follow me to the unhappy ones
who , with gouged-out eyes, must eat, on the scene of the
deed, without any sauce, theirown amputated ears orwhose
teeth are torn out with inhuman violence by the hand of the
executioner ; orwhose bare Skulls are simply crushed by b lowsfrom a hammer ; or where the baza
’
r is i llum inated wi th un
happy VIctImS , because on right and left the people dig deep
holes in theirbreasts and shoulders and insert burning wicksin the wounds ] . I saw some dragged in chains throug h the
aa’
za’
r,preceded by a m i litary band , in whom these wicks
had burned so deep that now the fat flickered convulsively
in the wound like a newly-extinguished lamp .
‘Not seldom it happens that the unweary ing ingenuity1 This is the torture cal led s/zanc‘-a
’
jin, wh ichwas inflicted onth isoccasion on S ulayman Khan.
27o MATER IALS FOR S TUD.Y. OF . -THE - BABI REL IGION
of the Orientals leads to fresh tortures,
Theywi l l -Skini th‘
e
soles of the Bab is’ feet, soak t he woundsz in boiling oil, shoethe foot like the hoof of a horse, and compel the victim to
run. No cry escaped from the Victim ’
s breast ; the torment
is endured in dark silence by the numbed sensation of thefanatic ; now he must run ; the body cannot endure what
the sou l has endured he fal ls. Give him the'
conp a’eg race !
Put him . out of his pain ! No ! The executioner“
swings
the wh ip, and— I mysel f have had to witness it— the unhappy
victim of hundred-fold tortures runs 1 Th is is the beg inningof the end. As for the end i tself, they hang the scorched
and perforated bodies by their hands and feet to a tree headdownwards, and now every P ersian may try his marksman
sh ip to his heart’s content from afi x ed but not too proximate
d istance on the noble quarry placed at his d isposal . I saw
corpses torn by nearly 1 5 0 bullets. The more fortunatesuffered strangulation, stoning or suffocation : they were
bound before the muz z le of a mortar,cut down with swords,
or killed with dagger thrusts, or blows from hammers and
sticks. Not only the executioner and the common people
took part in the massacre : sometimesJust ice would present
some of the unhappy Babis to various d ignitaries. and the
P ersian [rec ip ient] would be well content, deem ing it an
honour to imbrue his own hands in the blood of t he pinionedand defenceless victim . Infantry, cavalry” artil lery, the
g lzzcla’
nzs or guards of the King, and the gu ilds of butchers,bakers, etc .,
all took their fair share in these bloody deeds.
One Bab i was presen ted to the crack officers-corps of the
garrison the general in c ommand deal t the first blow, and
afterwards each one as his rank determined . _ The Persian
troops are butchers, not soldiers. One Babi fel l to the share
of the [mam-jnm‘a,who put him to death . I slam knows
nothing Of charity !
TWO UNPUBL IS HE D CONTEMPORARYSTATE PA PE R S BEAR ING ON T HE
REMOVA L OF THE BABI’
S FROM
BAGHDAD To TURKEY IN EUROPE ,
DATE D MAY 10,1 862
B. B.
276 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
el les sont ensu i te muettes sur la personne de S oao/c-i -E z el,
ce qui vous étonnera certainement : il semble, a la lecture
de ces documents que, des ce moment Mirza Houssein Ali
fut — sinon le Chef— du moins la personnalité la plus mar
quante du parti .
Les pieces originales sont de la main meme de Mirza
SaId Khan, ex -Ministre desA ffaires Etrangeres. (E l les sont
adressées a 1’Ambassadeur aConstantinople. ) Les photo
graph ies faites par moi sont suffisantes pour reconnai tre
l’
écriture. Le cachet se trouve naturel lement au dos : c ’est
pourquo i il ne parai t pas sur les épreuves que je vous
envoIe. E l les se trouvaient toutes deux, colle'
es sur'
carton
percé al’endro it du cachet au m ilieu d’
un recuei l assez con
sidérable de pieces émanant de la meme main Vez irielle et
relatives aux diverses affaires soum ises au Ministere . Deux
autres lettres s’
y trouvaient encore relatives aux Babis.
L’une est un tres court bi l let duMinistreaun correspondant
inconnu dans lequel l’auteur affirme avo ir essayé de rendreservice aux sectaires, et s
’
étonne que ses démarches aient
é té dénaturées ; la seconde est une longue lettre du Grand
Moajtelzea’ de Tauris : dans un passage de cette lettre le
pré lat se fai t fort de dérac iner ce qu ’
i l appel le l’he’
résie.
“
Je ne pause pas de me trouver, Monsieur, un inter
médiaire plus competent et plus autorise’
que vous pour lapubl ication de ces pieces, et je su is convaincu que lejournala’o la S ocie
’
téR oy ale Asiatiozce s’
empressera d’accueillir
, pré
sente’
s parvous, ces éclaircissements surun point S i intéressant
de l’
histoire qui nous passionne tous deux .
“
Je tiens les c lichés a votre d isposition pour le cas oh
vous en aurez besoin.
“ Veu il lez agréer, Monsieur, mes salu tations les plus
empressées.
A . L . M . N ICOLAS .
J J J/ J ‘ }
F ac -s im i le o f the d o cum en t A . 6 .
Tof a ce 19. 2 7 7 .
27 8‘
MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
REL IG ION
Translation.)
E xcellency,
A l though in a separate and detailed lettermention has
been made of the letterof theR igh tHonourableMirzaBuzurg
Khan to Prince ‘Imadu’
d-Dawla, and of the said P rince’s
letter to [H is Majesty ’s] Most S acred and R oyal Presence,
yet no reference is made to the sending of the originals or
copies of these letters, because that detailed letter is so
phrased that if you deem it expedient you can read it to
their E xcel lencies Fu ’ad Pasha and‘Ali Pasha
,but had any
expl icit reference been made to the sending of the aforesaid
originals or Copies, perhaps you would not have considered
it exped ient to Show them,wh ilst now it entirely depends
on your own judgement. The originals of the aforesaid
letters are enclosed in th is packet. After perusing them
you will consider the mat ter, and if it appears expedient
you wi l l Show them exactly as they are or with some Sl ight
Change and emendat ion. The object is that as the most emphatic R oyal Command and Injunc tion hath been honouredby issue as to the removal and repression of these evil men 1
,
o r their arrest and the hand ing over of them to the offi cers
of the i l lustrious P rince ‘ Imadu’
d-Dawla,or their removal
from ‘ lraq-i-‘Arab to some place wh ich you ‘
regard as ex
pedient, it may, if God so please,b e duly and speedi ly
fulfi l led .
Written on the rath of Dhu ’l-H ijja, 1 2 78
May 1 0,
1 i .a. the Babis at Baghdad .
280 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
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28 2 MATE RI ALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BABI’
RELIG ION
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284 MATER IA LS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
reside in the neighbourhood‘
of the S hrines, whose rank is
as that of God’s Throne ‘, whither he departed. From that
time unt il now,as your E xcel lency is aware
yhe
'
is in Bagh
dad, and at no time hath he ceased from secretly corrupting
and m isleading fool ish persons and ignorant weaklings:
S ometimes,m oreover, he hath put his hand to ,
Sedit ion
and incitemen‘
ts to murder, as in the case of H is most
accompl ished Reverence Mul laAqaof Darband , whom they
grievously wounded with intent to ki ll,though Providence
perm itted him to survive for some wh ile ; besides sundry
other assassinations wh ich took place. Yet had his affair
not then reached the p itch~ which it hath now attained nor
had he gathered round h imsel f so manydisc iples and followers
as it is heard he hath done in these days ; nordid he dare to
display the ambitions which he harboured, or to surround
h imsel f with armed and devoted men when go ing h ither and
th ither, or passing backwards and forwards, orremaining out
side his lodg ing, or to encompassh imself with th is sel f-devoted
crew . Besides the informat ions wh ich have been acqu ired
through numerous channels by the intermed iary of persons
of consideration and worthy of credence , a letter from the
h ighly-placed and wel l-beloved of the S upreme Court Mirza
Bu zurg Khan, Consul of the Persian Government -
resident
in Baghdad, has reached the i l lustri ous Prince ‘lmdzz
’u’
d
D aze/1a, Governor of K irmansha
'
han and its dependenc i es,
wh i le a representation has been made by the Prince above
mentioned to the most b eneficent Sacred and Imperial
Presence, wh ich depic ts and p ortraysbefore our eyes these
proceed ings Of Mirza Husayn - ‘Alf. In face of these pro
ceedings, it would b e a proof of the mostcomplete negl igenceand lack of prudence on the part of the PersianGovernment
1 i .a. Karbalaand Najaf.
VI . TWO STATE PA PERS OP'
1 862 28 5
to d isregard these ac ts wh ich may produce such deplorable
consequences, and not to set i tself to seek some means toremedy or remove them .
‘ I see beneat/z Me as/zes t/ze g low of fire,And it wants but 127116 to éurst into a Maz e
For the character and nature of this m isguided sect inthe dominions Of the P ersian Government, and their boldness and audac i ty in the most peri lous enterprises have beenrepeatedly put to the proof, and it is clearthat the principles
of this new, false and detestab le creed are based on two
horrib le th ings,first an extraordinary hosti lity and enm ity
towards this I slamic S tate,and secondly an incredible pi ti
lessness and ruthlessness towards all ind ividuals of thisnat ion
,and a readiness to lose their own lives in order to
ach ieve this S ini ster object . But it is evident that, thanksb e to God Most H igh , through the good dispositions and
sincerity of the governors of the two Empires [Persia and
Turkey}, the developments of friendship and S ingle-m inded
ness between these two powerful I slam ic S tates have reached
such a point that, al ike in profit and loss, they have brough t
about complete partic ipation and equality . How thenShould it be that the great statesmen of that Empire, after
acquainting themselves with these matters, should grudge
or withhold their,
united support and part icipation to thestatesmen of this S ubl ime S tate [i .e. P ersia] in taking thenecessary measures forthe removal of this[plague] ? Therefore, in accordance w ith the Royal command
,resistless as
fate, Of H is Imperial Majesty,the Shadow Of God, the
Benefactor of all the protected provinces of Persia (may my
1 Th is celebrated verse is the first of several written by the UmayyadGovernor of Khurasan, Nasr ibn S ayyar, as a warning to his sovereignon the eve of Ab r
’
rMuslim ’
s successful rebel lion in A.H . 1 29 (A .D . 746
286 MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BABI RELIG ION
life be his sacrifice l), I your faithful friend have been
ordered to convey these mat ters to YourE xcel lency ’s know
ledge by means of a special messenger, and to instruct you
without delay to seek an appo intment wi th theirmost glorious
E xcel lencies the [Ottoman] P rime Minister and Minister ofForeign A ffairs
,and to set forth th is matter in such wise as
the friendship and harmony of these two S ublime S tates
requ ire,and as the character for benevolence and sound
understanding of their E xcel lencies above mentioned sug
gests, and, having devoted the deepest and most careful
consideration to all its aspects, to request of their extreme
benevolence and d isinterestedness the removal Of th is source
of misch ief from a place l ike Baghdad , wh ich is the meet ing
place of many different peoples and is situated near the
frontiers ofthe protected prov inces Of Persia.
“ This point is agreed upon in the View of our states
men,that it wil l not do to leave MirzaHusayn ‘Ali and his
intimate followers there,or to allow fuller scope to their
m isch ievous ideas and probable act ions. One Of two courses
appears proper in the eyes of our statesmen,to wit that
if the statesmen of the Ottoman Empire are prepared tocooperate fully in th is important matter w ith the statesmen
of th is country , wi thout Showing any personal consideration
for those irreligious and m ischievous persons, and, as is ful lyhoped and expected, do not introduce any d iscussion foreign
to th is question into this field wherein stands the foot Of S tateexpediency , then the best th ing is that explic it orders S hould
be given to H is E xcel lency Nam iq Pasha the governor of
the Province of Baghdad , wh ile on th is side also orders
should be issued to the Prince-Governor of Kirmanshahan,that MirzaHusayn
‘Ali and such of his fol lowersand familiars
as are the cause and root of the m isch ief should be arrested
in such manner as is requ isi te,and handed over at the
P E R S E CUTION S OF BABIS IN 1 8 8 8 — 1 89 1
AT I S PAHAN AND YAZD
29 2 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
other in Najafabad . In S i—dih, where the Babi communi tyis small , their houses were: burned and their wives and
chi ldren ill-treated . The men saved themsel ves by flight
to Tihran,and I am told that about 2 5 of them have just
returned to I sfahan and are in the Prince’s stables in oasfl .
In Najafabad there are about 2000 Babis. They tried the
same game with them , bu t some hundreds of them took
refuge in the Engl ish Telegraph Office in Julfa, and the
Prince took their part and banished from Najafabad toKarbala the Maf ia/lid who persecuted them , SO the
[
resultis that they are freernow than they have ever been . I took
very great interest in the poorpeople, not only for their own
sakes,but for the sake of Persia also as
,if liberty is gained
for them ,it wi l l be a great step towards break ing the power
of the Mal/( is and gett ing l iberty for all. Just before the
last persecu t ion of the Babis the Mujtab z'
o’s in Isfahan
,
especial ly Haj j i Najafi, tried a persecution ofJews also, and
threatened Christians wi th the same. The I 3 rules (of‘Umar I believe, at least most of them may be traced to
him) were enforced for a short time ( I ) that no Jew should
wear an‘aoa
' z
; ( 2 ) that they should wear a mark on their
dress ; ( 3) not to ride any beast of burden in the c ity ;
(4) not to leave their houses on a wet day3
; 5 ) not topurchase merchandiz e from a Muslim (6) that when a
Jew ‘
m eets a Muslim he is to salute him and walk beh ind
him ; ( 7 ) not to return abuse ; ( 8 ) not to bu ild a househigher than a Musl im neighbour ; ( 9 ) not to eat in the
presence of a Muslim during Ramazan, etc .
,etc .
”
1 i .a. sanctuary .
2 C loak .
3 Th is rule used also to b e applied to the g oors , or Zoroastrians, ofYazd . The reason is that an impure creature (such as a dog or an
unbeliever) only dehles by contact when it is wet.
VI I . PERS ECUTION S OF 1 8 8 8 — 1 89 1 29 3
( 2 ) From S idney E sor. , Brz'
i z'
siz Leg az‘z
'
on,
Tzfira’
n, December 1 2,1 8 8 9 .
The Bab i sec t are multiplying in numbers dai ly, and
their increasing multitudes are giving cause for anxiety as to
the attitude wh ich the authorities wil l have to adopt towards
them in the immed iate future. The extraordinary develop
ment of th is faith is no t qui te in itself a source of surprise.
The Persian as a rule is ready to adopt any new creed , no
mat ter what it is ; but when he finds in it as one of its
fundamental princ iples the l iberty Of though t and the ex
pression thereof,with the ultimate possib ili ty as a result
that he may Shake Off the oppression he suffers at the hands
of the local authorities, who are beyond the sphere of the
Shah ’s immed iate supervision and control, he readily affi l iates
h imsel f with those holding such doc trines with the Ob jec t ofcombating existing evils.
The spread of Bab ism of late in P ersia, particularly its
development during the S hah ’s absence, has caused much
surprise, and is l ikely to g ive us trouble. But the question
is,what are the real ideas of most of those professing Babism .
DO they look upon themselves as followers of a new religion,or as the members of a society for pol itical and social
reform
(3 ) F rom Walfer Townley ,E sq (now S z
'
r Waller Townley ),B ri tt
'
s/z Legation, Tz’
lzra’
n,Apri l I 3 , 1 8 90.
I am afraid I have not been ab le to do much foryou in .
the furtherance of your two requests beyond having searched
through our archives from A .D . 1 8 68 to 1 8 75 for some
294 MATER IA LS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
reference to the young Babi who brought Baha s letter to
the S hah 1,without
,I am Sorry to say, finding any notificat ion
at all of the event, but I am told that it was in the summer
(about July) of 1 8 7 1 or 1 8 7 2 , and have stil l hopes Of getting
an authentic date fixed . Had such an event occurred under
our present M inister it would most undoubtedly have been
recorded, but in those days Persia was not so wel l known as
it is now,and affairs were conducted less
“ You have doubtless heard of the late Babi massacre at
Isfahan, and I w il l only therefore tell you , in case you have
not, the principal po ints. They are inhabi tants of a d istric t
called S i-dih, and last summer a large number of them ,
owing to constant persecution,left their vil lages and came
to I sfahan,whence after a time they returned home, with
the exception of a certain number who came to Tihran.
On the return of these men to their homes about six weeks
ago they were met and attacked by a mob headed by a man
cal led AqaNajafi', and seven or eigh t of them were kil led
and their bod ies burnt with oil. They then took refuge at
the Telegraph Office, and final ly , after persistent representa
tions from th is Legation, have been received by the Deputy
Governor. I t is hoped that on the Zilllu’
s-S ultan]’
s return
in a few days they w i l l b e able to go home. AqaNajafi has
been summoned to Tihran and wel l received . Of course
they are said to be Bab is, though there seems to be no real
proof that they are of that persuasion. When the murders
took place they were under the care of an escort wh ich was
intim idated by the mob and left them .
Concern ing the Yazd persecu tion I received four letters
in Persian , of wh ich translat ions Of the relevant portions
here follow.
1 i .e. M irza Bad i ‘ . S ee pp . 262 —
4 supra and footnote to p . 262 .
296 MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
REL IG ION
l iberty . S o the government determ ined to attack them ,
thinking to extirpate and crush them . The partisans of
Malkom Khan and Jamalu’
d-Dfn devised a plan to alarm ,
intim idate, and great ly disturb the government by involving
the Babis also in suspicion,and wrote pamphlets so worded
that it m ight appear that there was an al liance between
these and themselves. To b e brief, they arrested Malkom
Khan’
s brotherwi th your friend the Mirzaof Hamadan 1 and
several o thers, and also two Babis, and the government
officials, without any enqu iry or invest igation, began on every
S ide to persecute th is oppressed community, al though these
poor innocents, as I swear by God’
s Might, knew absolutely
nothing of this agi tation and d isturbance, non-interference
in pol itical matters being requ ired by their creed .
No sooner did th is news reach I sfahan than the Prince
[Zilla’s-S ultan] , one of whose confidential advisers had been
accused and arrested , considered it exped ient, for the ex cul
pation Of himsel f from all suspic ion of compl icity in th is plot
and for the concealment Of his own evi l deeds, to inaugurate
a violent and cruel persecut ion Of the Bab is. So he entered
into correspondence with [his son] Prince Jalalu’
d-Dawla,and a persecut ion was set on foot in the city Of Yaz d and
the surrounding vi l lages, where such cruel ties and injust iceswere perpetrated as are unparal leled in the h istory of theworld .
Amongst otherinstances,with chains and fet ters, swords
and scim itars, they dragged seven men, to whose purity,nobili ty
,excel lence, and v irtue all bore wi tness, who had
1 A former attaché at the Persian Legation in London. He was
recalled to Persia when M irzaMalkom Khan was dism issed from the
post of M inister. S ome time afterwards, in the early part of th is yearhe was arrested , cast into prison, and, I bel ieve, narrowly
escaped death .
VI I . PERS ECUT ION S OF 1 8 8 8 - 1 89 1 297
never in their l ives injured even an ant, and against whom
nothing cduld b e al leged save that they were Bab is, beforea few ignorant wretches l ike unto Annas and Caiaphas whoaccount themselves learned, and commanded them to dis
avow their connection with th is creed . When they refused
to do this, and indeed confessed and adm itted it, theybeheaded each of these poor oppressed ones in a public
thoroughfare,affixed them to g ibbets, dragged their bodies
w ith ropes through the streets and ba’za’rs, and at length cut
them in fragments and burned them wi th fire. S ome Others
they sp irited away,and it is not known what su fferings were
inflic ted upon them . About a thousand persons have fled
from Yaz d into the wi lderness and open country , some have
died from th irst in the mountains and plains,and all their
possessions have been plundered and Spo iled . Oppression
and tyranny have so destroyed and uprooted these poor
Oppressed people that for several days the fam ilies and wives
and ch i ldren of the murdered men were weeping, sorrowing,and shivering
,hungry and thirsty
,in underground cel lars
,
unable even to ask for water ; none had any pity for them ,
but only blows ; and indeed the common people,inci ted
and goaded on by the c lergy and the government , strove
to injure them in every way, in wh ich endeavour they showed
neither ruth nor rem ission. Only after some days certain
Christian merchants who were passing through Yazd brought
bread and water for the ch ildren of the v ic tims ; but the
poor unfortunates were so fi l led with fear and apprehensionthat they would not open the door. That nigh t all thetownsfolk decorated and il lum inated the city and madegreat rejoicings that so signal a vic tory and so glorious a
triumph had been accompl ished , not seeing in their ignorance that in truth they are striking the ax e on theirown rootsand rejoicing thereat , and overthrowing the foundations of
29 8 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI REL IG ION
their own house and accounting it eternal life. Moreover
they fai l to see that the tears of the oppressed are a rising
torrent and the sighs of their victims a k indl ing fire
( 2) Translation of a letter written to me from ‘A bba’
by
M’
raa’
on Mubarram 1 5 , A H . 1 309
(A ugust 2 1 , A.D .
H E I S TH E S P EAK ING,THE ENDUR ING .
Tb e appearance of afi ietions ana’
calami ties in Me
[ and of Ya’
( Yazd) . The eye ofJustice weepeth : Equ itywaileth ! O God ! In P ersia men glory in cruel ty
,Oppres
sion, ruthlessness, and the attributes of beasts of prey The
wolves Of the islands of ignorance and folly have torn God'
s
lambs. Grievous loss they account great gain. To-day lamen
tation arises from all th ings in the Land of Ya,and the moans
and mourning of the Josephs of the S p irit rise up from the p it
Of the seat of the Oppressors. A grievous wound hath beeninflicted on the bosom of Justice, and a sore blow hath
fal len on the frame of Equ ity . The hunters of hatred lie in
ambush for the gaz el les of the plains Of love and purity,and Shameless unblush ing tyrants pursue after babes in
their cradles. In place of Justice and its hosts stand
Oppression and its troops. Mercy has become in Persia
l ike the Phoenix,a mere name without substance, and
equi ty l ike the P h ilosopher’s S tone ‘
, heard of, but no t seen“ On the evening Of the 23rd Of Ramazan2 a m igh ty
dust and smoke of sp irit rose up from the hatred and mal ice
Of the unbel ievers and scoffers, in such w ise that it obscured
the rad iance of the lum inary of Justice, nay, blotted it out .
1 K'
ibri’
t-i -A bmar, lit . Red Sulphur.
2A .H . 1 308 =May 2 , 1 89 1 .
3OO MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI RE LIG ION
these shunnings and repel lings, are departing from their
m idst, wh i le He hath gladdened them with the good tidingsof friendly converse and associat ion, and caused them to
attain thereunto . The blood of lovers hath wrought m iracles
throughout the horiz ons and bath driven away the causes
of isolation wi th the scourge of the B ay a’
n, substitu t ing
in their place an approach to peace and qu ie tude, so that
now most of them [i .e. the Persians] hold friendly and
fam i liar intercourse with all nat ions Of the world . In truth
there hath been made manifest a love for all mank ind
wh ich seemed to human eyes an impossibi l ity . Blessed is
the Beneficent One, the Lord of great bounty ! Now all
have become eyes to see and ears to hear. The hosts of
confession have driven denial from the field . Th ink on
the influence of the S upreme P en and the power of the
Most H igh Word , how great a change they have wrought
and how they have brought nigh [what seemed unattainable] .“ To return, however. They martyred those of whom
we have spoken with the worst torments in the world . One
they strangled to death with the bow-string,and after him
they S lew and carried away the rest . S ome wi th stones,some w ith st icks
,some w i th chains, and some w ith weapons
Of war, they tore in p ieces those holy frames. A fterwards
they set fire [to their bod ies] and cast their bones into pits.
According to the accounts received , a thousand persons have
fled into the wi lderness, neither is it known wh ither they
have gone or what has become of them . And in those days
none enqu ired afterthewidowsand ch i ldren of these wronged
ones nor went near them ,through fear and dread, and the
unfortunate ones remained wi thout food . But, as has been
heard,some of the followers Of H is Holiness the S piri t 1
1 Rub u’lla
’
lz,i . e. Jesus Christ .
V I I . PERS ECUTIONS OF 1 8 8 8 — 1 89 1 30 1
(may God strengthen them went with the utmost secrecy
and without the knowledge of anyman and succoured them ,
send ing them daily provision . O spiritual friend ! to-daylamentation arises from the very pebbles in the deserts and
wailing goes up from the trees ! On the night of that dayby command of the government the people held h igh festival
and'
made great rejo icing , as though they had captured a
kingdom .
”
(3 ) Translation of a letter written to mefrom A lex andria
on M ubarram I 9 , A .H . 1 309 (August 1 9 , A .D . 1 8 9 1 ) byAnaMultammaa
’ ‘A lz’
,mere/tant
,of Yaza
’.
The first arrests on the ground of Bab iismtook placeon the even ing of the 23rd of Ramazan, A .H . 1 308 (May 2
,
in the mosque. S haykh Hasan of S abzawar, a
prom inent member of the c lergy, caused two men, named
Aqa‘Ali and Aqa[
‘Ali] Asghar, to be seiz ed . Gradual ly
they arrested twelve persons in all, inflicted on them
several severe beatings, and cast them into prison. On the
morning of Monday the 9th of Shawwal (May 1 8,1 8 9 1 ) they
brought seven of them before Prince Jalalu’
d-Dawla, theGovernor of Yazd . S everal of. the c lergy sat concealed
[in the room ] . The Prince said,The Babis are released
let them go.
’
After giving them these good t idings he
conjured them , saying, By my life, are you Bab is?’
Theyanswered, Yes.
’
Then the c lergy wrote their death warrant.
They first ordered one named Asghar, a man of about
thirty years of age, to be strangled with the bow-string .
Before carry ing the sentence into execution they said to
him, Revile [the Bab] He refused . Then they applied
the cord and cruel ly S lew him . The six others were present
302 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BABI’
RELIG ION
there. Then they came out thence wi th trumpets and
drums and many other instruments of music, accompanied
by a great multitude shouting and clamouring. A t the back
of the Telegraph Offi ce they tried to make MullaMahdi of
Khawirak (an old man about eighty years of age) curse theBab . He answered, For forty years I have been expecting
th is day.
’S o
.
they cut his throat even where he stood, andere he was dead ri pped open his bel ly and cast stones at
him . After that they carried away his body and set fire to
it. They next beheaded Aqa‘Ali (a man of abou t th irty
years of age) opposite to the gate of Jaz ira-i-Mulla, stuck
the head on a spear, and stoned the body . Mulla ‘Ali of
Sabzawar they brought to the door of Shaykh Hasan of
Sab zawar. H e cried out,‘ The Imam Husayn
,the Ch ief
of martyrs, said to the people,“ Wi l l any help me ?
” but I
say,“ Wil l any look upon me ? H im also they beheaded ,
and cast stones at his body . And his age was about th irty
five. Then they beheaded AqaMuhammad Baqir at the
door of the S aa’r’s house . He also was about thirty-fiveyears Old. Two others, brothers, they carried to the Maydan
i-Shah . According to some accounts they bound AqaAsghar
(aged about twenty-five) to a tree, first cut Off his hands, thenbeheaded and stoned him . The other brother, AqaHasan,aged twenty years, they beat and chased about
, saying ,‘ R evile the Bab " He answered, ‘ What should I say ?
Do what you are commanded .
’
One of those present criedout
,Let every one who loves ‘Ali strike a blow at him .
’
A man thrust a sword into his side, and the rest then cut
his body to pieces with their daggers, wh ile another drove a
spear into his breast . Then the executioner severed his
head from his body, stuck it on his knife, and carried it to
S haykh Hasan of Sabzawar, famed for his learning , fromwhom he received a present of ten tuma
’
ns The body,
304 MATERI ALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
(4) Translation of a letter written from Yaza’
on S /zawwal
1 5 , A .H . 1 308 (May 24, 1 8 9 1 ) by one H usayn to Hajji
S ayy ia’ ‘A li at ana
7by nim com
municated to me.
On the even ing of the 23rd of the month of Ramazan
A .H . 1 308 (May 2 , A .D . 1 8 9 1 ) two persons, named respec
tively Aqa‘Ali AsgharY ti zdartini and AqaGazargahi, went
to the mosque of Arnir Chaqmaq . The people who were in
the mosque recognised these two as Babis, and said to them ,
You are Babis ; why do you come to the mosque ? Curse
[the Bab ] , or we wi l l torment you .
’
They answered,‘We
are not Babis.
’I f you are not Babis,
’
said their persecutors,
‘ then curse .
’
As they refused to curse or revile
[the Bab ] , the people loaded them with abuse, and raised
a clamour, crying,‘ These two men are Babis and have
entered ourmosque,’
and began to insul t and mal treat them .
Haj j i Na’ib , the F arra’
s/t of Prince Jalalu’
d-Dawla,who was present in the mosque, seized these two men and
carried them before the Prince. They were severely beaten,
cast into prison,and fined . Three days later they were
released.
“ Three days after their release,Prince Jalalu
’
d-Dawlaagain demanded them at the hands of the Farra
’
s/t-ba’
slzi,
who set h imself to discover them . One Mahdi by name,the son of Ustad Baqir the drugg ist
,offered his services to
the Farra’
s/z saying, I know where they are,and will
point them out to you .
’
SO he accompan ied the F arra’
sn
ba’
sb i , together with tenfarra’
snes, as a gu ide, and led them
to the house of Ustad ‘Abdu ’r-Rah im M us/tb zi baf , where
they arrested these two men and five others who were w iththem in the house. The seven they seized and broughtbefore the Prince-governor, Jalalu
’
d-Dawla, striking them
V I I . PERS ECUT ION S OF 1 8 8 8— 1 89 1 305
often on the way about the face and head . and final lycasting them into prison . The names of the other five
prisoners were, Mulla‘Ali of Sabzawar, Asghar, Hasan, Aqa
Baqir, and MullaMahdi .“ Next day Prince Jalalu
’d-Dawla summoned them
before him and interrogated them , b idding them curse
and revile [the Bab ] , that he m ight set them free. They
refused to do this, and frankly avowed that they were
Babis.
The clergy, who have ever been m isch i ef-makers and
are always eager to provoke troub le and bloodshed , hastenedto avai l themselves of th is opportunity, and urged Prince
Jalalu’
d-Dawla to kil l these seven men. So far as can be
ascertained,the Prince wrote his consent and desired the
c lergy to ratify it with their seals and signatures. S o they
agreed to make these seven pass beneath the sword of
cruel ty and injustice. Wh i le the Prince was interrogating,
them , some of his own attendants who were in his presence
were fil led with wonder and amaz ement , saying to them
selves, These have done noth ing for which they deserve to
incur wrath and punishment“ On the morning of Monday the 9 th of Shawwal
(May 1 8,
1 8 9 1 ) the following members of the clergy ,S haykh Hasan of Sabzawar, S haykh Muhammad Taqi of o
Sab zawar, Mirza Sayyid‘
Ali Mua’
arris,Mulla Hasan of
Ardakan, and Mul la. Husayn of Ardakan came to Prince
Jalalu’
d-Dawla’
s palace. They were concealed behind a
curtain,and the seven Bab is were then brought in. The
Prince said to them , I wish to set you free. Now by my
head I conjure you to tel l me truly whether you are Bab is
or not.’ ‘ Yes,
’ they repl ied,we are Babis,
’ confessing and
acknowledging it. The clergy who were concealed behind
the curtain of decei t heard their avowal,and at once wrote
B . B .
306 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
out and sealed the warrant for theirdeath . The executioner
was summoned forthwith and ordered to slay them .
‘Ali
Asghar was strangled with the bow-string in the P rince’spresence in the most cruel manner. The other six were led
through the ba’
z a’
rs with music and beating of drums to the
market-place, where they were kil led one after another.
The rab ble of the people mobbed them , striking them
with sticks,spitting on them
,reviling them and mocking
them . As the throat of each one was cut , the mob tore open
the body to look at the heart, saying ,‘ How bold they are in
the presence of death and the death-warrant and the heads
man ! With what strength of heart do they yield up their
life, wh ile no word of cursing or revi ling escapes their l ips
We must see what sort of hearts they have.
’
“ When they had slain all the seven,they poured tar
over their bodies and set fire to them . Never before this
day have such behaviour, such malevolence and wickedness,been seen in any people as are seen amongst these Shi ‘ites in
P ersia. One of the Bab is (he who was named Asghar) theybound to a tree in the market- ,
place cut off his hands with
the sword,then ripped open his bel ly
,and final ly beheaded
him . Another, Hasan,they wounded in the head wi th
swords and st icks, driv ing him about the market-place and
b idding him curse and revile [the Bab ] . What should I
say ?’he answered, do whatever is commanded you.
’S o
they cut him in pieces.
Til l sunset of that day the bodies of these seven werein the hands of the roughs and rabble of the populace
,and
they brutal ly pel ted them with stones, set fire to them ,and
burned them . A fter they had ki l led them and burned their
bodies they asked perm ission of Prince Jalalu’d-Dawla to
i llum inate the ci ty, and he give them perm ission fortwo n ights,but such was the d isorderly conduct of the roughs and the
308 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI'
RELIG ION
should loyal and obedient subjects, who have been guilty ofno ofl
’
ence, and who seek b ut to reform men’
s morals and
to increase the wel fare of the world , b e subjected to such
cruel persecutions by order of the foolish ones of the earthwho S how themselves under a garb of knowledge ? Why
should they b e compel led to flee as outlaws and to wander
as beggars from door to door, or b e scattered abroad in
mountains and deserts ? Loyal ty forbids us to appeal to
foreign P owers, and we can but cry in ouranguish , O God !
We subm it with patience and resignation to what we suffer
at the hands of these godless, merc i less and cruel people !’
Thus do we tel l our sorrow to our God, praying Him to
take away from us the wickedness and oppression of the
froward and ignorant ones of the earth . We have no helper
but God, and none to support and succour us save H im .
“ Th is which has been wri tten is a full account of the
events of these days and the tyranny of the c lergy and Prince
Jalalu’
d-Dawla. We do not complain of the cruel ty of thecommon folk , for they are completely under the control of
the clergy and Prince Jalalu’
d- I) awla. The c ity is now in a
most d isturbed state, and the roughs and rowdies act as they
please ; whatever they do no one h inders them . S everal
other persons were cast into prison , but it is not known
what they wi l l do with them . I have noth ing further to
add.
ACCOUNT OF THE DEATH OF MiRzA
YAHYA S UBH - I -AZA L , COMMUN ICATEDBY H IS S ON R IZWAN ‘
AL I To THE LATE
CLAUDE DE LAVAL COBHAM,E SQRE , ON
JULY 1 1,1 9 1 5 ,
TRANS LATED FROM THE
OR IG INAL PE R S IAN
3 I _
2 MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI RELIG ION
every mark of extreme respect , from his house to the S ite of
the Holy Sepulchre . But none were to be found there ofwi tnesses to the Baya
’
n1, therefore the Jma
’
m-jum‘a Of
Famagusta and some others of the doctors of Islam , having
uttered [the customary] invocations, placed the body in the
coffin and buried it. And when they brought it forth from
the gate of~
Famagusta some of the E uropeans also accom
panied the Blessed Body, and the son of the Quarantine
doctor took a photograph of it with a great number[of thebystanders] , and again took another photograph at the
B lessed Tomb z .
Now this Holy Person [i .e. Sub/z-i-A z al] before his
death had nom inated [as his executor or successor] the son
of AqaMirzaMuhammad Had i of Dawlatabad,who was one
of the lead ing believers and relat ively bet ter than the others,in accordance with the command of H is Hol iness the P o int
[i .e. the Bab ] , glorious in his mention, who commanded
saying,‘And if God causeth mourning to appear in thy days
,
then make manifest the E ight P aths,’
etc .
,unti l he says,
‘But if not, then the authority shal l return to the Witnesses
of the B ayan3.
’Therefore b e appointed him, though h itherto
no one has found his testament amongst the writ ings of that
Blessed Being . Moreover twenty -eight years ago he had
wri tten for h imself a lengthy form of visi tation4 at the b e
ginn ing of which he wrote L i ’l-Waln’
tli’l —Mawtur.
P lease God afterthe lapse of some days I wi l l write it ou t for
1 i .e. Babis.
2 These photographs were publ ished by Mr H . C . Lukach in hisbook Tbe F ringe of tbe E ast
,pp . 264 and 266, and he has most k indly
permitted me to reproduce them here.
3 Th is obscure quotation is doub tless from the Bayan , but I havenot found it, and do not know the context.
4 Z iyarat-na
’
ma , t.e. a form of prayer to b e used by those v isitingthe tomb of a saint ormartyr.
P hotographs of the F unera l o f M irz aYahya S ublz-i -A zal at
Fam agusta,Cy prus , on A pri l 29 , 1 9 1 2 .
(Reproduced by k ind perm ission ofMr H . C . Lukach and Messrs
Macmi l lan from his book Tb e Fring e of t/1c E ast . )
To f aceA 3 1 2 .
3 14 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF TH E BABI RELIG ION
which of the sons fulfi ls th is condition has not yet been
decided ; consequently all the chi ldren would appear at
present to be co-heirs.
The eldest surviving son is Ahmad S ubh-i-Azal , a poorman who is obliged to earn his living as a railway porter in
Famagusta. The most affluent of the brothers is ‘Ali 1 , who
keeps a shop . Another,Mehmed ( i .e. Muhammad) is not
qui te right in his head . The youngest , and, as far as I can
gather, the favourite son (by a second wife) is one Taqiyyu’
d
D in,who was always near his father.
’
‘Constantine the
P ersian,
’
alias Costi ’ has been away from Famagusta forsome t ime. I t may be that he wil l consent to sel l some of
his father’s manuscripts in his possession. The other
brothers are at present not prepared to sel l theirs.
N0 steps have,as far as I am aware
, yet been taken to
elect a wa/z’
(i .e. successor or executor). I am afraid th is
information is meagre, but, hav ing been on Mount Troodos
for the last few months,I have had no Opportunity of making
personal investigat ions in Famagusta.
”
On the 23rd of January, 1 9 1 3 , Mr Lukach wrote to meagain
,enclosing a let ter from a S yrian named Mughabghab
who l ived in Famagusta, and kindly offering his help should
I desire to enter into negotiations for the purchase of any of
the late S ubh-i-Azal ’smanuscripts. From MrMughabghab’
s
letter it appeared that S ubh -i-A zal ’s son “Costi ( i .e. R iz wan‘Ali) was prepared to sel l his Share of his father
’
s manuscripts,
nine in number, but was anxious that his brothers should
not know of his intention, as they desired to keep all these
books and manuscripts together. The prices demanded
1 This, I th ink , must be ‘A bdu’ l -‘Alf, who kept a Shop inVaroshia,a suburb o f Famagusta.
2 H is proper original name was R izwan ‘A li .
V I I I . DEATH OF S UBH -I -AZAL 3 1 5
were, in my opinion, excessive,and I did not pursue the
matter further. The list was as fol lows
( I ) K itabu’n-Nur Book of L igh t (see p. 2 I 6 supra),
the first and largest of the works so entitled , composed at
Baghdad , £ 30 .
( 2 ) D iwa’
nu’l—A z al (see p . 2 1 4 supra),
(3) L abao’ba’
t, £ 20 ,
(4) S ata‘a’
t,
5 ) f awa’
mi ‘u’
l—Hayab il, £ 20.
(6) Lawa’
mi ‘, £ 20 .
( 7) Lawa’
b ia’lz wa Nafay i
‘
( 5 07 sum s
( 8 ) A s
( 9 ) L afdi
lf u’
l-A zal, £ 20 .
Four of these manuscripts (Nos. 3 , 4 , 6 and 7 in the
above list) have, as I have recently learned (S ept . 26 ,been offered to the Bri tish Museum . The ti tle of No . 7 is
somewhat d ifferently given as L awa/zia’
lzu’n-N afa
’
ilt, wh ich
is no doub t correc t .
This list was sent to me in June ,1 9 1 2 , by the already
mentioned Azal i scribe of I sfahan,resident in Tihran, with
whom I succeeded in establish ing relations, and who suppliedme w ith numerous precious documents. The original is
written, not very dist inctly, by a certain MirzaIbrah im Khan,
the son of Fatima Khanim , the niece of Mirza Buzurg’
s
daughter ( the hal f-sisterof both Baha’u ’llah and Subh-i-A zal )
S hah S ultanKhanim ,commonly known asHajji (orH a
’
jjiy a)Knanim-i-B uz urg . I t is accompanied by a more legible
transcript by the aforesaid scribe.
Mirza Buz urg seems to have had six wives (unnamedin the list)
'
who bore him ch i ldren, and who are here distinguished by Roman numbers.
( I ) MirzaYahyaSubb-i-A zal.
I I . ( 2 ) MirzaHusayn‘Ali ( 3 ) MirzaMti Sa
Kalz’
mu’llan1
, who followed Baha: (4) an un
named daughter.
I I I . (5 ) MirzaMuhammad Hasan (A zal i ).
IV . (6) Mirza-qul i : ( 7 ) an unnamed daughter (both
Baha’fs).
1 The’
only one of M irzaMt’
tsa’
s sons with whom I was acquaintedwas Majdu
’d-D in
,but he had three other sons named ‘
A li Riza, Jam i land Kama] .
320 MATERI ALS FOR S TUDY OF TH E BABi RELIG ION
V. (8 ) Haj j i Mirza R iza-qul i, known as H akim ( the
A .H . 1 3 1 1 A .D . 1 8 93
aet. 90 (9 ) Shah S ultan Khanim , commonly
cal led Hajji Kbanim-i -E uzurg , d . A .H . 1 3 2 2
A .D . 1 904 act. 84. She wrote in 1 3 1 0/1 8 9 2
—
3 a refutation of ‘Abdu ’l-Baha(‘Ab bas
E fendi) known as F isa’
la-i — ‘Amma (“the
Aunt ’s E pist le ( 1 0) Mirza MuhammadTaqi
,known as F ariska
’
n,d . A .H . 1 29 2
A .D . 1 8 75 aet. 4 5 : ( I I ) MirzaI brahim ,
act. 30 : ( 1 2 ) Fatima Khanim ,sti l l l iving in
A .D . 1 9 1 2 , act. 70. A ll these five were Azalis.
VI . ( 1 3) Husayniyya (A zali).
In 1 9 1 2 five of Fatima Khanim’
s children, three
daughters (Fakhriyya, Ham ida and Zamzam ) and two sons
(Muhammad Khan and I brah im Khan), all Az alis, were
sti l l living .
D escendants of zldirzaH usayn‘Ali
Baha’u ’llah had two wives, each of whom bore him six
chi ldren.
In when 1 8 years of age, he married Nawwab,who bore him
( I ) Sadiq, who died at the age of 3 or 4 .
( 2 )‘Abbas, now known as
‘Abdu ’l-Baha
,who was born
in He had four daughters,two of whom were
married to MirzaHad i and MirzaMuhsin respect ively .
1 S ee p . 2 27 supra .
322 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EABI’
RELIG ION
and Hadi, seem to have resided in Persia and only to havev isi ted their father occasion
’
ally , wh ile a th ird , Ahmad , leftCyprus for Constantinople (probab ly with his wife Fatimaand his four-year old daugh ter ‘Ad ila) In 1 8 84 ; and five
daughters. Of the sons whom I met in Cyprus the eldest
and most intel ligent was ‘Abdu’ l-‘A li 1 . The next, R izwan
‘A li, who was for some t ime in the service of the late
C . D. Cobham ,Esq , Comm issioner of Larnaca, turned
Christ ian and took the name of Constantine the P ersian.
H e died recently . Most of the A zali MS S . in the British
Museum were transcribed by him .
1 S ee p . 3 14 , n. I supra .
Mention has been already made (pp. 1 8 9— 1 90 supra) of
a very elaborate and detai led refutation of the Bab is entitled
l boa’
ou’l-H aoo, in the course of which (pp . 244
— 2 79 ) the
author, Aqa Muhammad Taq i of Hamadan,enumerates
some th irty heresies wh ich he ascribes to the Babis ( including
under this term the Baha’is and the Azalis) and wh ich he
endeavours to refute . Th is portion of the work, wh ich gives
a convenient synopsis of most of the characteristic doctrines
of this sec t, I shal l here abridge and summariz e in my own
words for the information of those who desire to form a
general idea of Babi theology, and to understand the extreme
aversion with wh ich it is regarded by Musl ims, alike of the
S unni and S h i ‘a persuasions.
I . D enial of miracles.
They assert that God does not violate the laws of nature,and that the m iracles ascribed In the scriptures and in
trad ition to the Prophets are to be explained al legorical ly .
fodn, one of the ch ief polem ical works of
the Bab is, affords many instances of such allegorical inter
pretation of signs and wonders ; and when more or less
m iraculous occurrences are mentioned by Babi h istorians
and b iographers, e.g . in the Ta’rtlcn-if adz
’
d or“NewH istory,”
care is almost always taken by the writer to explain that he
attaches l ittle importance to them ,and that they are of no
evidential value. )
326 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
2 . Tbe only miracle is tne R evelation itself.
They assert that the receiving of revelat ions and the
production of a S cripture or revealed Book are suffi c ient
in themselves to establ ish the claim to Prophethood , without
any adventi tious support from such m iracles as are general ly
ascribed to the great Prophets of yore. ( In th is connection
the Bab is are very fond of quoting Qur’an xviii
,1 1 0 and
x li, 5 [ am only a buman being libe unto yourselves [but]
revelations are made to me.
3 . R evelation not subject to tae laws of grammar.
The Bab ’s grammar, especial ly in his Arabic utterances,afforded an easy target for crit ic ism
,being, in fac t, j udged
by ordinary standards,extremely incorrect 1 . His reply to
his critics was that the rules of grammarwere deduced from
the S criptures, wh ile the S criptures were not compel led to
conform to the rules of grammar. He had “ freed ”the
Arabic language from the many l im itations (gayad) or ruleswherewi th it had h itherto been fettered . But why
,asks the
author of the [aorta Should P ersian prophets ( if such therebe) address theircountrymen in a foreign tongue l ike Arabic
,
contrary to the pract ice of all previous prophets,and to the
expl ic it verse of the Qur’a’
n (x iv, We bave not sent any
Apostle save w ita tbe speeclt of b is own people, t/zat b e maymake clear to t/zem [b is message] P
4. By S igns t/zey understand revealed verses only .
The author has no difficulty in Showing ‘ that — in“
the
Qur’
an the word dyat (pl. a’
yat) is' used of any
“S ign by
wh ich the D ivine P ower is manifested , not only by revealed
1 Cf. p . 2 5 4 supra, last paragraph .
328 MATERIALS FOR STUDY OF THE EAE I RELIG ION
your m idst,but I leave with you two great , weighty and
precious things, which two th ings w il l never be separated orparted from one another unt il they come to me by the brink
of the Fountain of al-Kawthar -are God’
s Word
and myw
li irnf .
’
S o not even the P rophet ’s contemporariesMand fel low-countrymen could w i thout help understand the
revelat ion g iven to him , though in their own language.
How,then, can the Babis pretend that a revelation in Arab ic
can be understood w ithout external help by P ersians, even
the i l li terate ?
6 . Tbe signs by w/zic/z eacb P rop/letforetold t/zat b is successorwould be distingu isb ed are to be understood alleg orically .
The Mahd i or Qa’
im whom the Sh i ‘a expect and for
whose advent they pray is the ident ical Twelfth Imam , the
son of the E leventh Imam and Narjts Khatun, who disappeared a thousand years ago, and who has been m iracu
lously h idden away unti l the fulness of t ime, when he
shal l appear with sundry signs and wonders, enumerated in
the Trad itions,and fi l l the earth w ith j ustice after it has
been fi l led with iniqu ity . But the Babis,giving the lie to
all these traditions,would have us believe that Mirza ‘Alf
Muhammad of S h iraz , the son of MirzaR izathe cloth-sel ler
and Khadija Khanim , who grew up in the ordinary wayand at the age of twenty -four advanced his claim
,was the
E xpected Imam .
7 . Tb e F rop/zets are not“ immaculate (ma‘
sum)
In support of th is view the Babis appeal to certain doubt
fu l phrases in the Qur’
a’
n and to certain incidents narrated
in the Old Testament (which the author, in common with
most Muslims,holds to be corrupt and distorted in the form
x . TH IRTY HERETICAL DOCTR INES 329
in which it now ex ists) . But if the prophets be not “ immacu
late ”and without S in, what virtue have they overother men,
and what claim have they to be listened to ?
8 . P urity and impurity ,lawfulness and unlawfulness, and
tbe like, depend solely upon tke F rop /zet’s arbitrary voli tion.
The proh ib it ions, sanc tions and obligations laid down
by the Prophet are all based on reason and prompted by
care for the welfare of mankind they are not mere arbitrary
enactments, and, though they may be modified in detai l insuccessive dispensations
,they cannot be al tered in princ iple.
The contrary view,held by the Babis, is both heretical and
opposed to reason.
9 . Tbe term S eal of tae P rop/zets explained away .
In the Qur’
a’
n (xxxiii, 40) Muhammad is called “the
S eal of the Prophets ”
(Kba’
tamu’
n-Nabiyy in), and, accord ingtoa well-known trad ition, he declared that there would b eno prophet after him . Belief in the finality of his m issionand revelation is therefore a cardinal and universal tenet ofthe Muslims but the Babis
,desiring to represent the Qur
’a’
n
and the Law of I slam as abrogated in favour of their ownS criptures and Law, endeavour to explain away this expl ic it
and unambiguous dec larat ion. 5
L3
1 0. Tbe claim taat t/ze Bab or is tae
Qa’
im or Khatam .
The Babis c laim that certain of the signs (such as earth
quakes, fam ine and the l ike) wh ich shal l herald the advent
of “ H im who Shal l arise (at-Qa’
im) of the House of Mu
hammad,”i .e the Mahdi , did actually precede or accompany
330 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
the “ Man ifestation of the Bab . Now as we have seen
above No . 6) they assert that these prom ised S igns ” are
to be understood al legorical ly, not l iteral ly . They cannot
have it both ways, or claim that such of these S igns as
happened to accompany the Bab’s advent are to b e taken
literal ly, whi le such as did not appear are to b e explainedal legorical ly .
I I . D enial of tbe Resurrection and belief in Metempsy ckosis
and tae like.
The Babis deny the R esurrection of thebody, for wh ichthey substitute the doctrine of the “ Return”
(R af‘at) to the
life of th is world of the dramatis personae— both bel ievers
and unbelievers— of previous “Manifestat ions” orD ispensa
t i ons: Th is doctrine the author regards as hardly d istin
guishable from transm igrat ion (tandsuk/z) and re-incarnation
(kulzil), but in reality it appears that such “returns ” are
regarded by Babis less as re-incarnat ions than as re-man i
festations of former types, comparable to the repetit ion Of
the same parts in a drama by fresh ac tors, or the re writing
of an old story . S ignificant in th is connection is the favourite
Babi designation of theM n ei therS ide as Letters
of L igh t ” (H aruja’n Let ters of F ire ”
(H urujfu’
n
N dr) .
D enial of a F uture L ife.
The Bab is deny the R esurrection of the body , and
explain al legorical ly all the beliefs connected therewith .
Thus Heaven is belief in and Hel l denial of the New
Theophany the Angels are its em issaries and the Dev ils
its antagonists ; and so w ith the Questioning of the Tomb ,the Bridge of S irat, the Balance, the Reckoning, and the l ike.
332 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BAB I’
RELIG ION
the amount of theirwritings is prodigious whi le the Bab in
particular repeatedly boasts of the number of “ verses ”he
could produce in a g iven time, so that it is said that ten
scribes writing simultaneously cou ld hardly succeed in re
cord ing his utterances. The idea that th is, apart from the
qual ity of the is a m iracle or even a meri t isstrongly combated by our au thor
,who incl ines to the view
expressed in the wel l-known Arabic saying ,“the best speech
is that which is briefest and most to the point . ”
1 6 . Tbeir assertion lkat tke miraculous quali ty ( I‘jaz ) of
tbe Qur’
an can be appreciated by tbc ignorant and
The Babis say that if the m iraculous quality of the
Qur’
a’
n were not apparent to all, learned and i l l iterate, Arab
and non-Arab,al ike
,its proof would not be complete and
they adduce in support of th is view the tradit ion, Knowledge is a ligh t wh ich God casteth into the heart of whom
soever He w il l .” Th is view also the author energetically
repudiates.
I 7 . T/zeir contention tbat wi lling ness to die for one’
s
religi ous convictions is a proof of trut/i .
In support of th is view (wh ich the authorrepudiates) the
Babis ci te Qur’a’
n lxii,6 ,
“ S ay , 0y e wao follow tkejewis/z
fait/z, if y e suppose tbaty e are tbcfriends of God beyond ot/zer
men,tben invoke D eatk
,if ye be sincere.
”
( In spite of our
author, there is, however, no dou b t that noth ing so greatly
conduced to the fame and diffusion of the Bab i rel igion as
the unfl inch ing courage w ith wh ich its adherents confronted
death in the most cruel forms. Compare p. 268 supra . )
X . TH IRTY HERETICAL DOCTRINES 333
1 8 . T/zeir assertion t/za t t/i e Mukammadan doctorspersecute
t/zem because taey cannot answer tbeir arguments.
All that the author has to say on th is head is that the‘Ulamadid not resort to violent methods unt il they had first
tried persuasion and offered opportunities for recantat ion,
and that in this they did but follow the example of the
Prophets, whose heirs they are, in theirdealings with heretics
and infidels.
I 9 . Tacir ref usal to listen to rational or traditional arg u
ments based on S cripture and tradition, p/zilosop/zy and
reason, or experience and perception.
The author’s meaning, wh ich is not very clearly expre ssed
here, appears to be that whi le the Babis constantly quote
texts from the Old and New Testaments and the Qur’a’
n
when these serve theirpurpose, they refuse to listen to such
texts as run contrary to their bel iefs, on the ground that thelater and more perfect Theoohany is its own proof (as the
sun shining in heaven is its own proof) and that earlier andlesser manifestations are proved by it rather than i t by them .
20. Zkeir assertion t/zat t/ze/ ew isb and Ckristian S cripturesnave not been tampered w i t/i .
I t is implied in the Qur’
a’
n1and Trad itions
,and almost
universally bel ieved by the Muslims, that the S criptures nowpossessed by the Jews and Christians have been corrupted
and mutilated, especially as regards the prophecies of Mu
hammad ’s m ission which they were al leged to contain.
The Babis hold the contrary view,asserting that no people
1 S ee especial ly 11 , 39 ; i i i , 63~ —
4 ; and iv , 48 and the commentariesthereon.
334 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY O F THE BABI’
REL IG ION
possessing a S cripture wh ich they regard as God ’s Wordwould will ingly and delib erately tamper with its text ; andthey take a sim ilarly indulgent view of the Zoroastrian S criptures. Theirobject in th is, says our author, is to flatter andgratify these people and Win them over to their doctrines,inwh ich aim they have had no smal l success.
2 1 . Tbeirpretended tolerance and g entleness towards all;
Baha’
u’
l lah’
s commendation of tolerance , Charity and
loving kindness towards all men,irrespective - of race and
creed, is constant and continuous, but the author (w i thsome reason) maintains that the pract ice of his followers,especial ly in relation
'
to the Muslims,more particularly the
S h i ‘i tes, is very far removed from their professions.
2 2 . Tbeir adberence to tb c beresy called Bada.
‘
The verb bada, y abdu in Arabic means to appear,
and with the preposit ion i i “ to occur to of a new idea
occurring to a person. In theological term inology the verbal
noun al—bada denotes the heresy of those who assert that
God can change his m ind , espec ial ly in the designation of a
prophet or Imam . The classical case of th is use of the term
is a traditional saying of the S ixth Imam of the S h i ‘a, Ja‘far
as-Sadiq, who intended or desired that his son I sma‘il should
succeed him as Imam , but subsequently bequeathed the
Imamate to '
his" other son Musa, cal led al-Kaeim ; corr
cerning ‘ wh ich substi tu tion he '
is al leged to have-said God
never c bang ed'
H i s mind about any tb ing as H e did'
about
Thereafter th is doctrine b ecame very famous inI slam as characteristic of certain heretical sec ts, notably the
I 1 0
I I
336 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE EAE I’
RELIGION
24 . Tbeir assertion tbat tbeproof of a P ropbet lies not in tbc
eloquence but in tb e compelling power of b is utterance.
According to the Bab is the miraculous quality of the
Qur’
an was not its eloquence (fasa’
bat wa baldg bat) , but its
compel ling power (nuf udb , qa’
b iriyyat), so that, for example,the Prophet ordered all his followers to fast during the
month of Rama zan, and to th is day, for more than th irteen
centuries, this hard d iscipl ine has been scrupulously observed
by m il l ions of believers. The author repudiates th is view,
wh ich he says that the Babis have taught in order to d ivert
attention from the lack of eloquence and even of grammatical
accuracy of their own S criptures.
2 5 . Tbezr assertion tb at tbe Founders of all religions were
really P ropbets, and tbei r books D ivine R evelations, and
tbat only tbe subsequent idolatrous accretions were not
from God.
This doc trine the author ascribes not so much to the
Bab is and Baha’is in general as to their celebrated apologist
MirzaAbu ’l-Faz l of Gulpayagan, who expl icitly lays it down
in his b ook enti tled Kita’
bu’
l—Ford’
id 1, declaring that all the
rel igions of the world , Brahm inism , Buddhism , Zoroastri
anism , and even Fetish-worsh ip and Idolatry, were original ly
based on a true R evelation, though they may have becomecorrupted in course of time.
26 . Tbeir assertion tbat tb c promised Messiab,Mabdz
’
, or
Qa’
im w ill not be, as tbc Mubammadans imag ine, a
victorious and all-compelling conqueror, but oneoppressed
(maz lt’
im) and constra ined (maqhtir) .
The author says that the early Babis who fought at
S haykh Tabarsi, Zanjan , Nayriz and elsewhere believed, in1
. S ee p . 1 96 supra
X . TH IRTY HERETICAL DOCTR INES 337
common with their antagonists, that the Imam Mahdi or
Qa’
im (by whom they understood the Bab ) should be a
conqueror and rule by virtue of the sword and that only
later. when they were defeated and their hopes and aspira
t ions disappointed, did the y evolve this theory of a patient,gentle, persecuted Messiah .
2 7 . Tb eir assertion tbal tb c interpretation of tbe propbecies
g iven in one D ispensation only becomes clear in tbc suc
ceeding one.
The purpose of th is doctrine , as of the doctrine of E ada’
noticed above (article is,accord ing to our author, to
evade the argument of those who seek to prove that theappearance of the Bab was not accompanied by the signsforetold as herald ing the advent of the Mahd i . (The Babison their part appeal to the h istory of Christ, who was theMessiah ex pec ted by the Jews, though He did not appearasthey expected . The signs foretold as heralding his advent
were duly manifested, but in an al legorical, not in a literal
way. )
2 8 . Tbeir assertion tbat tbe Mabdi or Qa im is not merely
a D ivine Messeng er but a Manifestation of tbe D eity
H imself .
I t does not suffice the Bab is to claim that the Bab wasactual ly the expec ted Mahd i
, Qa’
im,orTwelfth Imam ; they
go further, and assert that he is the bringer of a new Dispen
sation, a new Law and a new S cripture abrogating those of
Muhammad . To the clear dec laration 1 “What Muhammad
r ! 010 0 1 1 9 r d I ’ l / 010 50 1 4’ t
‘M l/ fi d lfi ba m lf s jw lfi ; J I JW W J'
fih -l
B. B .
338 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI REL IG ION
hath sanctioned wi l l remain I‘
awfulunti l theResurrection Day,and what he hath forbidden unlawful
,
” they oppose certain
ambiguous traditions wh ich speak of the Mahdi as bringing“a new law,
” “a new Book
,
”or a new D ispensation,
wh ich traditions are susceptible of a d ifferent explanation.
29 . Tbeir assertion tb at tb c imagi ned return of tb c Mabdi ,
tbc Messiab and tb c [ma’
m H usay n is really a re-mani
festation of tbe sameprototypes, not an actual return oftb ese individuals.
Th is is pract ical ly, to some extent at any rate, a repetition
of article 1 1 dealing with the Babi doctrine of “ Return ”
I t is Very characteristic of Babi thought, and I
have discussed it pretty fully in my translation of the New
H istory ,pp . 334 et seqq. I t was in that sense, no doubt,
that Khayru ’llah told his American proselytes (p . I 1 8 supra)that “ Abraham , Jacob, Moses, Joshua and Daniel are re
incarnated and are at A cre, the‘ Holy In our
author’s term inology, they hold that the qual ities of Christ
hood (Masiluyy at),Mahdi-hood (Mabdaw iy yat), Qa’
im -hood
(Qa’
imiyy at) and Husayn-hood (H usayniyy at), if these ex
pressions may b e perm it ted , are generic not personal
30. Tbeir doctrine tbat God, tbc E ternal E ssence,is beyond
all buman cog niz ance and definition, and tbat we can
only see, meet, know,revere, worsb ip and obey [Jim inH is
i lfanifestati ons, towit tb c P rop bets, [ma’
ms,Gates,
”etc.
Th is doctrine is also discussed in the N ew fi istory
(p . 33 1 ) and elaborated in the Bab’
s P ersian B ay dn, to
which references are given in Vol . xv of ‘
the E . I/V. G ibb
Memorial Series ( text of MirzaJan i S N uqtatu’
l p . lxvi .
S E LE CTED POEMS BY QURRATU’
L ‘AYN,
NA E I’
L AND OTHE R BABIS .
344 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
O 1
‘
L5 ’ LSW 5 5 5 db 5"414°
‘
oh-ibr-fi' «a 05 v
ets!
‘
Mw
U“ )
UAUM.» jLo
1 Th is is perhaps an al lusion to Qurratu’
l- ‘Ayn’s title janab-iI tib ira Her Ho l iness the
2 i . e.
5 9 1A »; l) ‘
‘
U-o fi l-a u
-fi-t 0: 15 31-4 L's-e
Hal 01— 15 3 5
’
0315 ’
0-315 ) 05 3 m“
5M
9 133» Ci el»06 !M 6 5 5 )
F ac-sim i le of a l leged au tograph p oem by Qurratu’l-‘A yn .
Tof acep . 344.
346 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
‘
J-33 3 g laga Ll -i
w w ; L5
5
5 :
330A? Ar a—oi
“ W‘ “
ji P M.
up : ‘H H LAMA dye .
0 1 0:“H r-9 ) 5 > r i-e
"53 A b i -e JB' 4
L5 3 4 ? «3
‘
dJ-f 03 rh o-M‘
9 54-4
‘m ts. [5 ] 655 15 .
U fi og . a} ;
r
'
r
fl I ;
lv . 39 OU)’
5 33 : l. »
‘
o lcfl M i 93 JLo-Q ' ” 4 re
‘
J-ojj‘ ” 5 w f er-5
5
55
w ) ?M 5 : 1 ‘ aka.
‘
o lce L5»? fl and
fi N
w e Ola) A a : 5 5
1 The rare A i ali controversial work entitled Hasfit B z’
lzz'
s/zt (see
j.
'
R . A : S . for 1 89 2 , pp . 680— 69 7) complains that Baha’
u’ l lah , not con
tent with mak ing h imself God, and even a Creator of gods, ” assignsthe latter title “
even to his meanest servants.
”I t quotes the Baha’i
poet Nab i l assaying
‘
U
5
laé . efi s M 423 13 14
“ Men say lb az 7Yzan art God, and I am moved to ang er : remove tfie
vei l and subm it no longerto flee disg race of [more] Goa’lzeaa’
.
2 These verses appear to b e addressed to Subh -i-A z a l , who is alsoentitled the E ternal F ruit ” (Tfiamara
x 1 . S ELECTED POEMS 347
jl , fi u Emu . jl ” sue:
‘
Q tfasy as. j! , 55 d b .) ‘
Q LKM a” ; 5 44 i u“ .
‘
fi fi a -owhy -65 " M ag-u , Ojlu d uh.) fl 5 014! ufi-‘f
Though Qurratu’
l as a poetess is consider
able, I know Only two other poems commonly ascribed to
her, both g lzaza/s composed in theKa’
miZmetre,which, though
common in Arab ic, is little used in P ersian save by a few
mystical poets like Jam i . Both Of these'
poems are very
fine , being only marred by the incorrec tness Of the Arabic
phrases which they contain— a defect only too common in
Bab i writings. In spite of th is I think them worth pre
servmg , and, though I have published both of them b efore,the first in the ] . R . A . S , for 1 8 99 (Vol . x x i, pp . 936
—
7 and
9 9 1— 2 ) and the second in my edition and translation of the
Traveller’s Narrative (Vol . ii, pp . 3 1 4 I here reprint
them,togetherwi th the versified translations, in wh ich I have
made a few trifling alterations.
1 1 016 1 1 046 0 1 1 09 1 1 1 1 1
am ” an Ja i l, W 5. ” o b i ?
Ighéné‘
N) ,[
of Oh. M ) 5 5 J) u lfixbls
h) " Q u a-5 é fl fl ) ”J r I t 4 0 50 I I
J I N 40 1 a , J ; r a 09 1
b lbCu !
Cw Ano a w l) lS i
348 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BAB I’
RELIGION
J‘ gu “ fi r e
-se 4 5 3 ‘ 9 13) y ; 4 3
M d Lb ofi w w’d l} 0433:
use“) A?“ b eu ; G N U“ ) w )“Jé
'
lb 45 > 9 3
tac t c» m i s s Len-t» ssh-é» ans / é :
I O I I
w m w M lb b
Translation. )
The thral ls of yearning love constrain in the bonds of pain
and calam ity
These broken-hearted lovers Of th ine to yield their lives in
their z eal for thee l .
Though w ith sword in hand my Darl ing stand with intent
to slay, though I sinless be,If it pleases him ,
th is tyrant ’s wh im,I am wel l content with
his tyranny .
As in sleep I lay at the break of day that cruel charmer
came to me ,
And in the grace of his form and face the dawn of the morn
I seemed to see.
The musk of Cathay m ight perfume gain from the scent
those fragrant tresses rain,
1 This poem is presumably addressed to the Bab .
3 50 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
R ELIG ION
I
“ I : 0 1 )W uls
ufil j
'
jgm ull w
U .S l aé gy w
0 I f ) J I O I ' o
Translation. )
The effulgence of thy face flashed forth and the rays of thy
visage arose on h igh
Then Speak the word, Am I noty our Lord and Tlzou
art,T/zou art ! we w il l all reply 1
Thy trumpet-cal l Am I not ? to greet how loud the drums
of affliction2 beat !
At the gates Of my heart there tramp the feet and camp the
hosts of calam ity .
That fair moon’
s love is enough , I trow, for me, for helaughed at the hai l 3 of woe,
And triumphan t cried, as he sunk below,
“The Martyr of
Karbalaam I 4 l
1 S ee Qur’dn vn, 1 7 1 . The meaning is, “ I f you Claim to be God ,
we wi l l all accept your claim .
”
2 There is a play on the word bald, wh ich means “
yea and alsoaffl iction.
”
3Said, wh ich I have translated “ hail , means a general irivitatiOn
or summons.
4 i .e. the Imam Husayn, ofwhom several Of the Babi leaders claimedto b e a Return .
”S ee p . 338 supra .
x 1 . S ELECTED POEM S 3 5 1
When he heard my death~ dirge drear, for me he prepared ,and arranged my gear forme
He advanced to mourn at my bier forme, and o’
erme wept
right b itterly .
What harm if thou with the fire Of amaze Should’st set my
S inai-heart ablaze,Which thou first mad
’
st fast in a hundred ways but to shakeand shatter so ruthlessly ?
To convene the guests to his feast Of love all night from the
gel host above
Peals forth this summons ineffable, Hail, sorrow-stricken
fraternity
Can a scale Of the fish of amaze l ike thee aspire to enquireOf Being’s S ea ?
S it mute like Tahira, hearkening to the whale of “NO and
its ceaseless sigh 1 .
There 1 5 another Bab i poem i n the same metre and
rhyme which is sometimes ascribed to Qurratu’
l- ‘Ayn, but
more Often, and with greaterprobab ility, to Nabi l Of Zarand ,who at one time advanced a claim on his own behalf
,but
afterwards became the devoted fol lower and, if the term maybe perm itted, the poet-laureate of Baha
’u ’llah . This poem I
published with a prose translation in thej. R . A . S . for 1 8 9 2 ,
pp . 3 2 3—
5 , togetherwith another, a tarki’
o-bana’
of unknown
authorsh ip , in praise Of Baha’u ’l lah . I ts boastfu l Character
may be j udged by the three following verses, which are not
devoid of a certain grandeur
1 i . e. Thou art a mere tiny scaleon the smal lest fish of the OceanOf Being, and even the Leviathans of that Ocean can but proc laim theirown insignificance and non-ex istence .
”
35 2 MATER IALS FOR STUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
(Translation. )I f anyone walks in my path I wil l cry to him that he may be
warned
That whoeverbecomesmy lover shal l not escape from sorrow
and affl iction .
I f anyone obeys me not and does not grasp the cord of my
protection 1
I wi l l drive him far from my sanctuary , I wi l l cast him in
wrath to the winds of NO 2.
”
I am E ternal from the E verlast ing World ; I am the One
from the R ealms Of the Lim it less ;I am come [to seek for] the people Of the Sp irit , and towards
me indeed do they advance 3.
Yet a fourth poem in the same rhyme andKcimil metre,of uncertain authorsh ip, occurs in a manuscript (B B P . 7 )wh ich I brought back from P ersia
,and wh ich is described
in the ] . R . A . S . for 1 8 9 2 , pp . 444—
9 ; and I have Cop iesof several more contained in a manuscript bearing the class
mark P . 92 kindly lent to me many years ago by the late
M. Ch. S chefer, to whom it belonged . Indeed it would be
easy to compile a fair-sized anthology of Babi poems,but in
1 Or S aintsh ip , forWi la’y at has both meanings. Amongst theArabshe who would seek the protection of some great S haykh orAm ircatcheshold Of one of the cords Of his tent , cry ing Ami I p lacemyself under thy protection
2 Not-Being , or Negation, orAnnih i lation.
3 The Arabic words with wh ich this l ine conc ludes are, as is too
Often the case with the Bab is, hopelessly ungrammatical .
3 54 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
5 , LSr —e o le 3 J: r five jw ifli
e )
u u o w n x sfi e ta-5 4> m M e
043
w e) L5»W as Mf"w ) ? v é)
‘
Lye t“: cats-J jl M 04 -9 5 L534 3 ?
5 5 : ow nu cma e
é m fi on}?
He u, 0 5» git-é a: g
fi fi fi M s‘
L5 ) “ 3 2 4 4 5 g r"é fi fl fl 24 45 07 L93 3
Ha Ha £ 45 4 6 a s) : m w . ugly r“
a s a s w as ,» 4 5 19 5 25 35 5 5 5 5 »
LA We “25 3 3’ 43 7 fi “?
v i i-fie 015-3 4) 4 1; u ‘ L" d ebs" 4?
Q v x é aé w gu é )M ofi aé
w gfl fi -m gfi d ‘ é m ’j
Mu e fl M e R-u a wu» ;
mwo fl wy w e w g w fl é f
XI . S ELECTED POEMS 35 5
fi lo 5 3 4W 5 3 é fi loé b m ol 3 um .J:
He he 433 4 1“i 3 ufi e 4 5
he H4 0 3 5 “ o f-3 ob) ”35 sum -x.»
wp fl gjg y asu a é dw su u A j
93 6 ? lo-ifl O ’r.’ -j as?» 0 9 k a» ) on.“
We a” , S ale A» Cele» 4 5
O 9 3"t ) 5 > cs‘A ‘
sé-fi j0-313 L5 ? 4 3 u lfi lfi fi j
la L, 0 5 5 3 5 043 3 o er-i » >5 f~ «5
w a iuL M -yua- fif flli —o w
W a.» a t but
,» 45 :G5W m l DJ“ 45 °
to) ts») CJ-( fi-e 4 133 UM u, une N3
ub w s q w t wwu
w m bfi dlé
lo ad U 4 5 0-59 531
23— 2
356 MATER IALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIG ION
w fi fi cam w fi w it-sw i g ”: u
fl
afl i g abué
okra ! c at):
43
33
Us; Q UE
-5 Mm ,f i
W» 5 3 53 4 5 Cole dim e-a 154
M Q LTM M OM c m ! 05:
van-0 6 h.»
G1“ dua x v 1
§°9 1=r .4, 5 mJawv
i
sa a} ,
fi st. r ” b>5 3> J‘M e mu {ow or”
1$
13u ” N i Joe o le 6M )
) 9 —i ~= Hi la w-Afio M y.» 5L»
L5 11; r “ O) O la»? ” 5 “ lb j (33)-3 Alli
00 5 0
C g lb l W »C314
M i lt v i i) ;
1 Qur’
a’
n l ii i, 8 .
35 8 MATERIALS FOR S TUDY OF THE BABI’
RELIGION
Muhammadan compi lers of anthologies and memoirs ofpoets general ly ignore the Babi poets, but a short notice isdevoted to Qurratu
’l-‘Ayn in the Tad/zkirata
’
Z or
Memo irs of i l lustrious women,” l ithographed at Bombay
in pp . 1 5 5 1 5 7 . I t contains however, no new
facts.
362 INDEX
‘Abdu’l lah Pasha, Palace of
5 8‘Abdu’ l-Maj id ofKhurasan (martyr
and father of M irza 40‘A bdu’l-Maj id b . Haj j i Muham
mad of N ishaptir, 238‘A
du’n Nabi the tai lor (martyr),
‘Ad u’
r-Rah im Mus/zki oa’
f , 304‘A bdu’
r-Rah im , Hajj i S haykh1 92
—
3‘Abdu’
r-Rah im of Yazd, 4 1‘Abdu ’
r-Rasul of Kashan (martyr) ,38
‘Abdu’s-S alam , S haykh 1 96‘Abdu’ l-Wahhab-i-Munsfi i , M irza
208‘Abdu lWahhab of Zanjan (ex iled
to Khartum ), 34A bel , 1 34Aberson,
Mrs 1 07Aoadru
’l Qudduszyya ,
209— I I
Abhar, Ibnu’l 102
Ab i ‘A taba Akka), 8 9
Ahjad notation,2 5 , n . 1 aa
’calc.
A bom ination OfDesolation,”1 40
Abraham . 1 1 8 , 1 3 7 , 1 40 , 338
Aht'i Basir of Zanjan (martyr) , 36Abu’l-Faz l of Gulpayagan, 1 10,
1 5 3 , 1 5 8 , 1 70, 1 90,
Abu’ l Huda (astrologer to S ultan‘Abdu’ l H am id) , 2 24
Abu’ l Ma‘al i
, S haykhu’r Ra’
is
2 24Ab t
'
I Musl im , 2 8 5Abu’ l -Qasim al- I Iasani al -Hu
sayni , 2 5 8 - 9Abu’ l-Qas im (servant Of Baha u
’llah) , 7
Abu’ l-Qasim , Haj j i of Isfahan(exi led to Khartum), 34
Abu’ l-Qasim , Haj j i o f S h iraz ,33
Abu’ l -Qasim of S ulta’ nabad , 46A bu’sh -Shurtir, 2 1 3 , 2 1 9 aa
’calc.
S ee Dayy a'
n ,jandb-i ~
A chaemenians, 22 1Acre . S ee ‘AEkri
Adam , 1 33 , 1 34
a‘Adila (granddaughter of Subh-iAz al ) , 3 22
Adrianople (Ed irne, called A rgu’
s
S z'
rr,
“the Land of the Mys1 9
- 20, 30 , 33 , 35 , 36,
38 , 5 1 , 63 , 84, 1 38 , 32 1
Advance (Ch icago) , 1 50 ad calc.
Adwaita S chool of Vedant ists, 1 26Afmin, k insmen o f the Bab so
cal led , 49 ad calc. ; 63 ; 75 ;
90 ; 1 63 ad calc.
Ag /zgdn Branches, pl . ofGbuyn,
the t itle given to Baha’u' l lah ’ssons) ; 1 7 , 2 2 , 29 , 3 1 , 49 ad
calc. , 7 5 , 76, 8 3 , 8 8 , 105 , 1 4 1
ad ea/e. ; 1 5 8 ; 1 63 ad ea/e.
S ee also G/zumAhmad Absa’l, S haykh
I 94Ahmad Aqa-zada, S ayyid 208
A hmad A s‘ad Efend i , 224
A hmad Khan, Dr 1 75 , 1 99 ,204, 207, 208 . 209 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 2 ,
Ahmad, Mul la 208
A hmad , S ayyid (antagonist ofS ikhs) , 1 9 2
Ahmad, S haykh of Khurasan
(martyr) , 3 5Ahmad , S haykh R zifif of Kir
man, 1 99 , 2 1 3 , 343 . S ee R zib i
A hmad [S on of] Subh -i-A za l , 3 1 4,322
Ahmad , Ustad 5 5Ahmad-i-Yazd i, 236
A lzsanu’
l Qisas Ydsuf , Commentary on the 5 22m m g 0 .
A’Zna-zl S z
'
eafzdarf ( Persian h istoryby M irzaAqaKhan) , 222 , 22 5
Aé/ztar ( Persian newspaper) , 2 2 1‘Akka (S t Jean d
’
A cre) , 26 , 29 ,
3 1 , 3 5 , 38 , 45 , 5 1 , 5 3 , 5 5 , 5 8 ,
5 9 , 63 , 64 , 79 , 8 5 , 8 9 , 9 1 , 9 7 ,
1 1 8 , 1 22, 1 37 , 1 38 , 1 4 1 , 1 42 ,
I 47 , 1 49 , 1 5 0 , 1 5 2 , '5 3 , I 5 5 ,108 , 1 70 , 1 9 1 , 1 97 , 229 , 23 1 ,262 ad calc. , 29 5
‘Akkaal-Khadra. S ee Green A ere‘A lamu
’
l-Hudd,’
25 3 ad ( ale.
INDEX
Alam i'
i t, Assassins of 2 24A lexander “
the Great ” (Arkandar, 348 , 349
A lexander I I , Czar of Russia, 1 38A lexandria, 3 1 , 32 , 44, 98 , 1 8 5A lexandropol , 1 76‘All Pasha , 1 9 , 26, 3 1 , 5 1 , 2 77 ,
‘Ali ibn A b i Tal ib, 2 1 7 , 2 5 5 ad
calc . , 302‘Ali , Aqa son of MuhammadBaq ir (martyr of Yazd) , 42 ,299 , 302
‘Alf, Haj j i Af zzdn , 62‘Alf, Hajj i Mulla of Kand , 36‘Alf, Hajj i of Kirman (ex i led
to Khartum), 34‘Alf,Hajj i M irza\ayyid Afna
'
n ,
‘Ali ,Hajj i S ayyid Lawésa’
mi , 230‘A li, Mirza S aw/d
o
ll, 44
‘A li , M irza S ayyid Mudarrz'
s,
305‘Ali ,Mul la ofS ab z awar(martyr) ,
42 , 299 . 302 , 305‘A li
'
, Mul la S haykh cal ledjandb 343
‘A11, S ayyid A fnan , 32 1 ad calc.
‘Alf, S ayyid o f Kirman, 200‘A li (son o f Subh -i -Az al) , 3 1 4‘AlfAkbar, Mashhadi (assassin) ,73 ad ( ale.
‘Ali Asgharal-Hasanfal-Husayni ,2 5 8
—
9‘AlfAsghar ofYaz d , son of M irza
Abu’ l-Qasim (martyr), 42- 3‘A li Asghar, Aqa Yuzdarum
’
(martyr of Yazd) , 299 , 30 1 ,
302 , 304, 305 , 3o6‘A li Jan , Mul la’ of Maz andaran(martyr) , 39
‘A li Muhammad , MirzaS hiraz . S ee Bdb.
‘A li Muhammad, M irza (son of
62 , a secondson so named , 63 , 32 1 a thirdson by a different mother so
named , 63 , 32 1‘A li Naqi , M irza of Khurasan(martyr) , 3 5
363
‘Alf R iza (son of M irza Musa
3 1 9‘Ali-qul i Khan (Baha’ i m issionary
to America), 1 46‘A li-abad , 242
A ll/iyy a , Qag' ia
'
a-zl 228 - 9Alwa
'
Zt Tablets p l . of Lara/zpubl ished co l lections of
1 84, 1 9 5America, 77 Baha’ i propaganda
in 93 e! seqq. ; 1 1 3 cc seqq. ,
236 ; 338 . S ee alsoK/Iay rn’lla
’
lz
American Col lege at Beyrout, 93Amerz
'
can journal of T/zeology ,
1 49Am inu’ l lah , son of Asada llah of
I sfahan, 236
Am inu’ l lah , grandson of Baha u’
lla’
h, 32 1
Amz’
nn’
s-S uddn , M irza ‘Ali As
gharKhanA ta’
ba/e-i -A ‘z anz ,295
Amul, 5 , 238
Anba’ r prison (Tihran) , 2 79 , 28 3Andreas, Dr F . C . 1 75Andraos Mal ik (householder in
‘Akka) , 50Annas, 297
Antichrist , 1 1 7 , 1 40, 1 9 1
Aqa Jan“ Kaj 26, 5 1 ,
5 5 ; assassinated , 5 5AqaJan, S ayy id (martyr) , 39Aqa Khan, M irza of Kirman,
1 99—
5 ; biographyof 225
AqaM irzaJan of Kashan, entitled“the S ervant of God.
”S ee
A ya’as
, 64 , 73 , 76,8 1 , 1 5 9 , 1 63 , 1 9 5 Russianed . and transl. , 1 8 7
Arabs censured , 2 22 —
3Arafikfl son of Harti
’m , 1 9 7Ardistan, 238‘Arig . S ee Mubanmzad A
’fz a
’
of[sfa/zdn
Armenians, 262Arz -i -Maqsi
’
id, 1 65 ad calc. S ee‘Aked
Asadiyyt'
m, the fol lowers of Day
ydn (am ) so cal led , 2 1 8 , 2 1 9
364 INDEX
Asadu’ llah , S ayyid (physician),2 1 3
Asadu’ l lah of Khuy , 2 1 3 . S ee
D ayydn , ] anab-iAsadu’ l lah of Qazwin, 208
Asadu’l lah of Isfahan, 1 1 0, 1 1 5 ,
Ashraf, Aqa S ayy id (martyr) ,36, 29 1
Ashraf, M irza of Abada (mar
tyr) , 40Askabad . S ee
Aslam , M irza of N 1'
1r, 228— 9Aslan Khan
,Am ir 248 , 249 ,
A sma’
. S ee underN ames
‘Asr, Commentary on the 5 2mm?»
203A sraru
’
l-s ay éiyy a , 1 78 , 1 9 5Astarabad , 24 1
A trpet, S argis Mubagaji an, 1 76—
7Aunt ’s Epist le ”
(s d/a-i -‘Anz
ma ) , 227Austria, 27 1
Austrian Lloyd steamers, 3 1 , 32A awakening of tileP ersians,H istory
of tb c 2 2 5Ayy cinzu
’
s/z S /zia’a'
d GrievousDays or Days of S tress2 2
, 84Ayydmu
’
r-R i gwa’
n, 1 6
Aza l . S ee Sublz - i -A zal
A zalis, assassination of‘Akka, 5 2
- 8
A zalis assassinated , 1 8 1 , 233Aza l i writers of note, 2 20—
9Azarbayjan, 4
A z har, University of (Cairo) ,1 1
‘A z inhan, S ardar 3 5‘A z iz u
’l lah (a Jew ) o f Bukhara,237
Bab (Mirza‘Ali Muhammad), 3- 5 ,
9 , 1 4 , 20 ; cal led ‘A li beforeNabi l ,” 25 , n. 1 ad calc. anni
versary o f b irth , 37 ; his tombon Mount Carmel , 100 ; 1 2 3 ;1 47 ; 1 5 2 ; his m ission and
death , 1 37— 8 ; portraits of
1 76, 1 8 2 ; 1 9 1 ; 1 92 ; MS S . of
his writings, 1 98— 208 dis
posal of his body , note on
20 1 ; 2 10 ; 2 1 8 ; his secondwife, the sister of Mul laRajab‘Ali cal led Qa/zz’r, d ied on Dec .
1 0 , 1 9 1 6 , 2 20 ad calc. ; documents referring to his exam ination and condemnation, 247
5 9 Dr Corm ick ’
s personalimpressions of 260- 2 ; 2 75 ;his incorrect Arabic , 3 26 ; 32 8 ;33 1
Ba'
lm’
d-D z’
n (“the Gate of Re
by I . G . Khayru’ l lah ,96 , 1 1 6
, 1 43 , 1 80
Babu’ l-Bab (“the Gate of the
Gate ,” title given to Mul laHusayn of Bushrawayh) , 238 ,239 , 240 ad calc.
B ada’
, the heresy so cal led , 334—
5 ,
337Badasht, 5 , 233 , 345Bad i ‘ , M irza or Janab-i(Aqa Buz urg), 40, 47
—
9 , 260,
262 ad calc. , 263 , 294Badi ‘u
’
llah Efend ison) , 63, 86, 90 , 1 05 , 1 4 1 and
1 42 ad calc . ; his recantation,
1 9 7 ; letter from 298—
30 1 ,
32 1
Baghdad , 6, 7 , 8 , 9, 1 0, 1 1 , 1 5 , 1 6,1 7 , 20 , 36 ; riots against Babisat 37 8 ; 5 0 ; 5 3 , 63 , 1 38 ,I 99 , 227 : 232 , 2 75 , 2 79 ,
32 1
Baha’
u’ l lah (M irza H usayn ‘Ali
son of M irza Buz urg of N 1’
1r) ,b irth and parentag e, 3 ; foreto ld by Bab , 4 part p layed by
in Bab s l ifetime , 5 ; im ~
prisoned in '
l ibran, 6 ex i ledto Baghdad , 6- 7 ; withdrawsto S ulaymaniyya in Kurdistan , 7
-
9 ; returns to Baghdad ,9— 1 7 ; is inv ited to put him
self under British protection,
1 1 - 1 2 ; at Baghdad , 1 2 — 16 ;ex iled to Constantinople and
Adrianople , 1 7- 29 ; exiled
366 INDE X
Bukhara, 23 7Burhanu
’d-D in of Balkh , S ayyid
2 24Bushrawayh, 238
Bustani’
s Co l lege at Beyrout, 9 3Buzurg , M irza. S eeM i
’
rza'
Buz urgand ‘A boa
’
s, S ayy id M i’
rz a'
Buz urg Khan, M irza of Qazwin( Persian Consul -General at
Baghdad ) , 1 5 , x 37 , 277 , 280 ,
284
Caiaphas, 29 7Cain, 1 34, 1 3 5Cairo , 94, 1 43 , 1 45 , 1 8 5 , 1 86, 1 9 1 ,
I 9 7Cal ifornia , 9 7Cambridge, 1 48 , 1 68 ad calc. 1 8 8 ,
I 99Canaan
,8
Carmel , Mount 45 , 5 9 , 1 00
Carnegie Hal l,1 5 1 , 1 83
Casablanca, 24 1Catalog ue of 27 Ba
’
oz’
MS S ., 1 75 ,
1 79 , 1 98 , 201 ad calc. ,202 ,
Catho lics, 1 39Ce l ibacy condemned , 1 4 1
Chaldaean b ib le, 1 34Chaqrnaq . Mosque ofAm ir 304Chase . Mr Thornton 1 1 5Chebar, R iver 1 38
Ch icago , 93 ao’calc. , 9 5 , 96, 9 7,
1 1 0, 1 1 8 , 1 23 , 1 24 ,
1 2 5 , 1 39 , 1 47 , 1 48 , 1 49 , 1 50,
1 5 1 1 1 5 4' 1 5 5 1 1 68 , 1 7 1
Chihriq , 25 2
Christ, 4 , 1 1 7, 1 1 8 , 1 30, 1 3 1 , 1 32 ,1 33 , 1 3 5 , 1 36, 1 3 7 , 1 38 , 1 39 ,1 40 , 1 4 1 , 1 50, 1 5 2 , 1 9 1 , 300
ad ca/c. , 327 , 337 , 3 56
Christianity , 1 9 1 , 1 98Christians, 262 , 263 , 307 ,
Christian S cientists, 1 26Chupan, Dr 2 3Church i l l , Mr S idney 293C incinnati , 1 48
Cobham , Mr C laude Delaval
Columbus, the S econd —r, 99 , 1 00
Commentaries (Tafa’
sir) by the
Bab , 20 1—
4
Conqueror of America,
1 0 1
Constantine the Persian, 1 99 ,
3 1 3- i4 , 32 2 . S ee R ig/wan
‘A li
Constantinople , 1 6 , 1 7, 1 8 , 1 9 , 20,26 1 2 7 , 3 1 ; 44, 5 1 , 63 ,
Const i tuti onal Movement ln Pers1a ,
attitude of Baha’is towards,1 8 4 ; of A z alis towards, 2 2 1
Cork , 237Corm ick ,
Dr 260, 264Costi S ee Constanlzne t/ze
P ersi an and A’zzwdn ‘A 12
Covenant ,” Book of my1 1 0
Cursing, ordeal by
Curz on, Lord 1 48
Cyprus, 44 , 1 9 1 , 1 98 , 1 99 , 2 1 3,
2 1 4, 2 1 6, 32 1 , 3 2 2 . S ee alsoFamag usta
D ajjal (Antichrist) , 1 9 1
D ald’
i l-i -S ao‘a , 1 8 1 , 204—
5d g ila
'
n , 240
Daniel , 1 1 8 , 1 40 etc . 1 43, 338
Darband i , Mul laAqayi 2 79 ,
284Darwish , Hajj i (Turk ish offi
cial) , 2 1 3Dav id , 1 32 , 1 42 , 2 50, 2 54D awd
'
i r (" Circ les,” pl . ofD a
"ira) ,
2 1 6
Dawlatshah’
s“ Memoirs of the
Poets . 3 27 ad calc.
Dawud M irza, 242Dawud , Yuhanna (Johanna)Dayy ,an Janab-1 (M irza A sa
dyu’
llah of Khuy) , 2 1 3 ; 2 1 8
1 9 ; 2 27Detroit (M ichigan), 1 49Dih-i-Mulla, 240D i 'zocinu
’l-A zal, 2 1 4 , 3 1 5
D iyar Bakr, 1 7Dodge
,Mr and Mrs Arthur P i ls
INDEX
bury 96, 1 2 5 and ad calc.
1 48 ; 1 78
Dragon, 1 39 , 140.
S erpentDreams, revelations in 1 3 1
Dreyfus, H ippo lyte 1 2 , n. 1
ad calc. , 1 78 , 1 79 , 1 97 , 247— 8
Druz es. 224
B araru’
l 1 46, 1 9 5- 6
Dutch , 307Dutt Prashad , 1 9 5
S ee also
Eden , 1 34, 1 4 1
Egypt, 3 2 , 33 , 34 , 8 7 , 93 , 94,
ad calc 1 64, 23 5 . S ee alsoA lex andri a, Cairo, P ort S aza
’
,
etc .
Egyptian bible , 1 34Egyptian magicians, 32 7E l ias, 1 36
E l ias, Wh ite House of
5 9E l ijah , Bab identified with 1 37E l iot, Maine, 1 47England, 9 5 , 98 Baha’
i movement in 1 84
Enterprise, c ity o f 96
Epi s tle to Maryam , 8 . S ee Law/i
Essl ingen, 1 80
Eternal Fruit ( T/zamara-iA z aliyy a) , 3 1 1 . S ee S uolz -i
A z al
Etymology , popular, 22 2- 3Euphrates, 2 1 8E ve, 1 34Exaggerated estimates of number
of Baha’is, 1 1 8 — 20 , 1 2 5 , 1 42 ,
1 43 9 1 479 €fi 1 48-
9 9 1 5 1 1 1 5 2 ;of Baha’i books, 1 26, 1 39
Ez el , E z elis. S ee A z al, A z alis
Faber, PastorW. 1 76“ Face ( PVaj/z ) of God , 1 32
Factsfor Ba/zci’
ists, 1 68—
70, 1 80
Faith-healing, 1 26
Fakhriyya (daughter of FatimaKh'
anim ), 320Famagusta, 1 9 1 , 2 1 3 , 3 1 1 , 3 1 2 ,
3 1 3 , 3 1 4
367
Gal l ipol i , 29, 30, 3 1 , 44Gazargahi , Aqa (martyr of
Yaz d ) , 304German Emperor, 1 39Germany , Baha’ ism in 1 80
,
1 8 4
Fanwood , New Jersey , 1 5 3Fard
’z
’
d, 1 47 , 1 90, 336
Faraju’llah the Kurd , 1 9 5
Farid Am in, 1 1 6 , 1 70
Paris, a Christian of A lexandria,32
Farmdn-f arma’
, 22 1 , 22 5Farmer, M iss S arah Jane
aa’
calc.
Faruq iyya (daughter of Baha u’llah), 32 1
F asln’
l-A labar (“ S upreme S epara
2 2 , 23 , 26, 5 1F aslzt
’l-K/z zftdb f z
’
tary’
zlma/z’
ali
wa’
lz’l-Ba
’
o, 226
Fasting , Ba’ bi month of cal ledS /za/zru
’
l 2 1 5F cltufia , Bab’s commentary on the
S dra/u’l 20 1 — 2
Fa’
tima (w i fe of S ubh-i-A z al ) , 32 1Fatima (daugh ter-in-law of S ubh
i -Az al) , 322Fatima Khanim (niece of Khanim
i -Buzurg (an ) , 3 1 9 , 320Faz lu
’llah, M irza (Azal i ) , 2 1 3
Fet ish ism , 1 9 1 , 336
F irdawsi, 2 2 1
F itzgerald, Col. NatWard 1 5 1
F ive Grades or S tyles(Snn
’
zln-i -Knamsa ) , 20 1 , 207 ,2 1 3 , 2 16 , 2 1 9 ad calc.
F our R 1vers”are the four sons
of Baha’u’ l lah , 14 1
France , 9 5 , 98 , 1 1 7 ; Baha i move
ment in 1 84French , attempt to connect withPersian, 2 22
—
3Fring eof tireE astbyH .C. Lukach ,
3 1 2
Fu’
ad Pasha, 1 9 , 26, 3 1 , 5 1 , 277 ,
Furayyat (nearBaghdad), 1 7F t
‘
trst Bismarck (steamer), 98
368 INDEX
Getsinger, 96 ad calc .
, 107 , 108 ad
calc ., 1 5 2
Ghodsia . S ee Qudsiyy a K/za'
nim
Ghulam A hmad Qadiyani , 1 92
Ghulamu’ l lah , son of MuhammadJawad , 1 68 , 1 8 8 , 2 36
—
7G/zula
’
t (extreme S h i ‘a) , 33 5Gnnsn Branch
,
” pl . Agnsdn ,
a title given, togetherwi th some qual ify ing adj ective,to each of Baha’u’ l lah ’s sons.
Gnusn-i -A ‘g am ‘
AbbasE femdi Glznsn-i -Aéoar Muham
mad‘Ali ; G/zusn
-i -Aflzar :
M irza Ziya’u’
llah Gnusn - i
A nwar z M irzaBadi ‘u’
llah
Gioo[Memorial S eri es, 206 ad calc.
Gi l B las, 22 1
Gob ineau, Com te de 205 , 2 1 6
ad calc. , 2 1 8
Go lden Calf, 1 6 2
Goldz iher, 1 1 5 , 1 50
Gordon Pasha , 35Gospels, 4 , 333Goumoens, Capt . vonGrant
,General 1 38
Greekwi .e0fKhayru ’ l lah divorced ,9 5Green Acre -K/zad
M ). 147Gulisldn , 2 2 1
Gulpayagan, 1 1 0, 1 48 , 336
Gurnsey , Dr 9 7GyawurKy
'
uy, 30
Had i (son of Subh -i-A zal ) , 32 2Had i (son-ih -law of ‘Abbas Efen
di ) , 320Had i , S ayyid 8 8 ad calc.
Hafiz (the poet) , 343H a
’
jji Bdod, Morier’s 2 2 1
Hajj i M irzaAghasi (prime m inisterof Muhammad S hah ) , 1 76
Hal laj , Husayn b . Mansur
Hamadan , 1 48 , 1 90 , 238 , 296, 3 25Ham ida (daughterof FatimaKha
nim ), 320Hammond , Eric
Hannen, Joseph S . 1 8 2
Harbinger (Mnoaslzslzir) , title of
the Ba’
b (go ), 3 . 5 , 20, 2 1
Hasan‘
Amu, Mulla 1 3 , 1 4Hasan Aqa(A zal i ), 2 5Hasan, Aqa (martyr of Yaz d) ,
302 , 305 , 306
Hasan of Ardakan, Mul la 305Hasan E fend i (captain) , 29 , 30
Hasan, Hajj i M irza of Khura
san, 8 7 , 1 10, 1 47 , 1 5 4—
5 , 1 5 7 ,1 5 8 , 1 64 , 1 65 , 1 68 , 1 70 , 1 9 5
Hasan Ham id (Turk ish official) ,2 1 3
Hasan Khan, Hajj i M irza of
Khtiy (Persian Consul in
Egypt ) , 33Hasan Khan, M irza (Persi an
notable at Baghdad) , 1 3Hasan, M irza son of S ayyidMahd i of Dahaj , 232
Hasan, S ayyid of Yazd, 26 1
Hasan, S haykh of S abzawar,the Muj/a/zid, 42 , 302 , 305
Hasnt b’ i /z is/ct (Babi ph ilosoph icalwork ) , 162 ad calc. , 22 5
— 6 , 346le Havre , 94Hay i lar
‘Ali, Hajj i M irza of
Isfahan, 33—
5Hayfér 32 2 44 1 45 2 5 9 9 63 , 8 5 , 99 ’
1 05 , 1 5 5 , 1 5 8 , 23 1 , 32 1
Haydki l, K i/a’
bu’l 2 1 5 , 2 1 6
I 7H ay kal, S aratu
’l or lf
'
z'
ldou’
l
S ee S zéralu’
l-Hay kal.
HazarJarib , 24 1Hearst , Mrs Phoebe99 1 107 1 109
Hebrew Bible , 1 34Herat , 238Heresies, enumeration of 30 Bab i
Herron,Mrs Sara G . 97 ad
calc .
H i'
kmat (Persian newspaper) , 143 ,1 1
H indgiyya Press, Cairo, 1 5 8
H indoo teachers in America, 1 23H indus, 227
370 1NDEX
Ja ‘far-i-Kaffash (the bootmaker),233
Ja‘far, M irza of Yazd , 5 5Ja 'far-i-Sad iq , Imam , 334Jaffa (Yafa in S yria), 32 , 44
Jaghbub , 1 9 2
JahangirKhan, M irza of S hiraz ,
Jahrum i , 1 94Jalalu
’d-Dawla, Prince ofPersia ,
2 22—
4
Jalalu’d-D in M irza (son of Prince
Zillu’
s-Sultan) , 4 1 - 3 , 296, 30 1 ,303
- 8
Jalalu’d-Din R tim i , 220
Jamalu’
d-D in al-A fghan, S haykh1 76, 224, 22 5 , 295 , 296
Jam i (the poet) , 347Jam i l (son of M irzaM iisaKal im) ,
3 1 9
ja‘m i
‘a’l-Muwaddat, 2 24
Jamsh id , 28 3f ancia-i 343
[anab-i -Ta’
lzira , 343 , 344 , 3 5 1 .
S ee Qurratn’
l-‘
Ay n
Jani , Hajj i Mirza of Kashan.
S ee N ugfatu’l-d
Jawad , Ustad ofYaz d (martyr) ,43
jawanzi‘u’
l-Hayakil (by Subh-iA zal ), 3 1 5
jawr wa’ln-T/Eamar, 2 1 4
Jaz ira-i-Mul la (Yazd ), 302
Jehovah , 1 1 1 , 1 39Jerusalem , 1 37Jessup , DrH . H . 1 8 1
Jesus Christ . S ee Clzrist
Jews, 43» 292 , 33 1 4 333, 33 7 ;converted to Babfism , 1 48 , 237John,
1 40
John the Baptist , 4J oshua, 1 1 8 , 1 4 1 , 1 62 , 338
Judaism , 1 9 1
Julfa ( Isfahan) , 29 2
Kaj-Kulah . S ee AqajanKakhak , 238
Kamal (son ofM irzaMusaKalim ) ,3 1 9
Kamalu’
d-Dawla of Dib l i , Prince2 22 —
4Kand, 238Kansas S tate, 96Karba la, 1 2 , 37 , 1 99 , 220, 2 38 ,
284 ad calc. ,292 , 349 , 350
Karbala’i Taq i , 29Kashan, 1 48 , 238
Kawt/zar, 64 ad calc. 80 ; 328
Kawt/zar, Commentary on the
S aratn’
l 203—
4
Kaz em -Bey , M irza 205Kaz im Khan, 249 , 2 5 2 , 2 5 3Kazim ,
Mul la (martyr) , 39Kaz imayn (near Bag hdad) , 1 1 , 1 2
Kemal Pasha, 1 8
Kemball, S ir Arno ld Burrows(British Consul - General at
Baghdad ), 1 1 and n. 2 ad calc.
Kenosha, Wisconsin, 9 5 , 96, 97,1 10, 1 48 , 1 49, 1 50
Kerk t'
i k, 1 7K/zaéz
’
ru’
l-Mulk,M irza Hasan
Khan 200, 2 1 3 , 22 5Khadija Khanim (mother of the
Bab ) , 328Khadimu
’
llah, Jahab i (AqaM irza Jan of Kashan “
the
S ervant o f God, or“of the
9 n . 2 ad calc. ;
1 7 ; 2 1 ; 2 2 ; 5 5— 6 ; 8 3 and ad
calc. ; 8 7 ; his protest againstand harsh treatment by ‘
A bbasEfendi , 8 7— 9 1 ; 1 62 ad calc. ;
1 67 ; 1 94 ; 1 98 ; 230 ; 23 1
Khal i l Pasha (Governor of Beyrout), 9 1
Khamna (near Tabri z ), 99Khanim -i-Buzurg , 22 7, 3 1 9 , 320Khanu’ l - ‘Awam id 50
Khartflm , 34, 35 . I 9 5Kba
’
tamu’n-N aazj/y in (
“S eal of
the 329[ffzafi -i -Baa
’
i‘
(the New Writing ) ,1
Khay
gfii ’llah, Ibrahim George49 ad calc. 93 ad calc. ;autobiography , describing his
conversion to Baha’ism ,work
inAmerica, v isit to ‘Akkaand
INDEX
rupture with ‘Abbas Efend i ,
93- 1 1 2 , 1 68 , 1 8 1 ; account of
his propaganda in America(S ection I I) , pp . 1 1 3
—
7 1
abstrac t of his 1 3 Lectures,1 28 —
42 ; mal icious account of
his work by Za ‘z’
nzu’d—Dawla
,
l 43—
7 3.
I 4S 3 1 49 3 1 50 3 I S3 3hls wr1tings, 1 80— 1 , 1 8 8 ad
calc. ; 338
Khedive of Egypt, 34Khurasan, 40, 1 54, 233 , 28 5Khursh id Pasha (Governor of
Adrianople) , 2 7[faufi a-i -N z
’
kdlzzjwa , 2 1 5Khay, 238Kirman, 4 1 , 1 70 , 2 2 5 , 234 , 238
Kirmanshah ; 238 , 280 , 284, 286-Aaa
'as. S ee Agdas
K i laon’l-g ay a
’
l , 2 1 5-[manf i [s-fidn
’
N uofatz’L
Baya’
n',1 92
—
3
lfi'
tcz’
bn’
l-[qdm S ee [grin[Vi taau
’
l-M lal of S hahristani ,
3 35Ki fdo-i -Nnr (
“ Book o f Lightby Subh -i-Az al , 2 16, 3 1 5
Koran,1 38 , 1 5 1 . S ee also
Qur’
a’
n
Kraft ’s Hotel (Hayfa) , 1 5 5Kruper, M1 8 1 07Kul/u-S li ay
’
is (Old Babis) , 1 48 ,
233Kurdistan, 7 , 9Kurd ish language, 1 33
La’
a’
li wa Majali , 2 1 7Labarce, Rev . Benjam in D .D . ,
Lab ib a (daugh ter of Khayru’ l lah) ,1 5 5
Lafi aajga’
t (by Subh-i-A z al ), 3 1 5-A zal, 2 1 5 , 2 1 7
Land o f the Mystery . S ee
AdrianopleLand of Kha.
”S ee Knnra
'
sa’
n
Land of Ta,”8 . S ee Ti li ra
’
n
Land of Taff, 42
Land of Ya. S ee Yazd
Larnaca, 2 1 6, 322
37 1
Lata i
'
ja’l-A zal (by Subh-i-Az al) ,
3 1 5or wa
’
n
N afa’
y i‘
( by S ubh-i-A zal ) , 3 1 5Lawa
’
m i ‘ ( by S ubh-i-A zal), 3 1 5Lawfiu
’
l—Amr, 2 1 — 2
L awa-i 1 8 7 , 229L awlzu
’
l-Hawdaj, I 7L awlzn Mary am , 8
L awlzu’r-R a
’is, 29
-
3 1
Lay /alu’
r 224Leaf ” (Waraqa) , title given toBaha’u’l lah ’
s daugh ters, 10 1 ,
1 4 1
Lebanon, 93
Leipz ig, 1 80
Leyden, 200
L isa’
nu’
l-Mulk, 1 89
London, ‘Abbas Efend i inLord of Hosts, 1 1 1
Lote-tree of the Lim it. S eeS i dra[tn
’l-.c ntana]
Lubeck , 9 7Luddon, Letters of 1 3 2
Lukach , MrH . C . 3 1 2 ad calc. ,
3 1 3- I 4
Lutf ‘A li M irzaQajar, 239
Mackenz ie, Capt . C. F . 24 1
MacNutt, Mr H oward 9 7,
Mahall al-Barrani (Adrianople) ,28 , 5 1
Mahdi , 1 9 1 , 1 92 , 328 , 3 29 , 336 ,
337 , 338 . S ee also Qd’
irn ,
Messza/z
Mahd i , La ’
a’
li zoa Maja’
lz’
written
for 2 1 7Mahdi (son of Bahau llah) , 1 7 ; his
death , 49—
5 0 ; 62—
3 ; 3 2 1
Mahdi (son of Ustad Baqir of
Yaz d) , 304Mahdi , Mul la of Khawirak
(martyr of Yazd) , 299 , 302 ,
305Mahdi
,Mul la ofYaz d (martyr) ,
42
Mahdi , S ayyid of Dahaj , 23 1 ,23 7
Mahdi-qul i M irza, Pr1nce
372 INDEX
Maad-i Ulya secondwife ) , 63 , 1 4 1 ad calc. , 32 1
Mahm tid (fo l lower of Muhammad’A li) , 1 5 5 , 1 5 8
Mahmti d , Hajj i Mul la 249 , 2 5 1 ,2 5 3 2 2 5 5
Mahm tid b . Muhammad Ja ‘far of
Kirman, 234Maine, 9 7Majdu
’
d-Din (sono f M ii sa[( alirn
and nephew of 56 ,
7 5 , 3 1 7 ad calc., 32 1
Maku, 208 , 240 ad calc .
Malco lm , R ev . Nap ier 43 ad
calc.
Mali/za’
l-Mntakallim in 2 2 1
Malkom Khan, M irzamn
’d-Dawla , 295 , 296
Mamantov , N . P . 1 8 1
Ma’m t
’
m ( the Cal iph) , 2 5 1 , 2 5 5Manakji (Zoroasm an Agent inTihran) , 1 8 7
al-Mana'
r (Arabic newspaper) ,
Mani festation (Zn/a ir) of the Bab , 4Mansti r, M irza 1 56, 1 5 7Mansur, S ultan 2 39 . S ee
Ba'
lm’
l-Bdo
Manstir al-Khawwam , 50
Mansiiriyya (Eg ypt ), 33Maodla i
-S /zaklzsz’
S ayy a’
lz , 4. S ee
also Traveller’
s N or; ali ve
Mariq in, fol lowers of ‘Abbas
Efendi so cal led by their op
ponents, 1 48
Mary the Mother, 1 4 1
Maryam sister-inlaw
, entitled al-Waraqatu’l
Harnra’
,
“the Red 8
Mashhad , 40, 238
Mas‘
tid M irza. S ee
Matnnaw z’
(ofJalalu’d-D in Ram i ) ,
1 33 ad calc. , 2 20
[Wand 6 1 ad calc.
Mawsil (Mossoul) , 1 7, 2 1 , 38
Mawsa‘a’
t Press, 1 95 , 1 96—
7Mayam i , 2 38Maydan-i-Haft Kachal (Tabriz ) ,
3 5Maydanu
’l-Khan , 43
marries
Maydan-i -S hah (Yaz d ) , 302Maz andaran, 3 , 5 , 39 , 5 7, 62 , 1 99 ,
Mazdak , 224Mecca , 3 5 , 1 5 9 , 2 1 2 , 2 50 , 2 54“ Mehmed ( i .e. Muhammad ) (son
o f S ubh -i A zal ) , 3 1 4M essiah , 77 , 336 , 337 , 338Metempsychosis ( lana’suklz , q . v.
Mev lev i dervi shes, 5 1M icah , 1 38
M ich igan, 9 5Mihriz Gate (Yazd) , 42Mi l lennium , 1 39 , 1 40
M i l ler, M iss Marian
Khayru’ l lah , 9 5M i l leri tes
,1 37
M i lwaukee , 1 50M in/zdju
’gfi Talibin, 1 93
Mintichihr Khan Mu‘tamadu
’d
D aze/a , 208
M zrdtn l-Bayan , 2 1 7Mi 1 Damad , 2 2 2M irzaAqa (martyr) , 40M irzaAqao fKashan ((calledjando
z Mnni z ) , 3 1M irzaBuzurg ( fatherofBaha’u’l lah
and S ubh 1 A zal ), 3 , 3 1 7 , 3 1 9M irza-q tili (son of M irzaBuzurg ) ,
3 1 9Mongols, 349M orier, 22 1
Morocco , 24 1Moses (M i
'
i sa) the Patriarch , 9 ,n . 1 a t calc .
, 5 6 and ad calc .,
1 3 1 , 1 34, 1 36, 1 37 , 1 4 1 ,
2 50, 2 5 4 . 32 1 , 344Mosque of S ultan S el im (Adria
nople) , 24-
5Most Great Name, 1 2 2, 1 27,1 3 1
Most H oly Tablet,” 1 20 . S ee
Mughabg hab , Mr 3 1 4d l— fi/u/zdjzr i la
’lld/zz
’l-A fzad, 208
Mnlzdji rz’
n Ex i les 75Muhammad (the Prophet), 1 3 1 ,
I 38 , 1 39 , 327Muhammad S hah Qajar, 1 76 , 249
374 INDEX
Muhammad Ma-hdi Khan. S ee
Za ‘ i znn’d-D aw/a
Muhammad-quli , M irza I 7, 26 ,
5 5Muhammad R izaof I sfahan,
cal ledal 1 0
Muhammad Taqi , Hajj i S ayyidManshadi (S ecretary of ‘
AbbasEfend i ) , 1 43 , 236
Muhammad Taq i (son of Muham
mad ‘Ali of N iraq ), 1 89 , 32 5Muhammad Taq i . known as P ari
s/za'
n (son o fM irzaBuz urg) , 3 20Muhammad Taqi , S haykh of
S abzawar, 305Muhammad Taqi ( father of Za
‘z’
mu’
d—D awla ) , 1 9 1
Muhammadan (v i l lage in Lebanon). 93
Muharram , month of 3 7al-Muh it, 200
Muhsin (son-in-law of ‘AbbasEfend i ), 320
Muhsin, M irza 8 9 , 9 1
Muhsin, S ayy id of Dahaj , 1 48
ad calc.
Mufdwiri n (settlers in‘Akka), 75
Munich , 1 80
Munir, Janab-i (M irzaAqa of
Kashan) , 3 1Muradiyya (house in Adrianople),
I
Murt
gazaal-Ansari , S haykh 1 3
Murtaza-qul i , Mul la 249 , 2 50,2 5 1 4 1 5 3 , 2 5 4 1 2 5 5
Musa, AqaM irza— ent itled Kali f n(brother of 9 , 1 7 ,20, 26, 56 and ad calc.
, 3 1 9 ,
32 1
Mt’
tsa (grandson of
3 2 1
M iisaal-Jawah iri , M irza 37MusaKaz im (the S eventh Imam) ,
334Musa
’
fi rz’
n (temporary visitors to‘A kkéh 7 5
Mushk in Qalam , M irzaHusayn442 1 9°
Mustafa, M irza of N 1raq (mar
tyr) , 35
Muslawfiy u’l-Mama
’
lik, 264al (
“ S leeper Awak2 1 8 — 1 9
Mutazalz i lin (“vaci l lators or
“ quakers fo l lowers o f Mu
hammad ‘Ali so cal led by‘Abbas Efendi, 8 1 , 1 67 ad calc.
Afuwaaaz'
dan ,-in . S ee Tawlzld,
Muzaffaru’d-Din S hah , 3 5
Nab il (numerical ly equivalent toMuhammad
,for wh ich name
it is sometimes substi tuted bythe Babis) , 2 5 n. 1 ad calc.
In particularM irzaMuhammadof Zarand is so entitled , 2 5 ,
32—
3 , 205 ad calc. , 346, 35 1 ,
3 5 3-
7an Najsn
’
z -Zaéijly a, 1 92
Nag /zamd/u’
r-R zifi , 2 1 9— 20
Na’ib , Hajj i 299Najaf
, 1 2 . 1 3 , 284 ad calc .
Najafabad ( Isfahan) , 29 1 , 292Najaf ‘A,li (martyr) of Zanjan, 36
Najafi , Aqa-yi 1 79 , 29 2 , 294Najaf qul i , M irza 208
Naj ib Pasha, 1 6
N ajm-i 1 77, 1 8 5Na
'
ma-i -Ba'
sta’
n (poem by M irzaAqaKhan) , 2 2 1 , 22 5Names, ” Book of
206—
7Nam iq Pasha (Governor of Baghdad ), 1 6 , 28 2 , 286
Napoleon I I I , 1 38—
9 , 1 40
Napo leon IV,1 1 7, 1 39
q z
'
sin (“ V io lators” of theCove
nant, fol lowers of Muhammad‘Ali so cal led by ‘
AbbasEfend i) , 8 1 , 1 48 , 1 5 5 ad calc .
,
1 60, 1 62 ad calc.
Narjis Khattin, 328
Ndsz'
éfin’
t Tawa’
rl/eli 1 8 9Nasir the Arab , 5 3 , 5 4 , 2 20
Nasir, Hajj i - o i Qazwin (martyr) ,39
Nasiru’d-Din Karbala’i , S haykh208
Nas1ru’d-D in S hah [or M irza,
INDEX
before accession] , 5 , 1 2 , 1 5 , 35 ,40 Baha'
u’ l lah ’
s Letter toI 77 , 2 2 1 , 2472
260, 262—
4, 267Nasr b . S ayyar, 28 5 ad calc.
National ists, Persian 22 1 .
S ee also Consti tutional Move
ment i n P ersia
Nawwab first wife),62 , 1 4 1 ad calc. , 320
Nayriz insurrection, 204, 336
Nasimu’
l-Islam of Kirman, 225N ew H istory of tbe Ba
'
b , 1 20,
239 . 338 , 343 , 345 S ee also
New Jerusalem , 1 38
New Testament, 333New York , 94. 9 5 , 96, 9 7, 98 ,
1 1 6, 1 23 , 1 24 , 1 25 , 1 44 , 1 45 ,
[48 1 1 502 1 5 1 9 1 5 2 3 2 37New York H era ld
,1 45 ad calc.
,
1 50
New York Times, 1 5 2
Newark , 1 49N icolas, A .
-L .-M . 1 8 1 - 2 ,
200,204, 248 , 2 75 , 276
N i le, 34M
'
neteentlz Century andAfter, 1 80“ N ineteenth Century Hal l , ” 9 7Niraq , 228
N ishapt’
ir, 40
N iyaz , Hajj i of Kirman, 1 46
ad calc ., 1 5 1 , 1 70
N isamu’
l 25 3 ad calc.
Noah , 1 3 1 ,Nod , Land of 1 35Nortk An
’
zerican , 1 46 ad calc., 1 5 1
Nufzidk-i -Kalam (“ Influence o f
the 335 , 336
Numbers, sacred 1 30
Nuqta-i-Ula. S ee Point, F irst
and Ba'
o
N ugtatu’
l-d (by Haj j i M irzaJani of Kashan) , 206, 22 1 ,
237, 2 39 , 247 , 248 , 338
N t’
tr, 3 , 5 7 , 228
N tiru’llah (son of S ubh-i-Az al) ,
32 1
N ti ru’
llah, Ustad (martyr) , 39N t
’
tshirwan, 224
37 5
0 C/zristians .
’ k do ye not
believe i n Ckrist by I . G .
Khayru’ l lah, 93 ad calc. , 1 8 1 ,
1 8 8 ad calc .
Old Testament , 3 33Orient-Occident Unity , 1 8 2—
3Ouseley
’
s N otices of Me P ersianPoets, 1 3 5 ad calc.
Paris, 98 , 109 , 1 80, 2 2 2
P ariskan, Muhammad Taq i
320
P ay a'
nzbar-i -Ba’
kktar, 1 77
Persia in theApocalypse, 1 3 7, 1 39Persian American EducationalS ociety , 1 8 2Peter,” Baha’s 99 , 1 00, 1 0 1
Pharaoh , 327Phelps, Myron H . 1 8 3Ph i ladelph ia
, 9 7 , 1 48-
9 , 1 5 1
Ph i l lott, Colonel 22 1
“ P ilgrimag e,‘
journalof tlze205 . S ee also Ziy a’rat-nama
Point, F irst (Nuqta-i -Ula’
) orPoint of the Bayan (NuotaBayan) , 3. S ee Ba
'
b
Poison, al leged attempts to
amongst the Babis, 22 —
3Polak, Dr 267Polygamy defended , 1 8 1
Pope , 1 1 7 , 1 38 , 1 39 , 140
Port S aid, 3 2, 108 , 236P sy ck ic Gaz ette, International
1 8 5Pyram ids
,1 4 1
Qadiyani , Ghulam Ahmad 1 9 2
Qab ir, Mul laRajab ‘A li 1 99 ,
208 , 220 ; was brother-inlaw of the Bab , 2 20 ad calc.
Qdkiriyy at compellmg powerof the 336
Qahraman, M irza 35
Qa’
im He who shal l arise
1 2 , 1 4 , 208 , 32 8 , 329 , 336 ,
337 , 338 . S eeMa/zdi , Messiab
Qa’
im-i-Khurasani , 239Qa
’in, 238
Qalandar, 349
376 INDEX
Qandil-g eyjesi Lamp-nigh t ”L
2 24
Qa'
n i in (newspaper) , 295ai-Qaw/u
’l-Fasl, 1 94
Qayy zimu’l-A sma
’
Yusuf, Commentary on the Saratu an) .
Qazwin, 238
Quddi is, jana’
b-i 1 99 , 202 ,
208
Quds iyya Khanim , 1 8 3
Qum , 238
Qur’
an, 204, 2 1 4 . 2 1 6, 2 1 7, 2 1 9 ,23 1 , 326
—
36 pa ssim , 3 50
Qurratu’
l-‘Ayn (Zarrin Tai, alsoentitled jandk - i -Tcikira) , 5 ,1 7 7 , 1 78 , 1 8 2 , 208 , 233 , 27 1 ,
343
Rabi ‘a (householderin ‘Akka) , 50Rabino , Mr H . L . 24 1
Rac ine , 1 50
Rafi ‘ , M irza (martyr) , 40Rah im Khan, 1 76
Rahmatu’l lah (martyr), 4 1Rajab ‘Ali . Mul la 208 , 2 1 3 (P)S ee Qa/rir
R aj‘at Return 1 02 , 330, 335 ,
338
Rajntu’
s/z-S /zay tan f i Radka ili’
l
Bayan, 1 9 2—
3Rash t . 39 , 24 1Red Drag on, 1 1 7Reincarnation, 1 1 7. S ee also
R aj‘at
Remey , Charles Mason 1 84Resurrection. 3 30
R ichardson, Robert P .
P ij‘at or li’aj
‘at (
“ Return
R isa’
la-i-‘ Amnza , 1 8 93 2 2 7 , 320
R isa/a-i -Bu s/zrawa Ay a-i -K
'
uara'
,
-
4P isa
'
la i Raddiyy a . 2 27R iy asu
’l-Muktadin , 2 1 5
R iga, Imam ‘Ali 2 5 1 , 2 5 5R iza, Aqa of S h iraz , 7 5 , 9 1R iza Bey , house of in Adria
nople , 5 1
Riza (S ayy id or M irza, father of
the Bab) , 328
Riza-quli , Hajj i M irza “
, f
known
asHakim (sonofM irzaBuzurg) ,320
R iza-quli ofTaft ish , M irza 5 2 ;assassinated , 5 5
Rizwan ‘Ali , son of S ubh -i -A zal ,1 7 5 , 1 99 , 200, 20 1 , 202 , 203 ,
204, 2 1 1 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 7 , 234, 309 ,
3 1 3 , 3 1 4 ~ 32 2
R i zwan, Garden of 5 8
R izwan, Garden of (Baghdad) ,1 6
R iswdn , K'
itaa-i ( im itation of
Gu lista’
n ), 2 2 1R oemer, H ermann, 1 84Rosen, Baron V ictor 64 ad
calc. , 73 ad calc . ; 1 84 , 1 9 5 , 202 ,
Rosenberg. M iss Ethel J. , 1 47 ad
calc . . 1 8 5Royal Asiatic S oc iety , 1 42 , 1 8 8
Rudolph , Fel ix (M iss Fel iciaF . S catcherd ) , 1 8 5
R u’
k wa’l Qanzar, 2 1 4
Rulzz’
(S haykh Ahmad ofKirman) ,1 99
— 200 , 2 1 3 , 2 2 1 , 22 5 , 226,2 2 7
R tihu’
llah (S ubh-i-Azal ’s nephew) ,234
Ruqayya (wife of S ubh -i-Az al) ,32 1
Russel l , Mr CharlesM inister to Persia in
1 8 3Russian Government, 6, 7, 73 ,
1 1 7Russo-Turk ish War. 3 1
Rustam ‘Ali (the Bab i heroine of
Zanjan), 1 7
S abzawar, 42S abzawar, M osque of S haykhHasan o i 299 . 30 1
S abz -i Maydan ( Barfurush ), 243S acy , Gabriel 1 8 5sadha iiyva daugh
ter) , 63 , 32 1sad iq (author of attempt on
Nasiru’
d Din S hah ’s l ife in
5
37 8 INDEX
S tar of tlze West, 1 77S tenstrand , MrAugust J . 1 48 ,
1 86-7S tuttgart, 1 80
S ubh -i -A zal ( “ the Morning of
Eternity,M irza Yahya, son
of M irza Buzurg and halfbrother of Baha’u’ l lah) j oinsBaha’u’l lah at Baghdad , 7 ;j ourney to and behav iour at
Adrianople, 1 9- 25 ; al leged intrigues againstBaha’u’ l lah , 2 26 ; 5 1 ; cal led S atan
” by theAmerican Baha’ is, 1 1 7 , 1 23 ;abandoned by his fo l lowerM irzaYahya of Isfahan, 1 5 9 ;v isited by Za
‘imu
’d-D awla ,
1 9 1 his writings, 1 98 —
9 ; 2 1 1
20 ; 202 ; 204 ; his own ac
count o i his conversion, 2 1 2 ,
2 1 8 — 1 9 ; forb ids associationw ith his half-brother Baha11
’
llah, 2 1 3 ; 2 2 7 ; 2 2 8 ; 232 ; his
letters to the author, 234 2 75 ;
not regarded as leadero f Babisat Baghdad by PersianGovernment, 2 76 et seqq . ; account ofhis death and burial , 309— 1 5 ;
k insmen and ch i ldren, 3 19 et
5 5 79-3 33 1 ; 343S ubh i Pasha, 5 6S udan, 35S uhrab , M irzaAhmad 1 8 3S ulayman-i-banna ( the builder) ,
233Sulayman Khan (martyr of
. 269 ad calc. ,2 7 1
S ulayman Khan (martyr) , 1 76Sulayman Khan, 208
S ulayman Khan, 262
S ulaymaniyya (Kurd istan) , 7 , 9S ul tan, S haykh of
‘ Iraq , 9S ultanabad , 4 1S unnis, 1 9 1 , 32 5S upreme S ch ism , 5 1 . S ee
F aslu’l-Akbar
S aratu’
l-Hay kal, 64, 84 , 1 90, 2 1 7Saratu
’l,
-Qalam , 78
Surtej, Aqa‘Abdu’ l lah 24 1
S dsma’
ru’
d—Daw/a ,2 23
’ 7
S yria, 93 . S ee also ‘Akka
’
,Hay/a,Car/net
Tabar-dar, Am ir-iTabaristan, 24 1Tabarsi , S haykh ( in Mazan~
daran near Barfurt’tsh), 5 , 1 99 ,
Tablet of the M isch ief, 8 4. S eeLawk
Tabriz , 4 , 3 5 , 1 9 1 , 2 25 , 238 , 247 ,249 , 264
Tad/zki ratu’
l G/za’
filz’
n 2 27— 8
Tadkkzratu’
t-Kkawdt in , 35 8
Tah ira, Janab-i S ee Qurratu
'
l- ‘Ay n
Talar (river) , 24 1Talbot, Mrs L . H . 96
Tandsuk/z, 330 , 335 . S ee Me
tempsy ckosisTanbi /zu
’
n-N a"im in , 2 26—
7Taq i Khan, M irza entitled
Am i r-i —Kabi r, 20, 26 1Taq iyyu
’
d-Din Pasha (governor ofBaghdad ) , 38
Taqiyyu'
d-D in (son of S ubh -iA z al ) , 3 14
Ta’
rz’
kku’l-Ba
’
ozyy a , by Za ‘ imu’d
Dawla, 1 43 , 1 9 1— 9
ri-y i-[rdnzydn , 225
Ta’rz
'
kk-i adid, 1 8 7 , 202 , 248 , 325 .
S ee an H istoryTa
’ri kk-i-lll ugaddas
-i Hindi ‘ In
d ian S acred 226Tartars, Tartary , 349 and ad calc .
7 71sbi 72-i -t ima , 203Tawk id, A /uu
’
t Unitarfo l lowers o f Muham
mad ‘Ali so name themselves,8 1 , 8 7 , 90, 1 5 5
Tennyson, 6 1Testament , Last ofBaha u llah.
S ee Wasiyy a, [fi tabu’
l
n euron (“the S teadfast fol
lowers of Abbas Efend i so
name themselves, 8 1T/zamara-i -A z aliyy a Eternal
346 and 11 . 2 ad calc.
S ee Suofz-i -A z al
Thornbourg , Mrs
INDEX
TIi rceQuestions, by Ibrah im Khayru
’
llah, 143, 168 , 1 80- 1
Tiberias (Tabariyya), 230Tigris, 38 , 2 1 8
Tihran, 3 , 5 , 6 , 8 , 36, 39 , 4 1 , 48 ,62 , 1 48 , 1 8 3 , 2 1 2 , 22 5 , 238 ,24 1 , 262 , 263 , 264, 29 2 , 293 ,294 , 303 , 307 , 3 1 9
Timt’
ir, 22 3Tomb , Questioning o f the 330
Totten, 1 39Townley , S irWalter 293
—
4Transfiguration, Mount of 1 36
Transm igration, 330 , 33 5Traveller’ s N arrati ve (Magald i
4 , 5 ad calc .
44 ad calc . ; 47 ad calc . ; 5 5 ad
calc. 6 1 ad calc. ; 73 ad calc.
84 ad calc. ; 1 42 ; 1 62 ad calc.
1 75 ; 1 84 ; 1 96 ; 20 1 ad calc. ;
202 ad calc . ; 203 , 205 , 206 ,2 1 6, 2 1 8 ad calc. ; 2 2 5 ; 249 ad
calc ., 25 5 , 2 5 8 ad calc . , 267 ,
Trebiz onde, 225Troodos, Mount 3 1 4Truth-knowers, t itle assumedby the Baha’is in America,1 49
Taba (tree in Paradise), 35 7Tdoa
,lfi
’
tda-i Persian poemby Subh -i-Azal , 2 1 1 , 2 1 5
— 1 6
Tumanskiy , A . 1 8 7 , 2 29I bn Trimart, 1 9 2
Ttir (Mt S inai), 2 5 3 . 344,
345 1 35 °
Turbat , 238Turkey ( Ram) , 238 ; relations b etween and Persia, 28 5 ;
in the Apocalypse, 1 37 , 1 39Turkish Revo lution, 1 47 ad calc.
Turshiz , 238‘Ubaydu’ l lah al-Mahd i al-Fatimi ,
1 2
‘fldi Khammar, house of in‘Akka, 50, 5 8 , 60
‘Umar (Cal iph ) , 29 2‘UmarBey , 37‘UmarE fendi , 30, 3 1
379
‘Umar Efend i , Major 44Umayyad Cal iphs, 3 7 , 28 5 ad calc .
Umm i 33 1
Ummu’l-K
'
i tab, 66 ad calc.
Unitarians, ” fo l lowers of Mu
hammad ‘Ali so entitle themselves. S ee Tau/aid
, Aklu’t
Uramiyya, 249 , 2 5 2 , 264
Vambéry , 1 80
Vatralsky, S toyan Krstoff 1 49 ,1 8 7
— 8
Vedanta ph i losophy , 1 23 , 1 26Vegetarians condemned , 1 29Veysi Pasha, 1 7V ictoria, Queen 1 38 , 2 1 2
Vienna ,
‘Abbas Efend i in
Waki’
d i Awwal. S ee Vaky a’
,
Waukegan, Wis. 1 5 1
Waga’
y i‘d -M zm iyy a (History of
the Babi insurrection in Maz andaran), 238
d i ‘a-i -ka’
ila, 8 8 ad calc. , 19 7
8 , 230
Wash ington, 1 49 , 1 5 1 , 1 5 2, 1 8 2 ,1 8 3
Wasiyy a , k'
i ta’
ku’l or K
'
i ta/ru
Wasiyy ati LastTestament) , 66, 74—
5 , 79 , 80,
waskus (Mazandaran), 242Wi l l iams, Basi l 1 8 8 , 1 90Wi lson, Dr S . G . 1 8 1 , 1 8 8
Yahya, M irza (half-brother of
S ee S ubk -i -A zal
Yahya, M irza (present at Bab’sexamination at Tabriz ), 249 ,25 3
Yahya, M irza of Jedda, his
unhappy fate, 1 5 4- 67 , 1 94
Yahya, S ayyid of Darab , 204 ,
Yazd. 4 1 . 232 , 233 , 23 5 .29 1 , 29 2 ad calc. ; persecutionsat 295
-
308
Year among st t/ze P ersians,by
E . G . Browne , 33 ad calc. , 34
380 INDEX
ad calc . , 39 ad calc., 4 1 ad calc. ,
47 ad calc. , 5 5 ad calc.
Yasuf , Commentary on the S aratu202- 3 (also cal led Qay
y dmu’
l -A sma’
and Aksanu’
l
Qisas) , 2 19 , 228
Y tisuf R izaPasha, 2 24.
zafir, S haykh 2 24zah ir the Arab , 2 1Za‘ imu
’
d-Daw la, I43 , 1 48 , 1 9 1— 2
Zanjan. 36 , 1 76, 234, 2 38 . 268 , 336Zanwaz (a dependency ofTabriz ) , 4Zarkaran, 1 96Zawara (a dependency of Isfahan) ,
1 0
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Zion , 1 3 7 . S ee S ion
Z iyarat-na
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Ziya’
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