Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Christopher Buck, Bab, Martyrdom of the (July 9), bahai-library.com.
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Religious Celebrations
AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HOLIDAYS,
FESTIVALS, SOLEMN OBSERVANCES,
AND SPIRITUAL COMMEMORATIONS

Volume One

A–K

J. Gordon Melton, Editor
with
James A. Beverley
Christopher Buck
Constance A. Jones
Báb, Martyrdom of the (July 9) 73

Lawson, Todd. Gnostic Apocalypse in Islam: The Literary Beginnings of the Babi Move-
ment. London and New York: Routledge, 2012.
Momen, Moojan. “Festivals, vi. Bahai.” In Encyclopædia Iranica, edited by Ehsan
Yarshater. Posted at http://www.iranica.com/articles/festivals-vi-vii-viii. Accessed
July 15, 2010.
Nabı́l Zarandı́. The Dawn-Breakers: Nabı́l’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’ı́
Revelation. Edited and translated by Shoghi Effendi (condensed). Wilmette, IL: Bahá’ı́
Publishing Trust, 1932.
Saiedi, Nader. Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Ottawa
and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada: Association for Bahá’ı́ Studies and Wilfrid Laurier
University Press, 2008.
Walbridge, John. Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred Time, 217–18. Oxford: George
Ronald, 1996.
“Worldwide Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-2009.” Encyclo-
pædia Britannica. Posted at http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1581715/
religion-Year-In-Review-2009/286517/Worldwide-Adherents-of-All-Religions.
Accessed July 15, 2010.

Báb, Martyrdom of the (July 9)

The yearly commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Báb is one of the nine major
Bahá’ı́ holy days on which work is suspended. Observed by Bahá’ı́s in the Middle
East on 28 Sha‘bán—in accordance with the Islamic lunar calendar—the occasion
is annually observed on July 9 throughout the rest of the Bahá’ı́ world. For many
participants, it is a deeply moving experience.
Sayyid ‘Alı́-Muhammad of Shiraz (1819–1850)—known by his spiritual title as
˙
“the Báb” (“the Gate”) and regarded as the precursor and herald of Mı́rzá H.usayn-
‘Alı́ Núrı́, known as Bahá’u’lláh (the “Splendor” or “Glory of God,” 1817–1892)—
was martyred on July 9, 1850, in Tabrı́z, Persia (now Iran). The circumstances of
the Báb’s martyrdom, and its subsequent commemoration as a Bahá’ı́ holy day, will
be discussed below.
The Báb founded the 19th-century movement generally known as Bábism, an
independent (albeit short-lived) religion that clearly broke from its parent religion,
Persian (i.e., Twelver Shi‘i) Islam. As Orientalist Edward G. Browne observed
regarding the Bábı́ phenomenon, “whatever its actual destiny may be, is of that
stuff whereof world-religions are made.” As Browne predicted, the Bábı́ religion
emerged as a “new world-religion” through its eventual transformation into what
is now known as the Bahá’ı́ Faith.
While the Bábı́ and Bahá’ı́ religions are distinct, they are intimately related both
historically and doctrinally. The writings of the Báb, for instance, are considered
sacred scripture by all Bahá’ı́s. A number of the Báb’s religious laws were adopted
and adapted by Bahá’u’lláh, as was the Badı́‘ calendar (a solar calendar of
74 Báb, Martyrdom of the (July 9)

19 months of 19 days, each named after godly attributes to foster goodly virtues,
which the Báb had created. Because the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh are so historically
and doctrinally related, they are actually called the “Twin Founders” of the Bahá’ı́
Faith.
According to Armin Eschraghi, the Báb established a new, post-Islamic faith
that fulfilled all the criteria of an independent religion. These include a new
founder, newly revealed scriptures, a new set of metaphysical and theological
teachings distinct from those of Islam, new religious laws and principles. In
revealing his new code of laws, the Persian Bayán (1848), the Báb intended to
pave the way for the advent of the Promised One; to provoke the clerical establish-
ment and shatter the foundations of their often-abused institutionalized authority;
and to prove the independence of his own religion as distinct from Islam.
The Báb declared that he was a messenger from God sent to proclaim the immi-
nent advent of one greater than himself. Religious and state persecution fell upon
his followers, leading to the torture and religious martyrdom of thousands. In
July 1848, the Báb was summoned to Tabrı́z to stand trial before Muslim clerics.
Ordered by H.ájı́ Mı́rzá Áqásı́, prime minister of Persia, the trial was doubtless
intended to publicly discredit the Báb. Presiding over the trial was the young
Crown Prince, who later became the reigning monarch of Persia, Násiri’d-Dı́n
Sháh. The Báb was pressured to recant his writings and claims.
Instead, the Báb openly proclaimed that he was the promised Qá’im, the
expected deliverer in Shi‘i Islam (and, as the Mahdı́, by Sunni and Shi‘i Muslims
alike). To subject him to public ridicule by exposing his supposed ignorance, the
Báb was then questioned about abstruse points of Arabic grammar, theology, and
religious law. Throughout the course of the trial, the Báb staunchly refused to
renounce his messianic claims and writings. After the trial reached its unsuccess-
ful conclusion, the Báb was bastinadoed and again imprisoned. In their verdict,
the clergy pronounced the Báb insane, thinking that a declaration of madness
would quell the religious furor that the Báb had created.
However, a series of Bábı́ defensive clashes with the attacking state militias at
Shaykh Tabarsı́, Nayrı́z, and Zanján persuaded the new prime minister Mı́rzá Taqı́
Khán that the unrest would endure unless the Báb was put to death. The prime
minister therefore ordered the execution of the Báb, who was then brought to
Tabrı́z. When, at the house of Mullá Muhammad Mamaqánı́, the Báb still would
not recant his claims, a leader of the Tabrı́z Shaykhı́s, Mamaqánı́, issued the Báb’s
death warrant by public execution at an army barracks in Tabrı́z.
Imprisoned with the Báb in the barracks cell were his secretaries, the two broth-
ers Siyyid Hasan and Siyyid H.usayn Yazdı́, along with a young Bábı́ mullá of
Tabrı́z, Mı́rzá Muhammad-Alı́ Zunúzı́, who was called Anı́s (“Companion”) by
the Báb. Arrested for openly proclaiming the Báb’s new religion, the young Anı́s
refused to recant and so was sentenced to death with the Báb. The Báb chose Anı́s
to die with him together as companion martyrs in a single execution, rather than in
separate executions.
Báb, Martyrdom of the (July 9) 75

At noon, the Báb and Anı́s were brought out into the barracks square, and,
bound by ropes, suspended from a spike driven into the wall of the barracks. The
surrounding rooftops were thronged with an estimated 10,000 onlookers.
The Russian Armenian Sám Khán commanded the Christian Bahádurán Regi-
ment, which was ordered to carry out the execution. Although accounts of the
Báb’s execution vary in details, all agree that, after thick smoke—from the volley
of 750 muskets—had cleared, the Báb had vanished, with Anı́s standing before the
astonished multitude, unhurt. The Báb’s escape from the first volley of musket fire
is beyond doubt, as his ropes were cut by the shots. One witness to this extraordi-
nary event, Sir Justin Shiel, Queen Victoria’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister
Plenipotentiary, in Tehran on July 22, 1850, records:

The founder of this sect has been executed at Tabreez. He was killed by a vol-
ley of musketry, and his death was on the point of giving his religion a lustre
which would have largely increased his proselytes. When the smoke and dust
cleared away after the volley, Báb was not to be seen, and the populace pro-
claimed that he had ascended to the skies. The balls had broken the ropes by
which he was bound, but he was dragged from the recess where after some
search he was discovered and shot. His death, according to the belief of his
disciples, will make no difference as Báb must always exist. (Momen, The
Bábı́ and Bahá’ı́ Religions, 1844–1944, 78)

A frantic search ensued, and the Báb was found back in his cell, evidently com-
pleting dictation to his secretary that was earlier interrupted. Soldiers swiftly
cleared the barracks square, and the Báb was once more suspended by ropes for
execution, with Anı́s placed in front of the Báb. But Sám Khán refused to order
his troops to fire again and so the Muslim Nádirı́ Regiment was summoned. On
the second attempt, the Báb and Anı́s were instantly killed. Their bodies, in fact,
were fused together by the sheer number of bullets that struck them.
Despite the claims of some two dozen Bábı́s in their rival bids to succeed the
Báb, the majority of his coreligionists, the Bábı́s, turned to Bahá’u’lláh, who effec-
tively led the Bábı́ community until such time as he formally established the
Bahá’ı́ religion in 1863 by his announcement that he was the messianic figure
the Báb foretold, although the designation “people of Bahá” (i.e., followers of
Bahá’u’lláh, the Bahá’ı́s), was not current until March 1866. In 1873, Bahá’u’lláh
subsequently incorporated a number of the laws of the Báb, in modified form, in
his book of laws, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas (“The Most Holy Book”).
Although not one of the holy days mentioned in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the martyr-
dom of the Báb was observed by Bahá’u’lláh. Two practices are associated with
the observance of the Martyrdom of the Báb. First, commemorations should take
place at noon, the time of the Báb’s execution. Second, the “Tablet of Visita-
tion”—a special commemorative prayer—is usually recited. Typically, it is
Nabı́l’s narrative of the events surrounding the martyrdom of the Báb that is read
76 Babaji Commemoration Day (July 25)

on this occasion, although it is not a requirement to do so. Nabı́l’s narrative, which
describes the prophetic passion of the Báb’s martyrdom in detail and is based on
eyewitness accounts, is remarkably objective in style, yet never fails to stir deep
emotions in the hearts of participants in this solemnly commemorative holy day.
Christopher Buck

See also ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Ascension of; Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’ı́ Intercalary Days);
Báb, Festival of the Birth of the; Báb, Festival of the Declaration of the; Bahá’ı́
Calendar and Rhythms of Worship; Bahá’ı́ Faith; Bahá’ı́ Fast; Bahá’u’lláh, Ascen-
sion of; Bahá’u’lláh, Festival of the Birth of; Covenant, Day of the; Naw-Rúz, Fes-
tival of; Nineteen-Day Feast (Bahá’ı́); Race Unity Day; Ridván, Festival of; World
˙
Religion Day.

References
Amanat, Abbas. “The Persian Bayán and the Shaping of the Babi Renewal in Iran.”
Apocalyptic Islam and Iranian Shi‘ism, 111–26. London: I. B. Tauris, 2009.
Amanat, Abbas. Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran,
1844–1850. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1989. Reprinted in paperback, Kali-
mát Press, 2005.
Báb, the, et al. Twin Holy Days: Birthday of Bahá’u’lláh, Birthday of the Báb: A Compila-
tion. Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 1995.
Browne, Edward G. “Bábı́ism.” In Religious Systems of the World: A Contribution to the
Study of Comparative Religion, edited by William Sheowring and Conrad W. Thies,
333–53. London: Swann Sonnenschein, 1892.
Eschraghi, Armin. “ ‘Undermining the Foundations of Orthodoxy’: Some Notes on the
Báb’s Sharı́‘ah (Sacred Law).” In A Most Noble Pattern: Essays in the Study of the
Writings of the Báb, edited by Todd Lawson. Oxford: George Ronald, 2011.
Momen, Moojan, ed. The Bábı́ and Bahá’ı́ Religions, 1844–1944: Some Contemporary
Western Accounts. Oxford: George Ronald, 1991.
Nabı́l (Nabı́l-i A‘zam Zarandı́). The Dawn-Breakers: Nabı́l’s Narrative of the Early Days
of the Bahá’ı́ Revelation. Translated by Shoghi Effendi. Wilmette, IL: U.S. Bahá’ı́ Pub-
lishing Trust, 1932.
Saiedi, Nader. Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Ottawa, Ontario,
Canada: Association for Bahá’ı́ Studies/Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2008.
Walbridge, John. “The Martyrdom of the Báb.” In Sacred Acts, Sacred Space, Sacred
Time, 223–31. Oxford: George Ronald, 1996.

Babaji Commemoration Day (July 25)

In his autobiography, Paramahansa Yogananda (1893–1952) introduced his read-
ers to a mysterious Indian saint known only as Mahavatar Babaji. Yogananda,
one of the founders of Hinduism in North America, had been the student of Sri
966 About the Editor and Contributors

The Contributors
MARTIN BAUMANN is professor of the Study of Religions at the University of
Lucerne in Switzerland. His research interests focus on religious pluralism and
public space, migration and religion, diaspora studies, and Hindu and Buddhist
traditions in the West. He has published on these topics in both English and
German, and his most recent coedited book is Eine Schweiz—viele Religionen
(2007).

JAMES A. BEVERLEY is professor of Christian thought and ethics at Tyndale
Seminary in Toronto, Canada, and associate director of the Institute for the Study
of American Religion. He is a specialist on new religious movements and the rela-
tionship of Christianity to other world religions. He is author and editor of 10
books, including Islam (2011), Islamic Faith in America (2011), and Nelson’s
Illustrated Guide to Religions (2009).

CHRISTOPHER BUCK is a Pennsylvania attorney and independent scholar. He
holds a PhD from the University of Toronto (1996) and JD from Cooley Law
School (2006). He previously taught at Michigan State University (2000–2004),
Quincy University (1999–2000), Millikin University (1997–1999), and Carleton
University (1994–1996). His publications include: Religious Myths and Visions
of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America’s World Role (2009); Alain
Locke: Faith and Philosophy (2005); Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols
in Persian Christianity and the Bahá’ı́ Faith (1999); Symbol and Secret: Qur’an
Commentary in Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Íqán (1995, 2004), various book chapters,
encyclopedia articles, and journal articles.

EDWARD ALLEN IRONS is the director of the Hong Kong Institute for Culture,
Religion, and Commerce, a religious studies research facility concentrating on
Hong Kong and Chinese cultural studies, Chinese religions, and the interaction
of cultural and religious issues with commerce in contemporary society.

CONSTANCE A. JONES is a professor of transformative studies at the California
Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco. She received her PhD in sociology
from Emory University and was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center
for the Study of New Religious Movements of the Graduate Theological Union
in Berkeley, California. Beginning with her doctoral dissertation on the caste
system in India, she has pursued a lifelong interest in the cultures and religions
of the East. As a Fulbright scholar in India, she taught at Banaras Hindu University
and Vasanta College and conducted research at the Krishnamurti Study Center,
Varanasi. She is a member of the International Advisory Board for “The Complete
Teachings of J. Krishnamurti, 1910–1986.” Her publications include: the Encyclo-
pedia of Hinduism (with James D. Ryan, 2007); The Legacy of G. I. Gurdjieff

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