# The Bab and the Babis

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Edward Sell, The Bab and the Babis, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> ESSAYS ON ISLÁM.
> 
> BY THE
> REV. E. SELL, B.D., M.R.A.S.,
> FELLOW OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRAS.
> 
> 1901.
> 
> THE BÁB AND THE BÁBÍS
> 
> II.
> 
> THE modern sect of the Bábís is closely connected with the mystical modes of thought of
> the Ṣúfís, and with the teaching of the Shí‘ahs on the Imám, his position and functions. It is
> not strictly correct to call them a Muslim sect, for they practically discard the Qurán and
> supersede Muḥammad. But the close connection of Bábíism with Muḥammadan dogmas,
> its present-day importance and the devotion of its followers claim for it thoughtful study.
> Mírzá Káẓim Beg, writing in the year 1866, says: “From its first appearance the
> teaching of the Báb has been distinguished from all other reforms, which have hitherto been
> produced in Persia or the East generally, by a well marked aspiration towards truth and
> towards liberty of conscience. Although in the development of the doctrine, human
> passions and fanatic strife have left their impress, yet we can perceive some things which
> are directed toward good desires and towards the freedom of the human will.”1 He also
> adds: “There is not in the history of Asia a schism so remarkable as that of the Báb. It owes
> its extraordinary success to the zeal of its Muríds, or disciples. Amongst these are women
> who have played an important part,
> 
> [page 47]
> 
> great lords of the Shah s court, and, from the ranks of the ‘Ulamá, the Seyyids or
> descendants of Muḥammad.”2
> These are the words of a thoughtful Musalmán who is in no sense a friend to Bábíism,
> but who seeks to give a fair historical account of the Báb and his followers up to the year
> 1866. The subject has more recently been investigated by Mr. E. G. Browne, Lecturer in
> Persian at the University of Cambridge. His work, The Episode of the Báb, is a most
> valuable contribution to the knowledge of a movement as remarkable as it is little known. It
> brings the history nearly up to the present day. Much previous knowledge of Muslim
> thought and ways is, however, necessary to the intelligent study of the few existing works
> on the subject.
> No sect in modern days has suffered such persecution and survived. The movement is
> one which illustrates the mystical tendency of Persian thought, the fanaticism of the Mullás,
> and the barbarity of the rulers; but all the efforts of the Muslim Church and State in Persia
> have hitherto failed to suppress Bábíism, or to lessen the veneration in which the Báb is
> held by those who accept his teaching.
> The Musalmáns of Persia belong to the Shí‘ah sect, which, itself formed by a revolt
> from orthodox Islám, has been more than any other section of the Muḥammadan people
> subject to divisions. This is partly due to the character of the Persians, and partly to a
> somewhat freer spirit, which, as compared with the Sunnís, the Shí‘ahs cultivate.
> 
> Journal Asiatique, Sixième Série, p. 331.
> Journal Asiatique, Sixième Série, p. 333.
> Outwardly, it is true, there is not much difference, and the freedom is only a relative one;
> but under the garb of faultless profession, the Shí‘ahs have always held many esoteric
> doctrines and have secretly taught them. The Ṣúfís, or mystics, are the best example of this,
> but the Bábís seem to have little or no connection with them.
> The Persians are not naturally a narrow minded people. In the past they have shown
> considerable freedom of thought. It is true that their first great revolt against orthodox Islám
> was largely
> 
> [page 48]
> 
> influenced by political motives, but it was not altogether free from intellectual aspirations.
> The Mutazala, the Ṣúfí, the Bábí are all more or less rationalistic and the two latter, being
> extremely mystical, should be liberal in their views. The Persians no longer lead in
> literature and philosophy, but some of the old traditions remain, and they are open to
> varying impulses and modes of thought, and yet there is no real religious freedom and no
> true religious toleration.
> In order to understand the special standpoint of the Báb and to have an intelligent
> knowledge of his claims as a religious leader, we must consider briefly the central and
> special doctrine of the Shí‘ah system. It is known as the dogma of the Imámate. Sharastání
> defines it thus3: “The Imámate is a light (núr) which passes from one to the other and
> becomes prophetship.” “The Imáms are prophets and divine. Divinity is a ray (núr) in
> prophetship, which again is a ray in Imámate, and the world is never free from these signs
> and lights (anvár).”
> The Khalif of the Sunni sect, though according to Muḥammadan tradition he should be
> an Arab and a descendant of the Quraish tribe, is now a Turk, and may, practically, be a
> man of any race who can command the allegiance of the orthodox. Amongst the Shí‘ahs the
> Imám occupies this position not by election4, or by virtue of any special capacities, but by
> divine right and his office is altogether spiritual.5 The first Imám, ‘Alí, was
> 
> [page 49]
> 
> appointed by Muḥammad and the rest are his divinely ordained successors. They are
> believed to be immaculate, infallible, and perfect guides to men. “The Imámites believe that
> the Imám is preserved inviolate from sin and knows all things.”6 “The authority of the
> Imám is the authority of God, his word is the word of God and of the prophet, and
> obedience to his orders is incumbent.”7 It is said, “God calls the Imáms His word, His
> hands, His signs, His secret.” Their commands and prohibitions, their actions also, He
> recognises as His own. Thus Sharastání: “The orders of the Imáms are divine.”8 As
> mediums between God and man they hold a far higher position than the prophets, for “the
> grace of God, without their intervention, reaches to no created being.” The Imám is the
> supreme Pontiff, the Vicar of God. The possession of an infallible book is not enough. The
> infallible guide is also needed by the Shí‘ah. This is the general belief about the Imáms and
> their functions, though there are differences of opinion as to the succession. Setting aside
> 
> Milal wa Niḥal, pp. 133, 135.
> There is one exception. The people of Omán adopted the elective principle and held that the Imám
> might be deposed for misconduct. ‘Abdu’lláh-ibn ‘Ibádh (744 A.D.) was a vigorous preacher of this
> doctrine, and from him the sect known as the ‘Ibádhiyáh takes its rise. The result of his teaching
> was the establishment of the power and jurisdiction of the Imáms of Oman. A full account will be
> found in Dr. Badger’s Seyyids of Oman.
> “In a word, the Khalif          of the Sunnís is merely the outward and visible Defender of the Faith;
> the Imám of the Shí‘ahs is the divinely ordained successor of the Prophet, one endowed with all
> perfections and spiritual gifts, one whom all the faithful must obey, whose decision is absolute and
> final, whose wisdom is superhuman.” Episode of the Báb, p. 296.
> Jelálu’d-dín As-Suyúti. Bibliotheca Indica, Fas: v. p. 473.
> Hyátu-n-nafis.
> Milal wa Niḥal, p. 132.
> the smaller and less important sects, we may notice the two principal ones. The Ismá’ílíans,
> who reckon ‘Alí as the first Imám, believe in twelve.9 The other sect is that of the Imámites,
> who hold that Ṣádiq, the sixth Imám, was the last one who publicly exercised the office,
> and that after his time, not after that of Imám Abu’l-Qásim, the succession of the concealed
> Imáms commenced. It is not at all necessary to enter into the question of these different
> opinions. The point which now concerns us is that both sects equally believed that there
> never could be a time when there should be no Imám. “The earth is never without a living
> Imám, though concealed.” “He who dies without knowing the Imám, or who is not his
> disciple, dies ignorant.”10
> 
> [page 50]
> 
> Abu’l Qásim (Al-Mahdí) succeeded his father as Imám in the year 260 A.H., just one
> thousand years before the manifestation of the Báb. He is said to have disappeared in the
> year 329 A.H. and to be now living in one of the two mysterious cities — Jábulka and
> Jábulsa.11 It is believed that in due time he will reappear, that Jesus Christ will herald his
> approach, that then injustice and misery will be put away, that the true (Shí‘ah) faith will
> prevail, and that a millennium of happiness will be ushered in. Meanwhile, he is invisible
> and inaccessible to the great mass of his followers. At first, however, he held direct
> intercourse in some way with a select few who were the channels of communication
> between himself and the larger body. These intermediaries were called Abwáb, or Gates.
> Their names are Abú ‘Umr ‘Uṣmán ibn Sa‘id ‘Umarí, Abú Ja‘far Muḥammad ibn Uṣmán,
> Ḥusain ibn Rúh Nawbakhtí, and Abú’l-Ḥasan ‘Alí ibn Muḥammad Símarí. For a period of
> sixty-nine years these Gates, one after the other, were the medium of communication with
> the Imám. This period is called that of the ghaibat-i-ṣughra12 , or minor occupation. The day
> came at length when the last Gate, Abú’l-Ḥasan, reached the end of life and the people
> begged him to nominate a successor, as his predecessors had done; but he absolutely
> refused to do so, alleging as his reason that “God hath a purpose which He will
> accomplish.” That which the Faithful had looked forward to with despair had now come to
> pass, and all intercourse with the Imám was at an end. This period is called the ghaibat-i-
> kubra, or major occultation.13 The importance attached to these men and to their position is
> seen from the following extract from the Beyán, a Bábí book to be explained later on, in
> which we read: “For God hath associated refuge in Himself with refuge in His Apostle, and
> refuge in His Apostle with refuge in His Executors (i.e., the Imáms), and refuge in His
> 
> [page 51]
> 
> Executors with refuge in the Gates of His Executors. . . . For refuge in the Apostle is the
> same as refuge with God, and refuge in the Imáms the same as refuge in the Apostle and
> refuge in the Gates is identical with refuge in the Imáms.”14
> We next come to the time of Shaikh Aḥmad (1753-1826 A.D.) the founder of the
> Shaikhí sect. He was a devout ascetic and a man of independent thought. He had a profound
> 
> The names and order are as follows: ‘Alí ibn Abí Tálib, Ḥasan, Ḥusain, ‘Alí (Imám Zeynu’l
> ‘Abidín), Muḥammad Bákir, Ja‘far-i-Ṣádiq, Músa Qásim, ‘Alí ibn Músá ar-Riza, Muḥammad Takí,
> ‘Alí Nakí, Ḥasan ‘Askari, and Abu’l Qásim, or the Imám Mahdí. He is also called the Ḥujjatu’lláh
> (the proof of God).
> Sharastání in the Milal wa Niḥal, pp. 146, 147.
> For a curious account of these by Ibn ‘Abbás see the Episode of the Báb, pp. 299-301.
> 
> Episode of the Báb, p. 233.
> belief in ‘Alí, and was devoted to the memory of the Imáms, whom he looked upon as
> creative forces, arguing from the text, “God the best of creators”15 that, if He be the best,
> He cannot be the only one, Mírzá Káẓim Beg describes him as a teacher who by his virtues,
> austerity, and erudition was celebrated amongst his contemporaries. Disciples flocked to
> him from all parts. The special point of his teaching was that “God is immanent in the
> Universe, which proceeds from Him, and that all the elect of God, all the Imáms, and all
> just persons are personifications of the divine attributes.” According to this belief, he held
> that the twelve Imáms from ‘Alí to Al-Mahdí were personifications of twelve chief
> attributes of God, and that, consequently, they were eternal. Amongst these Imáms ‘Alí
> holds the highest rank, being superior to angels, to prophets, and to Muḥammad.16
> 
> [page 52]
> 
> He used also to quote the Tradition attributed to ‘Alí, “I am the creator of the heavens
> and the earth”17 and said that in reciting the first chapter of the Qurán, the Súratu l-Fátiḥah,
> the worshipper should fix his thoughts on ‘Alí and say “Thee do we worship.”18
> The successor of Shaikh Aḥmad was Ḥájí Seyyid Káẓim. He was a young man of a
> very strict manner of life and so mysterious in his actions that some of the more wordly-
> minded [sic] Persians looked upon him as foolish, but the greater part called him the
> Enlightened. The Shaikhí doctrine now spread all through Persia. In Irak alone there were
> more than a hundred thousand disciples. However, they did nothing to call forth the
> opposition of the Mullás, nor any political repression: on the contrary, among the admirers
> of the Shaikh were a great number of state officials, and of the chief among the clergy; all
> proud of his fame and enthusiastic about his philosophy.”19 He died in the year 1843 A.D.
> and left no successor. According to the Bábí writers he appointed no one, because he
> looked upon Shaikh Aḥmad and himself as forerunners of one who should shortly appear,
> and be far more glorious than they had been. Mr. Browne gives the following translation20
> of a passage in a Bábí history,21 which bears on this point:
> “When Ḥájí Seyyid Káẓim had but recently departed this life,22 I arrived at the
> supreme shrines (Kerbelá and Nejef) and heard from his disciples that the late Seyyid had,
> during the last two or three years of his life, wholly restricted his discourse, both in lecture
> room and pulpit, to discussing the promised Proof, the signs of his appearance and their
> explanation, and to enumerating the qualities of the Master of the dispensation, repeatedly
> declaring that he would be a
> 
> [page 53]
> 
> Súra xxiii. 14.
> Journal Asiatique, Sixième Série, tome vii. p. 458.
> Mírzá Káẓim Beg adds the following note: “The scholastic Musalmáns say that the attributes
> of God are equal and of one quality; but to the human comprehension some appear superior to
> others, for example, mercy surpasses severity. According to the doctrine of the Ṣifáṭíans, the
> attributes of God are eternally inherent in His essence. The Mutazalas do not admit this and say:
> There is only one supreme existence and that is God; otherwise we must admit a multiplicity of
> eternal existences, which is contrary to the dogma of the divine unity. The doctrine of the Shaikhí
> school is that the attributes of God proceed from the supreme existence, and by His own will
> become personified in blending with the human soul and spirit which also emanate from God.”
> 
> Journal Asiatique, Sixième Série, tome vii, p. 463.
> Episode of the Báb, p. 239.
> The New History of the Báb.
> In the year 1259 A.H. — 1843-4 A.D.
> youth, that he would not be versed in the learning of men. Some times, too, he would say, I
> see him as the rising sun. One day an Arab suddenly entered his presence and said, I have
> seen a vision touching your reverence. On receiving permission he repeated the dream;
> whereupon Seyyid Káẓim appeared somewhat troubled and said, ‘The interpretation of this
> dream is this, that my departure is nigh at hand and I must go hence.’ His companions, who
> were present, were much distressed and grieved at this intelligence; but he turned his face
> to them and said, ‘The time of my sojourn in the world has come to an end, and this is my
> last journey. Why are ye so grieved and troubled because of my death? Do ye not then
> desire that I should go and that the true one should appear?’”
> To Mullá Ḥusain, one of his most distinguished followers, he said, “From whatever
> quarter the sun of truth shall arise, it will irradiate all horizons and render the mirrors of
> believers hearts capable of receiving the effulgence of the lights of wisdom.”
> The Shaikhís seem to have been expecting the advent of some one who should be their
> leader and so, after fastings, vigils, and prayers for guidance, they began to consider what
> was to be done in the matter of a successor, a spiritual director. They then went in different
> directions. Mullá Ḥusain proceeded to Shíráz and there met with Mírzá ‘Alí Muḥammad,
> who produced before him the signs of his call to his divine mission. Amongst these was his
> commentary on the Súra of Joseph, one of the chapters of the Qurán. To the enquiry of the
> Báb, as to whether the Shaikhís had yet appointed a successor to the late Seyyid Káẓim, he
> was obliged to say that as yet they had found no one worthy enough for so high an office.
> The Báb suggested that he might do, but Mullá Ḥusain could not see how one so young
> would do. One day the Báb said: By what sign canst thou recognize the Master? Mullá
> Ḥusain replied, “By the possession of the Point of Knowledge, which is the source and
> centre of all the wisdom of past and future prophets and saints.” Then followed marvellous
> expositions and clear explanations of most abstruse questions.23 For
> 
> [page 54]
> 
> several days Mullá Ḥusain pondered over these matters, and, after a long and severe
> struggle, became convinced that he had found in the young and ardent enthusiast before
> him, the Proof, the True One, the Sun of Truth, to whose advent Ḥájí Seyyid Káẓim had
> pointed. “He wrote to his friends at Kerbelá that neither he himself nor any other of them
> was worthy of the high dignity of Murshid, or leader, and that that ‘Illuminated One, to
> whom their late master had referred, was alone worthy. I have found him at Shíráz and he is
> worthy to be the Murshid.”24 It is for this reason, and because he so heartily espoused the
> cause of his new master, that Mullá Ḥusain is named the Bábu’l-Báb, or Gate of the Gate;
> the Ḥarf-i-Awwal, or First Letter, and the Awwal man ámana, or the First to believe. But
> this decision was not acceptable to all the Shaikhís. A party headed by Ḥájí Muḥammad
> Karím Khán25 of Kirmán utterly refused to receive the Báb and became his bitterest
> persecutors. Indeed at his first examination at Tabríz, some of his opponents were Shaikhís,
> and some later on approved of his condemnation to death. The Shaikhís thus became
> divided into two sects. One passed on to Bábíism of which it was, in a way, the source. At
> all events, it gave it strength and a rapid diffusion. The other was, and continued to be, in
> fierce conflict with it. However, the great majority followed Mullá Ḥusain, and Mírzá ‘Alí
> Muḥammad become their recognized leader.
> As the connection between the Bábís and the Shaikhís is thus so close, we must now
> see what was the special dogma of the latter sect. The orthodox Shí‘ah creed consists of
> five articles, which are called arkán-i-dín, or the pillars or supports of the Faith. They are
> belief (1) in tauḥíd, or the unity of God, (2) in ‘adl, or the justice of God, (3) in nabuwat, or
> prophetship, (4) in imámat, or the imámate, (5) in ma‘úd, or the resurrection. The Shaikhís
> set aside the articles two and five, for they said that
> 
> A full account of Mullá Ḥusain’s conversion is given in the Táríkh-i-Jadíd, pp. 34-38.
> Journal Asiatique, Sixième Série, tome vii. p. 465.
> The Bábís called him the “Very Essence of Hell-fire.”
> 
> Episode of the Báb, p. 242.
> [page 55]
> 
> there seemed no sufficient reason why justice alone of all the attributes of God should be
> selected as an article of the creed, and that there was just as much reason for inserting His
> wisdom, power, or any other attribute. They also objected to the resurrection as a special
> article, on the ground that belief in the attribute of justice and in the resurrection is implied
> in the acceptance of prophetship. He who believes in a prophet accepts that which he sets
> forth, and these are cardinal parts of his teaching. To take the place of the rejected articles
> and to bring the number up to four they added a new one, which they called the rukn-i-
> rábi‘26, or the Fourth Support or Pillar. The meaning of this is that there must always be
> amongst believers one perfect man, a Shí‘ah-i-kámil27 who can be the wásiṭa-i-faiẓ,28 or the
> channel of grace between the absent Imám and his people. Four pillars give stability to any
> thing, so no more are needed in a creed. The term Fourth Support is primarily applied to the
> dogma that the concealed Imám must always have on earth some one who possesses his
> entire confidence, to whom he gives special spiritual instruction, and who is thus qualified
> to convey to the believers the wishes and wisdom of their invisible head.29 The term has,
> however, come to be applied to the person who fulfils this office. It is said that Ḥájí
> Muḥammad Karím Khán, the Shaikhí who refused to accept Mírzá ‘Alí Muḥammad as a
> leader, considered himself to be the Fourth Support. This, too, was the position of the Báb;
> at all events at first, for he claimed to be this Fourth Support, and thus to occupy the place
> held by the Gates, who were the intermediaries between the Imám and his followers during
> the minor occultation. Thus it is that Bábíism is connected with the very central doctrine of
> the Shí‘ahs, though in many other ways it has so far departed from accepted Muḥammadan
> ideas as to form a new sect altogether. This will appear as we record the life and work of
> the Báb.
> Mírzá ‘Alí Muḥammad was born at Shiraz, on the 9th of
> 
> [page 56]
> 
> October, 1820. When quite young, he lost his father. He was brought up by an uncle who
> was engaged in mercantile pursuits. For a time the youth assisted his uncle, but as his mind
> was more inclined to religious meditation and speculative thought than to business affairs,
> he proceeded to Kerbelá, where he was brought into contact with Ḥájí Seyyid Káẓim, the
> Shaikhí leader, whose lectures he occasionally attended. At Kerbelá he was distinguished
> by his zeal for learning and by his remarkably austere life, as well as by the great esteem in
> which his teacher and others held him. Visitors to Kerbelá, especially those from Shíráz,
> showed him much consideration, and so his fame was spread abroad. He now began to
> commit his thoughts to writing, and composed a commentary on one of the chapters of the
> Qurán, the Súra of Joseph.
> The Bábí historian30 says of this work that in it “he addressed himself to that person
> unseen, from whom he received help and grace, sought for aid in the arrangement of his
> 
> Vide Episode of the Báb, pp. 243-4 for an exposition of these two views.
> preliminaries, and craved the sacrifice of life in the way of love. Amongst others is this
> sentence, “O residue of God,31 I am wholly sacrificed to Thee;
> 
> [page 57]
> 
> I am content with curses in Thy way, I crave nought but to be slain in Thy love, and God the
> Supreme sufficeth as an eternal protection.”
> He also wrote a commentary on other parts of the Qurán, and some prayers. These
> writings he called ashá’if-i-ilhámiyah, or inspired pages and kalám-i-fiṭra, or word of
> conscience; but he made no claim to the kind of inspiration called waḥí, that is, the
> revelation brought by an angel or in some mechanical way.32 He believed his meditations to
> be divinely inspired, but the inspiration was subjective.33
> He now began to attract general attention. Some persons were highly displeased, others
> were drawn towards him. Thus it came to pass that on the 23rd of May, 1844, when he was
> about twenty-four years of age, Mírzá ‘Alí Muḥammad more definitely formulated his
> views and announced himself as a duly authorised teacher and guide. He then assumed the
> name of the Báb. He said, “Whosoever wishes to approach the Lord his God and to know
> the true way that leads to Him ought to do it through me.” Of this period of his career Mírzá
> Káẓim Beg says: “The number of his adherents increased, day by day, and when they
> demanded that he, like the ancient prophets, should give them a sign, in proof of his
> mission, he relied on this that he could write a thousand inspired lines in one day. By his
> peculiarities and by
> 
> [page 58]
> 
> Episode of the Báb, p. 4.
> The expression, residue (or remnant) of God — Baqíyat Ulláh — is a very peculiar one. It is
> connected with a curious belief of the Shí‘ahs, viz.: that God allowed some part or fraction of
> Himself, in some way or other, to be connected with the Imám. As soon then as Mírzá ‘Alí
> Muḥammad was raised by his followers to the dignity of the Báb, or as soon as the idea became
> present to his own mind, he could address the Imám as the Baqíyat Ulláh, and set forth his complete
> devotion to him. His followers then gave him the titles of the servant of Baqíyat Ulláh, the mystery
> of Baqíyat Ulláh, the friend of Baqíyat Ulláh. Gradually, as, during his imprisonment, he became
> more and more invisible to his followers, and when he became credited with the power of working
> miracles and more or less a mythical being, he was no longer called the servant, or the mystery, or
> the friend of Baqíyat Ulláh, but himself was esteemed to be the Baqíyat Ulláh the true Imám so
> long looked for. Mírzá Káẓim Beg says that under the term mystery they understood one who
> shared the secrets of the Imám. “The name Sirr-Ullah, or Mystery of God, was given to ‘Alí, as to
> one who knew the secrets of divine revelation; and, so in its new application, the title Sirr-i-Baqíyat
> Ulláh, now a name of the Báb, would mean the one who knew all that was in the mind of the
> concealed Imám, who himself was the remnant (or residue) of God.” Journal Asiatique, 1866, vol.
> viii. p. 468.
> Episode of the Báb, p. 4.
> Count Gobineau says: “Dans le premier de ces livres, il était pieux et mystique: dans le second, la
> polemique et la dialectique tenaient une grande place, et les auditeurs remarquaient avec
> étonnement qu’il découvrait, dans le chapitre du Livre de Dieu qu’il avait choisi, des sens nouveaux
> dont personne ne s’était avise Jusqu’alors, et qu’il en tirait surtout des doctrines et des
> enseignements complètement inattendus” Les religions et les philosophies dans L’Asia Centrale, p.
> 147.
> his austere life, even when still at Kerbelá, he was called the ‘Illuminated’. When the
> inhabitants of Shíráz returned from Kerbelá, they used to say: “Have you heard of our
> Seyyid ‘Alí Muḥammad? He is no longer as we are, he has become famous and has merited
> the name of the ‘Chosen of God’. All people, small and great, flock around him.” He also
> adds that dreamers and mystics, and evil disposed persons from self-interest joined him. No
> doubt some did so from mixed motives; but Mr. E. G. Browne seems to me to give the
> fairest account. He divides the Báb’s first adherents into several classes. Firstly, rigorous
> and pious Muḥammadans who really believed that the signs of the twelfth Imám were
> fulfilled in him; secondly, all those who desired reform in Persia and thought that Bábíism
> would conduce to that end; thirdly, the mystics who considered Bábíism to be similar to
> their own pantheistic system; fourthly, those who were drawn by the personal influence and
> character of the Báb.34
> On his return from Kerbelá he was heartily welcomed. Until then, it is said, he looked
> upon himself only as one who had made some progress in the ṭáríqat, or the divine way; but
> he soon began to consider himself a master, appointed by heaven to regenerate his country.
> It was now that Mullá Ḥusain cast in his lot with the Báb. This period is known as that of
> the ẓahúr, or manifestation.
> There is some difference of opinion as to what he exactly meant by the title of Báb
> which he assumed. Mírzá Káẓim Beg says: “I do not know whether he was acquainted with
> the words of Christ, ‘I am the door,’ but he doubtless knew that Muḥammad had said: I am
> the city of knowledge and ‘Alí is the gate of that city.’”35 Another writer says: “He
> announced that he was the Gate, by which alone any one can attain to the knowledge of
> God.” A Muḥammadan historian, an enemy of the Báb, says that “the Báb, having gathered
> some Shaikhís together, said: — ‘I am the Gate of God. Whosoever desires to come to God,
> and
> 
> [page 59]
> 
> to know the religion of God cannot do so till he sees me and receives permission from
> me.’” The most accurate account is this: - “He (Mírzá ‘Alí Muḥammad) now gave out that,
> as ‘Alí had been the Gate, by which men entered the city of the Prophet’s knowledge, even
> so he was the ‘Gate’ through which men might attain to the knowledge of the twelfth
> Imám.”36 His followers have now, however, discarded that name, and he is known amongst
> the Bábís by several titles, such as Ḥaẓrat, or His Highness; Ḥaẓrat-i-nuqṭah-i-beyán, or His
> Highness the point of Revelation; Ḥaẓrat-i-nuqṭah-i-úlá, or His Highness the First point;
> Ḥaẓrat-i-rabbi ala‘ala, or His Highness my Lord the Supreme. More recently the Behá’ís
> call him Ḥaẓrat-i-mubashshir, or His Highness the Evangelist.37 Gobineau, a good authority
> on the subject, says: — “Mírzá Muḥammad ‘Alí said that he was not the Báb in the sense in
> which they (his followers) had believed and as he himself had thought, that is to say, the
> Gate of the knowledge of truth; but that he was the Point, or the originator of truth, a divine
> appearance, a powerful manifestation,”38 and so goes on to show that the title Báb was set
> free and could hence forth reward the pious devotion of one of the Báb’s followers. As a
> matter of fact, it was bestowed on Mullá Ḥusain, who is some times called His Excellency,
> the Gate of the Gate, Janáb-i-Bábu’l Báb.39 Having made this digression we may now
> continue the history of this remarkable man.
> 
> Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1889, p. 504.
> Journal Asiatique, 1866, p. 343.
> Watson’s History of Persia, p. 348.
> 
> Episode of the Báb, p. 230.
> The next step seems to have been the pilgrimage to Mecca in November 1844, where
> he stayed a short time and completed all the rites incumbent on pilgrims. His stay in Mecca
> does not seem to have confirmed his faith in Islám, from which he was
> 
> [page 60]
> 
> now becoming detached.40 He returned early in the following year to Bushire. He soon
> become the centre of attraction, His personal charms and his attractive manners drew many
> people to him. The orthodox were pleased with the apparent veneration he held for the
> Prophet and the Imáms, whilst his more ardent companions rejoiced at the liberality of his
> views. The Mullás and others, however, became excited about him. They induced Ḥusain
> Khán, the Governor of Fárs, to give orders that some of his followers should be beaten. A
> little later on in the year the Báb was brought as a prisoner to Shíráz. The impression he
> produced then was very great amongst the literary and religious classes. Whenever he
> appeared in the Mosque they listened to him in silence. In his public discourses he did not
> now attack the foundations of Islám, but was unsparing in his rebukes of the Mullás. His
> general theme was the sad and distressed state of men generally. Obscure allusions in his
> speeches awakened an interest amongst the curious, and delighted those who were in part
> initiated into his teaching.41 The Mullás of Shíráz appointed their ablest men to dispute with
> him, with the result that the enthusiasm regarding him grew to a great extent. He taught
> openly in the Colleges and in the Mosques, but his special followers received instruction in
> his own house. Mírzá Káẓim Beg thus describes one of these famous disputations. “The
> ‘Ulamá assembled. The Báb appeared in the midst of them and spoke with courage and
> enthusiasm. The Governor, Ḥusain Khán, who had assumed the character and position of a
> learner, humbly suggested that the Báb should demonstrate that his doctrines
> 
> [page 61]
> 
> were superior to those of Muḥammad. The Báb answered boldly, ‘Take my Qurán, compare
> it with that of your prophet, and you will be convinced that my religion is the preferable
> one.’ On hearing these words, the Governor changed his attitude and called for the
> executioner to whom he pointed out the prisoner. The Báb was then bound and beaten.”
> A Bábí historian42 gives fuller details. He says that the matter acquired such
> importance that the reigning Shah sent one of the most learned Doctors of the age, Seyyid
> Yaḥyá, to interview the Báb and to report the result. He held three long conferences with
> him, but the result was that he was so charmed with the Báb that he accepted him as a
> leader and admitted all his claims. About this time, Mullá Muḥammad ‘Alí, a leading
> teacher, sent a person to Shíráz to ascertain the facts of the case. This messenger returned
> with some of the Báb’s writings, which so impressed Mullá Muḥammad ‘Alí that he too
> became a follower of the Báb. When he next met his pupils in his lecture room he gathered
> up his books, and said: “The season of spring and wine has arrived. Search for knowledge
> after reaching the known is culpable.” Then he urged all his disciples to become Bábís, and
> sent to the Báb a statement of his own adherence to his teaching. The Mullás complained to
> the Shah, and Mullá Muḥammad ‘Alí was summoned to Teheran; but he was able to meet
> successfully all his opponents in debate and nothing came of this action.
> The cause of the Báb was now very much strengthened by the support of such famous
> teachers, who were most earnest and active in propagating the new faith. The orthodox
> Mullás soon perceived that they must attack the Báb direct, and so they urged the Governor
> of Fars, Ḥusain Khán, to take more decisive action, saying: “If thou desirest the extinction
> 
> This is the view taken by Gobineau, but Káẓim Beg says that it was “après avoir semé bon gré mal
> gré quelques mauvais grains dans cette terre de Chiraz si fertile en préjugés et en superstitions” that
> he went to Mecca. So also a Bábí writer who says: — “When the Báb had laid the foundation of
> such an edifice, he, according to his promise, set out for Mecca.” Anyhow his stay in Mecca did not
> bring him back to orthodoxy. See a Traveller s Narrative, p. 251.
> Les religions et les philosophies dans L’Asia Centrale by Count Gobineau, p. 148.
> Episode of the Báb, p. 7.
> of this fire, or seekest a firm stopper for this rent and disruption, an immediate cure and
> decisive remedy is to kill the Báb.”
> An attack was made on the house in which the Báb lived; but,
> 
> [page 62]
> 
> apparently with the connivance of those who had charge of him, he was allowed to make
> his escape and to proceed to Isfahán. This event took place about March 1846. Before his
> arrival at Isfahán he wrote a letter to the Mu‘tamadu’d-Dawla, the Governor of the
> Province, asking for a suitable lodging. The Governor, Minúchihr Khán, afforded him
> protection and showed him hospitality. At first, the ‘Ulamá paid the Báb much respect; but
> soon began to be alarmed at his growing influence with the Governor, by whom the learned
> doctors of Islám were invited to a public discussion with the Báb. After accepting the
> proposal, they withdrew, saying: “If there be doubt in the matter there is need of assembly
> and discussion; but as this, person’s disagreement with the most luminous Law is clearer
> than the sun, therefore the best possible thing is to put in practice the sentence of the
> Law.”43 They thus refused to meet him and, instead of doing so, signed a declaration to the
> effect that they were quite convinced of the heretical character of his doctrines. This very
> much displeased Minúchihr Khán, the Governor, who seems to have been a firm friend to
> the Báb. After his death in 1847, the Báb was removed to the castle of Mákú, a fortress on
> the north-west frontier, though his confinement was not at first a rigorous one. His
> followers were allowed free intercourse with him, and continual correspondence went on
> between the Báb and his principal agents. The Báb at this time wrote many religious books,
> and his influence seemed to be on the increase. After the insurrection of Mázandarán it was
> determined to place him in stricter confinement, and so he was removed to the citadel of
> Chirik, near Urumiyyé, of which place Yaḥyá Khán was the Governor. He treated the Báb
> with deference and respect. It was with difficulty that correspondence was now carried on,
> but letters were passed in by means of some very clever stratagems. According to some
> accounts he was allowed to address the people, and
> 
> [page 63]
> 
> one eye-witness states that he saw the balcony from which the Báb preached, that the
> concourse of people was very great, and that they listened with attention to the words of the
> new Quran. He prayed and worked without ceasing. All who approached him, even the
> soldiers who guarded him, were influenced by his calm manner and his attractive
> conversation. The Báb was confined at Chirik about two and a half years, and. it is said,
> there declared himself to be the Qá’im. or the Imám Mahdí.
> Soon after his arrival at Chirik he was brought to Tabríz to undergo his first
> examination. A full account of this is given by the Muḥammadan historians, but as they
> represent him as utterly foolish and ignorant,44 it is more than probable that it did not take
> place as narrated. Mírzá Káẓim Beg says that the accounts given of the interview were most
> contradictory, and he does not give any credence to the more absurd ones. The Bábí
> account of it is that the Báb advanced the claim of Mahdí-hood, on which a great tumult
> arose, and that, in general, his defence was a success. This much is certain that he was
> severely beaten and sent back to confinement in Chirik. Then we are told that “learned
> divines and esteemed lawyers who were possessed of power and influence, girt up the loins
> of endeavour for the eradication and suppression of this sect.” They maintained that the
> Báb and his followers were not only in error, but were also hurtful to Church and State. The
> 
> Maqálah-i-Shakhsi Saiyah.
> A full account is given in the Episode of the Báb, pp. 277-290: also in the New History of the Báb,
> pp. 285-291.
> King, Muḥammad Shah, however, declined to interfere, and declared that so long as the
> public peace was not disturbed the Government would not further interfere with him.
> At this time the Báb’s followers were most active in spreading his doctrines throughout
> the land. It was now that his most famous convert was made. This was a woman called
> Qurratu’l-‘Ayn (Lustre of the Eye.) The course of the narrative may well be interrupted in
> order to give a brief account of so great and distinguished a woman.
> She was the daughter of Ḥájí Mullá Muḥammad Ṣáliḥ, a
> 
> [page 64]
> 
> learned resident of Kazvín. She was an excellent Arabic scholar and was so intelligent that
> she could follow the most subtle discussions. Her acquaintance with the commentaries on
> the Quran and with the Traditions was very extensive.45 She was acquainted with Ḥájí
> Seyyid Káẓim, the Shaikhí leader, and his famous disciple Mullá Ḥusain. When the latter
> set out for Shíráz Qurratu’l-‘Ayn corresponded with him and begged him to let her know
> when he had found the spiritual teacher he was in search of. Mullá Ḥusain showed her letter
> to the Báb, who was much interested in it. For a while she lived at Kerbelá and gave
> addresses to the Shaikhís. This displeased the governor of the place and she retired to
> Baghdád. Again she was ordered to change her place of residence. She then visited
> Kirmánsháh and Hamadán, everywhere preaching and making converts to the Bábí faith.
> Some of the Bábís looked with disfavour on this preaching by a woman; but the Báb
> supported her, applauded her zeal, and bestowed on her the title of Jenáb-i-Ṭáhira, or Her
> Excellency the Pure. From that time all acknowledged her position. Her father now brought
> her back to her home at Kazvín, but she was not happy there, as her friends and relatives
> were all bitterly opposed to the Shaikhís and the Bábís. Her uncle, who showed much
> hatred of the Bábís, was now assassinated, and Qurratu’l-‘Ayn was unjustly charged with
> being privy to the deed. This rendered her further stay in Kazvín impossible, and she left
> for a place called Núr, where she remained until the suppression by the Government of the
> Mázandarán insurrection. She was then made a prisoner and sent to Teheran. On her arrival
> she was taken before the Shah who said: “I like her looks, leave her and let her be.”46 She
> was then kept in prison, though her confinement does not appear to have been very
> rigorous, for she had occasional intercourse with different Bábís and her life was in no
> danger
> 
> [page 65]
> 
> until the attempt to assassinate the Shah was made, when the mere fact of being a Bábí was
> sufficient to imperil life. Even there her marvellous beauty, enthusiasm and eloquence won
> for her the regard of her custodian, Maḥmúd Khán. He did all he could, consistent with his
> duty, to soften the rigours of captivity and held out hopes for the future. Her cheerfulness
> when any day the sentence of death might be passed astonished the attendants. One
> morning Maḥmúd Khán returned from Court, saying that he had brought good news. He
> told Qurratu’l-‘Ayn that she was to appear before her judges, and it was understood that, if
> she denied that she was a Bábí, she would be left alone, on condition that she lived quietly
> and ceased to teach. She indignantly replied that she would do no such thing and
> prophesied his own down-fall. Strange to say this came true for a few years after Maḥmúd
> Khán was executed by the order of the Shah. This refusal to deny her faith in the Báb was
> strong in her, and she did so refuse when confronted with her judges. They could not save
> her, and so she was put to death in the massacre at Teheran which followed on the attempt
> to kill the Shah in 1852. Various accounts are given of the manner of her death. Gobineau
> 
> Les religions et les philosophies dans L’Asia Centrale by Count Gobineau, p. 168.
> says she was burned and then strangled: others that she was strangled47 and then cast into a
> well. Her death was painful, and she was as brave in death as she had been in life.
> Qurratu’l-‘Ayn was the most remarkable of the Báb’s disciples. She was a person of
> marvellous beauty, possessed of high intellectual gifts, eloquent, devoted and fearless. She
> threw her whole soul into the cause she advocated, and her martyrdom sheds a halo of glory
> round her short and active career.
> A Bábí historian says: — “Such fame did she acquire that most people who were
> scholars or mystics sought to hear her speak, and were eager to become acquainted with her
> powers of speculation and deduction. She wrested pre-eminence from
> 
> [page 66]
> 
> stalwart men, and continued to strain the feet of steadfastness, until she yielded up her life
> at the sentence of the mighty doctors in Teheran.” Mírzá Káẓim Beg, a most sober writer,
> waxes eloquent over the charms of Qurratu’l-‘Ayn. Thus: “This woman had an influence
> over her hearers, wholly spiritual. She knew how to inspire them with perfect confidence.
> She was well educated and very beautiful. Everything retired before her. She raised the
> veil48 which covered her face, not to set at nought the laws of chastity and modesty, so
> deeply graven on the tables of the orthodox law and in popular prejudice, but much rather
> in order to give by her look more force to the inspired words she spoke. Her speeches
> stigmatized that gross tyranny which for so many centuries had imprisoned liberty. She
> preached not, as some have said, to abolish the laws of modesty, but to sustain the cause of
> liberty. The eloquent words which fell from her mouth captivated the hearts of her hearers,
> who became enthusiastic in her praise.”
> Some of her poems breathe the spirit of Ṣúfíism and show how deeply her mind was
> imbued with mystic lore. This is far more apparent in the original than in any translation of
> them. The following lines are from a translation by Mr. Browne.
> 
> “Though with sword in hand my Darling stand, with intent to slay, though I sinless
> be.
> If it pleases him, this tyrant’s whim, I am well content with his tyranny.
> The country of ‘I’ and ‘We’ forsake; thy home in annihilation make.
> Since fearing not this step to take, thou shalt gain the highest felicity.”
> 
> With this may be compared a verse of a Ṣúfi poet.
> 
> [page 67]
> 
> Her romantic career, her marvellous49 power, and her tragic end will continue to give
> for a long while to come strength to the Bábí cause, and the spirit of endurance to its
> followers.
> 
> “As she would not suffer them to remove the veil from her face (though they repeatedly sought to
> do so), they applied the bow-string over her veil and thus compassed her martyrdom. Then they cast
> her holy body into a well in the garden.” Tárikh-i-Jadíd, p. 284.
> Some Bábís say she did not do this; but Count Gobineau says: — “elle s’éleva non seulement
> centre la polygamie, mais contre l’usage du voile.” p. 168.
> The following sonnet on Qurratu’l-‘Ayn brings out some characteristic aspects of her influence: —
> Qurratu’l-‘Ayn! not famous far beyond
> Her native shore. Not many bards have sung
> Her praises, who, her enemies among,
> Wielding her beauty as a magic wand,
> Strove for the cause of him who had proclaimed
> In the year 1848, Náṣiru’d-dín Sháh, the late ruler of Persia, was crowned at Teheran,
> and the position of the Bábís became more critical. The Prime Minister was Mírzá Taqí
> Khán, who, though favourably spoken of by some historians, was distinguished by great
> hatred of the Báb and the Bábís, whom he persecuted with much cruelty. A civil war now
> raged, and on both sides much ferocity was shown; but the power of the Bábís was broken
> by the fall of Shaikh Tabarsí and the slaughter of the Bábí garrison in 1849. The victory of
> the royal troops was sometimes gained by base acts of treachery. Mírzá Káẓim Beg gives
> an instance. He says: “Prince Mahdí Kulí Mírzá, the commander of the royal forces, sent
> assurances of safety to the Bábí leaders who accepted his invitation to the camp, where they
> were received with much attention and courtesy. This was what the Prince desired, and
> when he saw that his guests were at their ease and had set aside their weapons, he gave a
> signal, and the unsuspecting Bábís were at once seized and put to the most cruel tortures.
> Some three hundred men were smeared with naphtha and then
> 
> [page 68]
> 
> burnt alive.” The Bábí historian’s version of it is that the Prince swore on the Qurán thus:
> “You shall not be molested, return to your own places.” As they were famished and in great
> distress they accepted the offer, came to the camp, and whilst engaged in eating were
> suddenly attacked by the soldiers.
> This kind of treachery was resorted to more than once; but no amount of hostile
> repression and bitter persecution could restrain the ardour of the Bábí teachers, or the
> devotion of their followers. Mírzá Taqí Khán now perceived that he must get the Báb put
> out of the way, and so he sent an order to his brother to this effect: “Obtain a formal and
> explicit sentence from the learned doctors at Tabriz, who are the firm supporters of the
> Church of Ja‘far (i.e., the 6th Imám), and the impregnable stronghold of the Shí‘ah faith.
> Summon the Christian regiment of Urúmiyya, suspend the Báb before all the people and
> give orders for the people to fire a volley.”
> Mírzá Ḥusain Khán summoned the chief of the farráshes and gave him his instructions.
> On the following day, the Báb and a young man named Áká Muḥammad `Alí, a youthful
> Bábí, who belonged to a noble family of Tabriz, were delivered up, after having been duly
> condemned by the Mullás, to the Colonel of the Christian regiment already named. On the
> previous evening, the Báb said to his followers: To-morrow they will martyr me with
> boundless shame and dishonour. Let one of you now arise and slay me, so that I may not
> have to suffer all this dishonour and humiliation from the adversaries, for it is pleasanter for
> me to be slain by the hands of friends than by the hands of enemies.”50 All, with great
> expressions of sorrow began to excuse themselves, except Mírzá Muḥammad ‘Alí, who
> seemed as if about to obey the command. His comrades, however, prevented him, saying:
> “Such boldness and rashness is not the characteristic of true service.” For the following
> account of what really transpired I am indebted to Mírzá Káẓim Beg.51
> 
> [page 69]
> 
> For poor down-trodden womanhood the right
> Of freedom. Lifting high her beacon light
> Of truth, she went unveiled and unashamed.
> A woman, in the land where women live
> And weep and die secluded and unknown,
> She broke the bonds of custom, and to give
> The Báb her aid, she dared the world alone,
> Only to fail: death closed the unequal strife,
> And Persia blindly wrecked a noble life.
> New History of the Báb, p. 298.
> Journal Asiatique, Sixième Série, tome vii. p. 377. The New History of the Báb also has a full
> account, pp. 297-312.
> The roads which led to the court of the Barracks were crowded with people. At a military
> execution in Persia, the condemned are tied together with their backs turned towards the
> firing party. Áká Muḥammad ‘Alí begged to be allowed to turn his face towards the people,
> and then, in a loud, but calm voice, he began to say some prayers which had been
> composed by the master. The Báb kept perfectly silent. His pale and beautiful face
> surrounded by a black beard, his white and delicate hands, his figure and distinguished
> manner, everything in his person and in his dress aroused the sympathy and compassion of
> the spectators. The Governor and the Mullás tried to keep this in check by preaching loudly
> against the Bábí doctrines, exaggerating the evils of the system. They recounted in a
> pathetic manner the end of those who had met their death at the hands of the Bábís; still, so
> strong was the feeling aroused by the self-sacrifice of Áká Muḥammad ‘Alí and the dignity
> of the Báb that it required the utmost effort of the Mullás to suppress it. The first volley
> fired simply severed the cords by which the prisoners were fastened to the post. A second
> volley proved effectual. The crowd then dispersed in silence, but many men carried in their
> hearts the germs of hostility towards the Government. The execution of the Báb (A.H.
> 1266) does not seem to have been justified on political grounds, for as Gobineau says,
> though “The Bábí chiefs had given trouble to the state, the Báb himself had done nothing of
> the kind and no proof was brought forward that he had encouraged his disciples in their line
> of conduct.”52 A Bábí historian gives a miraculous turn to the failure of the first volley that
> was fired at the execution. He says: “An iron nail was hammered into the middle of the
> stair-case of the very cell wherein they were imprisoned, and two ropes were hung down.
> By one rope Áká Muḥammad ‘Alí was suspended and by the other the Báb, both being
> firmly bound in such wise that the head of the young man was on the Báb’s breast. From
> the fire of the volleys a mighty smoke was produced. When the smoke cleared away they
> saw that
> 
> [page 70]
> 
> young man standing, with the Báb, who has seated by the side of his amanuensis, Áká
> Seyyid Ḥusain, in the very cell from the staircase of which they had been suspended.” The
> bodies were finally cast out of the city, near the moat, to be devoured by dogs and jackals;
> but on the second night were conveyed away by the Bábís who by bribes, or the influence
> of powerful friends, obtained possession of them. “They were wrapped in white silk, placed
> in one coffin, and sent to Teheran, where by order of Mírzá Yaḥyá (Subh-i-Ezel), who,
> though but twenty years old, had been chosen to succeed the Báb, they were deposited in a
> little shrine called Imám-zádé-i-Ma‘súm. Here they remained for seventeen or eighteen
> years, till the schism originated by Behá deprived his half-brother Ezel of the supremacy in
> the Bábí church which he had hitherto enjoyed, when they were removed by the Behá’ís, to
> whom alone is now known the last resting place of the Martyrs of Tabriz.”53
> The chief of the religion was dead and, according to the calculations of Mírzá Taqí
> Khán, the Prime Minister, peace would now be soon established and there would be no
> more trouble from the Bábís ; but, as Count Gobineau points out,54 his political sagacity
> was entirely at fault for the death of the Báb only increased the movement and fawned the
> ardour of his followers.
> Great pressure had been brought to bear on Áká Muḥammad ‘Alí by his relatives to
> make him recant, but he was imbued with devotion to his master. He wrote a very touching
> letter in reply to an affectionate appeal from his brother, urging him to give up the Báb, to
> save his life and to return to his family. This is the letter.
> 
> “He is the Compassionate.
> O thou who art my Qibla! My condition, thanks to God, has no fault, and “to every
> difficulty succeedeth ease.” You have
> 
> Les religions et les philosophies dans L’Asia Centrale, p. 262.
> A Year amongst the Persians, p. 64.
> Les religions et les philosophies dans L’Asia Centrale by Count Gobineau, p. 271.
> [page 71]
> 
> written that this matter has no end. What matter, then, has any end? We, at least, have no
> discontent in this matter: nay, rather, we are unable sufficiently to express our thanks for
> this favour. The end of this matter is to be slain in the way of God, and O! what happiness
> is this. The will of God will come to pass with regard to his servants, neither can human
> plans avert the divine decree. thou who art my Qibla, the end of the world is death. If the
> appointed fate which God hath decreed overtake me, then God is the guardian of my
> family, and thou art mine executor; behave in such wise as is pleasing to God, and pardon
> whatever has proceeded from me which may seem lacking in courtesy, or contrary to the
> respect due from juniors: and seek pardon for me from all those of my household and
> commit me to God. God is my patron and how good is He as a Guardian!”
> This letter is a remarkable witness to the power which the Báb had over his disciples, a
> power which could lead this youth, with so promising a future before him, to give up home
> and life, to face death and its terrors rather than be separated from the Master he loved so
> truly. The original letter is given in a foot-note.55
> The Báb does not appear to have been a political agitator;
> 
> [page 72]
> 
> certainly politics had nothing to do with the inception of the movement. He wished to effect
> religious reform, not to deal with affairs of the State, or to injure the status of the reigning
> family. He was absorbed in spiritual meditations and in mystical contemplations and was
> not a political fanatic. But when his followers found that the Government would not help
> forward reforms and would not move from the orthodox Shí‘ah standpoint, they gave to the
> Bábí movement a political turn which it had not previously possessed. The Báb himself
> remained passive, but most of the chief men amongst his disciples accepted this new
> departure. Then after the death of the Báb instead of becoming, as was expected by the
> Government, despondent and discouraged, they became exasperated and stern. The last
> restraints were now removed and they did not hesitate to count themselves enemies of the
> Sháh and his government.
> It may be well at this point to give a summary of the character of the Báb, as
> pourtrayed by Mírzá Káẓim Beg, always remembering that the critic, though eminently fair,
> does not believe in the claims of the Báb.
> “He had some characteristics truly great and noble and was a man of firm and settled
> convictions. His moral character was high, and he aimed in his preaching to bring all his
> countrymen into a community, united by intellectual and moral ties. He spoke with much
> earnestness on the necessity for a religious and social reform in Persia, the cessation of
> 
> Royal Asiatic Society’s Journal, October 1889, p. 902.
> religious persecution, and the amelioration of the lot of women. It is said that much of what
> he preached on these points had an esoteric meaning, known only to his disciples; but
> whether that is the case or not, the veneration they felt for him was profound, and there can
> be no doubt that the teaching of the Báb was in the direction of freedom and that he
> personally was in favour of reform.” Mírzá Káẓim Beg sums up his reflections thus: “We
> neither consider him an adventurer nor a fanatic, but an eminently moral man, a dreamer
> brought up in the school of the Shaikhís and possessing some touch of
> 
> [page 73]
> 
> Christianity. We regard him also as a man troubled by the direct influence of some of his
> devoted and ambitious disciples. In any case, we believe that the appearance of the Báb will
> be more or less of use in time to the cause of civilization in Persia.”56
> The next historical event of importance is the attempt on August 15th, 1852,57 to
> assassinate Náṣiru’d-dín Sháh. It does not appear to have been an act determined on by any
> large number of the Bábí leaders, but to have arisen from a spirit of revenge in a few
> devoted followers of the Báb. If such be the case, the frightful persecutions which followed
> are utterly injustifiable, even from an oriental standpoint. The accounts differ as to the
> number of Bábís engaged in this. Some say that there were twelve conspirators, others say
> that there were seven. In any case only three actually took part in the attack on the Sháh.
> These were Mulla Fathu’lláh of Kum, Ṣádiq of Zanján, and Mírzá Muḥammad of Níríz.
> They got themselves engaged as gardeners in a country palace, to which the Sháh used to
> resort. One day in the garden he was eating some fresh water melons and seeing three
> gardeners, looking wearied with heat and work, sent them some of the fruit. This kind act
> made the conspirators hesitate in the carrying out of their commission. However, in a few
> days, the effect of the Sháh’s kindness passed away and, as he was out riding one day, they
> approached him, under the pretence of having a petition to offer, and then one of them
> fired, it is said, three times, the last shot slightly wounding the Sháh. The escort then came
> up, and Ṣádiq, one of the assassins, was killed on the spot and the other two were arrested.
> The Sháh was really in a very great fright, but the Musulmán historians give a different
> account. The following is a very good specimen of oriental hyperbole and flattery: “The
> dust of per turbation settled not on the skirt of the patience and self-control of the king,
> whose elemental material, God the Creator had
> 
> [page 74]
> 
> leavened with the liver of the lion, the heart of Ardashír, the ardour of Shápúr, and the
> majesty of Taimúr. Nor did the pellucid stream of his mind become troubled by the
> foulness and filth of these events. Neither did he urge his horse to leap aside, nor did he
> utter a word indicative of alarm or consternation. He kept his place on the poplar-wood
> saddle like some mountain of massive rocks, and notwithstanding that wound, turned not
> aside in any direction, and carried not his hand to his hurt, so that those present in his escort
> knew not that any hurt had befallen the king, or that he had suffered any wound.”
> At the examinations before the Council of Ministers, the two arrested Bábís, though
> most severely tortured, declared that they had no accomplices, that they could not hesitate
> to obey the sacred orders of their chiefs who were no longer in Persia. They said: — “you
> can torture us till the day of judgment, we shall say no more.”
> The Bábís attribute the failure of the plot to the fact that the impetuosity of the three
> conspirators led them on to the attack before the others were ready. The most stringent
> measures were at once taken against the Bábís. The police at Teheran searched everywhere
> for them and succeeded in arresting, according to one account, forty, and, according to
> Mírzá Káẓim Beg, seventy persons. Most of these who were arrested were condemned to
> death, whether any proof could be given of their complicity in the plot or not. It was quite
> 
> Journal Asiatique, Sixième Série, tome vii. p. 384.
> A.H. 1268.
> enough to be known as a Bábí. A great fear fell upon those in authority, and it was
> determinated to make a terrible example. The principal malefactors, says Mírzá Káẓim Beg,
> “were tortured in the most odious manner, with an unheard of refinement of cruelty.” An
> English traveller says58: “Tow steeped in oil was inserted between their fingers and behind
> their shoulder blades, leaving portions hanging down which were lighted, and in this
> condition the unhappy wretches were led, as long as they could walk, through the principal
> streets of the capital. A furious
> 
> [page 75]
> 
> proscription followed. No time was lost between apprehension and execution, death was the
> only punishment known, the headless bodies lay in the streets for days, the terrified
> relatives fearing to give them burial, and the dogs fought and growled over the corpses in
> the deserted thoroughfares.”
> A most ingenious plan was adopted to avert from the Sháh and his Ministers, any
> special and definite hatred of the Bábís and to make the subjects of a possible retaliation on
> their part as varied as possible. The prisoners were divided amongst59 the different classes
> of the community who were made responsible for the execution of the victims allotted to
> them.60 They were thus informed that their loyalty would be above suspicion. Another
> expected result was that, owing to the retaliation to which they would be exposed, they
> would be permanently alienated from the Bábí movement and personally interested in its
> entire suppression. Some of the classes thus made to take part in the executions were the
> ‘Ulamá, the Princes, the Employes of the foreign office, the Nobles, the Mír-i-Akhúr, or
> Master of the Horse and his assistants; the Sar-kishík or the Captain of the Guard; and the
> Yúz-Báshís, or Centurions; the Artillerymen, the General and Officers, the Professors and
> Students, the Merchants, the City people, and so on.
> The details are sickening. One illustration will be enough. Ḥájí Sulaimán Khán and
> Káẓim of Níríz were first wounded in many parts of their bodies, and in these wounds
> lighted candles were placed. They were then paraded through the streets and bazaars,
> accompanied by musicians, whilst the spectators threw dust and ashes on them. At last they
> were sawn asunder. Sulaimán bore these tortures most heroically and during them testified
> to the joy he felt at suffering martyrdom for the cause of the Báb.
> 
> [page 76]
> 
> He recited the following verses:
> “I have returned! I have returned! I have come by the way of Shiraz!
> I have come with winsome airs and graces! Such is the lover’s madness.”61
> 
> “Why do you not dance,” said the executioners, “since you find death so pleasant?”
> “Dance,” said Sulaimán Khán.
> “In one hand the wine cup, in one hand the tresses of the friend.
> Such a dance in the midst of the marked place is my desire.”
> 
> Renan speaks of the massacre thus: — “The day of the great slaughter of the Bábís in
> Teheran was, perhaps, a day unparalleled in the history of the world.”62 Referring to the
> 
> Diary of a Journey from London to Persepolis, by John Ussher, p. 628.
> Curzon’s Persia, vol. I, p. 402.
> This reminds us of what is said of Queen Joan of Naples, who, when she strangled her husband,
> called out to her fellow-conspirators, ‘Gentlemen you must all take hold of the rope.’ Quarterly
> Review, No, 353, p. 290.
> This is the original Persian:
> 
> Les Apôtres, p. 378.
> same event, Count Gobineau says63: “Children and women with lighted candles stuck into
> the wounds were driven along by whips, and as they went along they sang, ‘We came from
> God, to Him we return.’ When the children expired, as many did, the executioners threw
> the corpses beneath the feet of their fathers. Life was offered if they would recant. An
> executioner told one father that, if he did not recant, his two sons, the elder of whom was
> fourteen years old, should be slain on his breast. The father lying down said that he was
> ready, and the elder boy claimed by right of birth to be the first to have his throat cut. At
> last, night fell on a mass of shapeless flesh, and the dogs of the suburbs came in troops to
> the place.”
> So ended one important period in the history of the Bábís. This day made more secret
> followers of the Báb than all his preaching had done, for the impression produced upon the
> people by the calmness and patience of the Martyrs was profound and lasting.64
> 
> ]page 77]
> 
> There has been since this time no formal outbreak of Bábí revenge, nor has there been
> any persecution like it. Even this altogether failed of its purpose, for it gave to the
> movement a vigour and vitality which otherwise it might have lacked.65 It is said that half a
> million Persians are Bábís, but the Hon’ble G. Curzon considers the total to be nearer one
> million. He says66: — “They are to be found in every walk of life, from the ministers and
> nobles of the Court to the scavenger or the groom, not the least arena of their activity being
> the Musalmán priesthood itself. It will have been noticed that the movement was initiated
> by Seyyids, Ḥájís and Mullás.” Whilst it is true that there has been no persecution so
> terrible as the one in 1852, yet now and again the hostility of the ‘Ulamá shows itself. In
> 1878, 1888, and in 1889 Bábís were put to death.67 The heroism and the devotion of the
> Bábís is something very wonderful. It is said that there is only one instance of a Bábí’s
> having recanted under pressure. He, however, he returned again to his faith, and was
> afterwards put to death for his renewed devotion to the Báb.
> After the death of the Báb, the chief interest in the movement circles round Mírzá
> Yaḥyá and his half-brother Behá’ulláh, who became the respective leaders of the two sects,
> into which the Bábís are now divided — the Ezelís and the Behá’ís.
> Before proceeding to give an account of the Bábí doctrines, we may briefly continue
> the narrative of events. There seems no doubt that the Báb in the year 1849 nominated the
> former,
> 
> [page 78]
> 
> whom he named Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel (morning of eternity), as his successor, and that for a short
> time he really held an undisputed position as head of the Bábí church. His claim to that
> office is based on a document, said to have been written by the Báb, of which the following
> is a translation68 by Mr. E. G. Browne: —
> 
> “God is most great with the utmost greatness.
> 
> Les Religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale, p. 302.
> Ibid, p. 303.
> En très peu d’années, c’est-a-dire de 1847 à 1852 cette religion s’est répandue dans presque toute la
> Perse et y compte des zélateurs innombrables. . . . Et ce n’est point une populace ignorante qui s’est
> surtout émue; ce sont des membres éminents du clergé; ce sont des gens riches et instruits, des
> femmes appartenant à des familles importantes; ce sont, enfin, après les musulmans, des
> philosophes, des soufys en grand nombre, beaucoup de juifs, qui ont été conquis tout à coup par la
> nouvelle révélation. Les religions et les Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale, p 308.
> Persia, Vol. I, p. 499.
> Ibid, p. 500.
> The New History of the Báb, p. 426. A fac-simile of the transcript by Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel from the original
> letter written by the Báb is also given.
> This is a letter on the part of God, the Protector, the self-Existent.
> To God, the Protector, the self-Existent.
> Say, ‘All originate from God.’
> Say, ‘All return to God.’
> This is a letter from ‘Alí before Nabil69 the remembrance of God unto the worlds,
> Unto him whose name is equivalent to the name of One,70 the remembrance of
> God unto the worlds.
> Say, ‘Verily all originate from the Point of Revelation (Nuqṭa-i-Beyán).
> O Name of the One,71 keep what hath been revealed in the Beyán,
> And what hath been commanded, ‘Verily Thou art a mighty way of Truth.’”
> 
> In 1852, when the attempt on the life of the Sháh was made, the Bábís were bitterly
> persecuted, and Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel retired to Baghdád, which then became the head-quarters of
> the sect, and was for many years recognised, at least nominally, as its head. Mírzá Ḥusain
> ‘Alí Behá’ulláh, who was Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel’s senior by thirteen years, and had just been released
> from imprisonment, joined him in 1853. The Persian Government, at length, objected to his
> residence there and prevailed on the Turkish authorities in
> 
> [page 79]
> 
> 1863-4 to deport him and his followers to Constantinople, from whence a few months later
> on they were sent to Adrianople. Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel led a very secluded life, and the
> correspondence and other matters were carried on by Behá, who acted for him and was a
> man of resolute will and ambitious character. For a time he acted in the name of Ṣubḥ-i-
> Ezel and professed to do all he did under his instructions; but in time the idea gradually
> formed itself in his mind that should become actually as indeed he was already virtually the
> head and leader of the Bábís. Thus the influence of, Behá grew, and at last he began to
> advance claims72 which afterwards culminated in the assertion that he was the person to
> i.e., The Báb.
> Wáḥid, one. The numerical value of the letters of wáḥid is 18, which is also the value of those in
> Yaḥyá, one of the names of Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel.
> i.e., Yaḥyá.
> Amongst these was one advanced for him by Mírzá Abú’l Faẓl in the                     in which it was
> maintained that Behá was the promised Messiah of the Jews. He speaks of a good time coming
> when all nations will be of one religion and Israel shall inherit the earth, if they do not turn away
> from the light and guidance now come to them.
> 
> R.A.S. Journal, October 1892, p. 703.
> whom the Báb referred as ‘Him whom God shall manifest.’73 To this claim74 the Ezelís
> replied that
> 
> [page 80]
> 
> before the person of whose advent the Báb had spoken could come, Bábíism must obtain
> general currency, and the laws laid down by the Báb in his books75 must be accepted by
> most of the nations of the world. They further added to their reply that it was not to be
> supposed that two manifestations ẓahúr — that of the Báb and that of ‘Him whom God
> shall manifest’ — could take place with so short an interval of time between them. The
> Behá’ís, who admitted that Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel was the first vice-regent of the Báb, to all the
> objections alleged replied that Mírzá Yaḥyá’s rule was only to last until the manifestation
> of the new leader, who was to come suddenly, and the time of whose advent was known
> only to God; that the Báb had stated that he, the new prophet, would come suddenly, and
> that it could not come to pass that any one should falsely claim the honour. They also used
> an argument well known amongst Muḥammadans, an argument based on the literary style
> of the books given by means of a divinely appointed messenger, and urged that the Lauḥ-i-
> Naṣír, the book in which Behá announced his mission, fulfilled this condition of a divine
> revelation by its eloquence of diction and the wonderful knowledge, unacquired by study,
> displayed by the writer. Anyhow, the conflicting claims to the leadership led to quarrels and
> blows.76 The Turkish Government then determined to separate the disputants.77 Behá and
> his followers
> 
> [page 81]
> 
> were sent to Acre,78 and Mírzá Yaḥyá and his people were exiled to Famagusta, in Cyprus.
> A few Ezelís were sent with Behá, and a few Behá’ís were sent with Mírzá Yaḥyá. It was
> hoped that by this arrangement the minority, in each case, would act as spies and prevent
> any communication between Bábís in Persia and either of the leaders. Since then the
> followers of Behá have increased very much, whilst those of Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel, or Yaḥyá, have
> decreased. This is an unlooked for development of the work of the Báb, for Behá claims to
> be the messenger of a new dispensation altogether.79
> 
> man yaẓarulláh. He declared openly his divine mission in 1866-7 at Adrianople,
> from which date the schism commences.
> It required great firmness to meet the claim and Mr. Browne says, — “Such firmness Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel, a
> peace-loving, contemplative, gentle soul, wholly devoted to the memory of his beloved master,
> caring little for authority, and incapable of self-assertion, seems to have altogether lacked.”
> Introduction to the New History of the Báb, p. xxi.
> “The Bábí literature is extensive but secret, for he who was known to possess such books put his
> life in great danger.” Les Religions et les philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale, p. 310.
> “Amongst the Bábís the effect of this announcement (i.e., Behá’s claim) was little short of
> stupendous. From Constantinople to Kirmán and from Cairo to Khurásán the communities of the
> faithful were rent asunder by a schism which every subsequent year has rendered wider and more
> permanent, and which nothing short of the complete extinction of one of the two rival factions can
> possibly heal. At Adrianople itself the struggle was short and the triumph of Behá complete.” New
> History of the Báb, p. xxii.
> For the view of the Ezeli historians on what they consider to be the grave misconduct and treachery
> of the Behá’ís, see Episode of the Báb, pp. 359-364.
> The Behá’í version of the affair is given on pp. 368-9.
> This is still the head-quarters of the Behá’ís, to which sect most of the Bábís now belong.
> Mr. Browne put the following question to a Behá’í: “Why do you speak of Mírzá Yaḥyá as though
> he were of no account? In the books about your religion which I read in Europe, he is described as
> the Báb’s chosen successor and, after him, as the chief of your sect?”
> “Yes,” replied Mírzá Ḥasan, “it is true that he was one of the early believers, and that at first
> he was accounted the successor and vice-regent of the Báb, but he was repeatedly warned not to
> withhold his allegiance from ‘Him whom God shall manifest’, and threatened that if he did so, he
> This caused much consternation in the Bábí world. A hopeless schism was made, and
> peace can only come by the extinction of one party. The question at issue now became
> something more than a mere struggle for leadership, for Behá’s claim virtually deposed the
> Báb from his position as the ‘Point of Revelation’ and made him the mere forerunner of
> ‘Him whom God shall manifest’. The Ezelís are, however, nearly extinct, and it is not
> likely that they will ever attain to power again. Assuming that Behá had right on his side, it
> is stated that the changes he made were in a practical direction and beneficial.
> The Bábí doctrines are to be found in the writings of the Báb called the Beyán,80 a term
> he used as conveniently expressing
> 
> [page 82]
> 
> the sphere in which his thoughts moved. It is a name sometimes apparently applied to the
> collective writings, but more generally to a particular book.81 Many of the dogmas are very
> mystical:82 but the following is a brief summary.
> God is eternal and unapproachable, All things come from Him and exist by Him. Man
> cannot approach Him except through some appointed medium. So, distinct from God there
> is a Primal Will,83 or Mashiyyat-i-Úlá, who becomes incarnate
> 
> would fall from the faith and become as one rejected. In spite of these clear warnings of his master,
> he refused to acknowledge the new manifestation when it came; wherefore he is now regarded by
> us as of no account.” — A Year amongst the Persians, p. 335.
> Composed in 1848.
> Count Gobineau considers that the name applies to all he wrote and that he used it “pour titre à tout
> ce qu’il composa.” Les Religions et les Philosophies dans L’Asie Centrale, p. 311.
> It is not always easy to understand the esoteric dogmas of these Persian sects for, as Mr. E. G.
> Browne says: — “There is a profound difference between the Persian idea of religion and that
> which obtains in the west. Here it is the ideas of faith and righteousness (in different proportions, it
> is true), there it is knowledge and mystery. Here religion is regarded as a rule by which to live and a
> hope wherein to die, there as a key to unlock the secrets of the spiritual and material universe. Here
> it is associated with work and charity, there with rest and wisdom, here a creed is admired for its
> simplicity, there for its complexity.” . . . “Thus it comes to pass that Persians have as often died for
> belief in some obscure mystical dogma as for some ethical principle or motive.” Royal Asiatic
> Society’s Journal January 1898, p. 88.
> There is an evident connection between this dogma of the Bábís and the Ṣúfí system, in which the
> ‘First Intelligence,’ or ‘Primal Element’ is represented as a manifestation of God. To the Ṣúfí, as to
> the Bábí, God is “sterile in His inaccessible height.” Men can never be more than slaves, nearness
> to Him is impossible. But men longed for communion with some one or something above them.
> They felt the need of some intermediary and found it in a revival of the old Gnostic notions of the
> Æons, forms of manifestation of the Ineffable and Incomprehensible. Neander thus describes the
> Gnostic view: — “Self-limitation is the first beginning of a communication of life from God — the
> first passing of the hidden deity into manifestation, and from this proceeds all further self-
> developing manifestation of the divine essence. Now, from this primal link in the chain of life there
> are evolved, in the first place, the manifold powers or attributes inherent in the divine essence,
> which, until that first self-comprehension, were all hidden in this abyss of His essence.” This
> intermediary is the Primal Will of the Bábí and the Primal Element of the Ṣúfí, who also calls it by
> the names of the Pen, the First Principle, the spirit of Muḥammad, Universal Reason or ‘aql-i-kull.
> God’s voice is heard through it, by it material things were brought into existence. It works in
> Prophets and Saints. The Imám is closely connected with it. I am not able to find out whether the
> Báb taught that the Primal Will was created or not. In Ṣúfí theology it certainly is, for in the
> Akhláq-i-Jalálí it is written: “It is admitted, equally by the masters of perception and conception,
> that the First Principle which, at the mandate, ‘Be and it is,’ issued, by the ineffable power and will,
> from the chaotic ocean of inexistence, was a simple and luminous essence which, in the language of
> philosophy, is termed the Primary Intelligence, and the great fathers of mysticism and investigation
> call it the Muḥammadan Spirit.” It is to this and not to the inaccessible and incomprehensible God
> that the Imám seeks to return. When his work in life is done, then his end is joined to his beginning,
> — Ba ághaz girdad báz anjám. It is a curious phase of human thought which the Ṣúfís evidently
> borrowed from the Gnostics, and the Bábís from the Ṣúfís. This earnest longing for communion
> with a manifestation of God we can sympathise with, and only regret that, in their ignorance or
> [page 83]
> 
> in the prophets. This Primal Will which spoke in all the prophets of the past, spoke also in
> the Báb who is the Nuqṭa-i-Beyan, or the point of Revelation and will speak in ‘Him whom
> God shall manifest’. This is apparent from the following texts of the Beyán: — “The whole
> Beyán revolves round the saying of ‘Him whom God shall manifest.’” “A thousand
> perusals of the Beyán are not equal to the perusal of one verse of what shall be revealed by
> ‘Him whom God shall manifest.’” “The Beyán is to-day in the stage of seed, but in the day
> of ‘Him whom God shall manifest’ it will arrive at the degree of fruition.” It must be
> remembered that Behá claimed, and is allowed by his followers this exalted position. The
> following are some of the expressions used of Behá by his followers: — “Behá has come
> for the perfecting of the law of Christ, and his injunctions are in all respects similar. For
> instance, we are commanded that we should prefer that we should be killed rather than that
> we should kill. It is the same throughout, and, indeed, could not be otherwise, for Behá is
> Christ returned again, even as He promised, to perfect that which He had begun.” “Christ
> returns to you as Behá with Angels, with clouds, with the sound of trumpets. His angels are
> his messengers, the clouds are the doubts which prevent you recognising him; the sound of
> the trumpets is the sound of the proclamation which you now hear, announcing that He has
> come once more from heaven, even as he came before.”84
> 
> [page 84]
> 
> Each dispensation of the Primal Will thus become incarnate supersedes a preceding
> one, and so Islám has ceased to be the true religion for to-day. It has already been shown (p.
> 55) that devotion to the Imám was a very prominent point in the teaching of the Báb. In one
> of the earliest of his writings, we read, “When thou wishest to visit the Friend of God, or
> one of the Imáms of the Faith, first purify thy body from everything which thy heart
> dislikes; then wash thyself with seven handfuls of water upon thy head.” Then follow
> directions how to approach the Imám with humility, and the prayer to be said. He addresses
> the Imáms as Effulgences of the Divine Glory, Manifestations of God, Intercessors, with
> Him for sinful men. He longs for communion with them. Thus, “Where are the days of your
> manifestation that I may be independent of all except you? and where are the days of the
> appearance of the signs of your lordship, that by your permission, I may say to whatsoever I
> will, ‘Be’, and it shall become existent before you.” These are the enthusiastic utterances of
> a devout Shí‘ah, and represent the feelings of the Báb before he felt conscious of any
> special mission. But this constant dwelling on the glory of the Imáms, the dispensers of
> God’s will and favour, gradually led to the formation of the idea that he had special
> communication with them and was, in fact, the Báb.
> At this stage the usual Muḥammadan customs were not set aside. The month of
> Ramazán was observed as a fast; but the ‘Ulamá were bitterly reproached for opposing this
> new revelation. Thus the Báb says: — “O people of the earth! give thanks to God, for verily
> we have delivered you from the doctors of doubt.”
> For a more complete exposition of the Bábí dogmas, Mr. Browne, to whose valuable
> researches we are chiefly indebted for the best information on the subject, refers to the
> Persian Beyán, from which quotations have already been made. This work brings out more
> fully the theory of a Primal Will. “Since it is impossible for created beings to know the
> Divine Essence, the Primal Will has for their guidance and instruc-
> 
> [page 85]
> 
> repudiation of the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation, both Ṣúfí and Bábí have so sadly missed the
> mark.
> A Year amongst the Persians, pp. 308-9.
> tion, incarnated itself from time to time in a human form. These incarnations are known as
> ‘Prophets.’ That which spoke in all the Prophets of the past now speaks in the Báb and will
> speak through ‘Him whom God shall manifest,’ and after him through others, for there is
> no cessation in these manifestations. “That which spoke in Adam, Noah, Moses, David,
> Jesus and Muḥammad85 was the one and the same Primal Will. In each manifestation news
> has been given of the following one. Thus the Jews were told to expect a Messiah but they
> rejected him; the Christians to expect Muḥammad but, as a rule, they did not accept him; so
> the Muḥammadans are taught to look out for Imám Mahdí. Yet now he has come (i.e., in
> the Báb) they persecute him.”86
> The chapters of the Beyán are arranged in groups of nineteen, a number which has a
> peculiar significance with the Bábís. Each letter of the Arabic alphabet has a numerical
> value, and so dates can be given by words or sentences. Alif, the first letter, stands for God,
> and the word for one is wáḥid. The numerical value of the letters in this word is 19. God is
> absolute Being, or wujúd, the value of the letters of which also comes to 19.87 The name of
> one of the attributes of God is Ḥayy, or the Living. The sum of the letters of this word is 18,
> to which, if we add the letter Alif the One which pervades all — we again get the sacred
> number 19. Nineteen, then, represents the manifestation of the unknowable essence, and 19
> x 19 (= 361) represents the manifested universe, or all things, expressed by the term ‘kulu
> shey’ the numerical value
> 
> [page 86]
> 
> of which words is 360, to which Alif, the One pervading all, is added and we then get 361.
> In this world, God is represented by Mírzá ‘Alí Muḥammad, the Báb, who is called the
> nuqṭa, or Point, and his 18 disciples. “These eighteen are called the ḥurúfát-i-hayy, or
> Letters of the Living, because by them the Báb bestowed new life upon the world.” These
> again with their leader form the number 19, and thus constitute a wáḥid, or complete unity,
> and, as each disciple was to have 19 others under him, we again arrive at 361, which
> represents the numerical value of ‘kullu shey’, or the number of all things that is, the
> ‘‘adad-i-kullu shey.’ On this same ground the Beyán has 19 parts and each part has 19
> chapters. The Bábí year has 19 months of 19 days, each day 19 hours, each hour nineteen
> minutes. The same principle was to regulate measures of distance and of weights. Law and
> commerce were to come under its influence. “Organise,” said the Báb, “all things after the
> number of the Unity, that is to say by a division into nineteen parts.”88
> Another point on which the Beyán lays much stress is that no revelation is final. This is
> entirely opposed to the ordinary Muḥammadan view, which is that, as Muḥammad was
> khátamu’l anbiyá, or the seal of the Prophets, his revelation closed the series. The Báb
> taught that, as the human race progresses, the Primal Will, the teacher of men, speaks in
> each new revelation more fully and more clearly.89 All these successive
> 
> [page 87]
> 
> These are the Anbiyá Ulú’l ‘Azm of Islám. Vide Faith of Islám, p. 216.
> Journal of the R.A.S., vol. xxi. pp. 914, 925.
> This is in accord with the second canon of the Cabbalistic system of Biblical interpretation in the
> thirteenth century, which is called Ghematria, or “the use of the numerical values of the letters of a
> word for purposes of comparison with other words which yield the same or similar combinations of
> numbers.” [Biblical Study, by Dr. Briggs, p. 301.] I am not prepared to say that there is any
> historical connection between the Cabbalist and the Persian mystic. The subject needs investigation.
> Les Religions et les Philosophies dans L’Asie Centrale, p. 322.
> Il a dit qu’il ne venait donner qu’un développement de plus à la science de la nature divine; que
> tous les prophètes successivement en ont dit plus que leurs prédécesseurs n’avaient eu mission de la
> faire, et que c’est simplement en conséquence de ce progrès régulier que lui a été commise la tache
> d’être plus complet que Mahomet, lequel l’avait été plus que Jésus, qui, à son tour, en avait su plus
> que ses prédécesseurs.” Les Religions et les Philosophies dans L’Asia Centrale, p. 317.
> “Enfin le Báb parut à son tour, et sa révélation, plus complete sans doute et, comme diraient
> chez nous certains politiques, plus progressive, a d’ailleurs revêtu des caractères assez particuliers,
> qui sont la démonstration et la preuve de son excellence.” Ibid, p, 326.
> and progressive revelations and dispensations were not for the purpose of abrogating
> preceding essential laws, but to complete them and especially to prepare the world for the
> fuller teaching of ‘Him whom God shall manifest.’
> “A new prophet is not sent until the development of the human race renders this
> necessary. A revelation is not abrogated till it no longer suffices for the needs of mankind.
> There is no disagreement between the prophets: all teach the same truth, but in such
> measure as men can receive it. As mankind advance and progress they need fuller
> instruction. The instruction given by Abraham was suitable and sufficient for the people of
> his day, but not for those to whom Moses was sent, while this in turn had ceased to meet
> the needs of those to whom Christ was sent. Yet we must not say that their religions were
> opposed to one another, but rather that each manifestation is more complete and more
> perfect than the last.”90
> The great point in the Bábí theology is that the teacher is one and the same, though he
> manifests himself according to the capacity and needs of those to whom he is sent. The
> outward form changes but the Universal Spirit remains.91 It then follows that “since this
> Universal Spirit is absolute good, we must believe that it always has a manifestation in the
> world . . . hence during the long intervals which separate one prophetic dispensation from
> the next, there must be in the world silent manifestations of the spirit, intrinsically not less
> perfect than the speaking manifestations whom we call prophets.”92 Such persons would
> seem to be those who in Ṣúfí phraseology had annihilated self, “escaped the delusions of
> plurality and realised the unity of True Being,” who differ in degree but not in kind from
> the Prophets.
> 
> [page 88]
> 
> The Báb was a prisoner when he showed such interest in preparing the mind of his
> followers for this ‘Coming One’. The Beyán is full of it. It is laid down that in every
> assembly of believers a vacant place must be left for him. When his name is mentioned all
> must rise up. In any case the ground was well prepared for Behá when he made his claim.
> The Beyán speaks with confidence of the success of Bábíism. The future Bábí
> community is to form a perfect Utopia and its governments are to be tolerant.93 The kindly
> nature of the Báb is seen in the fancy sketches he draws of the future.
> At the day of Judgment, ‘He whom God shall manifest’ will preside. All the good
> people will be praised for their works, their piety, their obedience. Evil men will be
> annihilated. Thus the good will return to God and dwell in Him; the bad will pass away and
> be no more.
> The Muḥammadan doctrines of the examination of the dead in the graves,94 the
> Resurrection, Ṣiraṭ, Heaven, Hell, are all treated allegorically. The first is really a summons
> to the people to believe in the next manifestation of the Primal Will (p. 82), the
> Resurrection is the appearance of this manifestation. Ṣiraṭ, or the Bridge,95 is the belief in,
> the prophet of the age, a matter difficult to the self-willed, but easy to the seeker after God.
> Hell is ignorance and denial of the last manifestation of God, through the Primal Will
> incarnated in the Prophet, whilst Heaven is joy in it. The views of the Báb on a future life
> are not very clear. Speaking of Barzakh96 he says, “What is intended by Barzakh. is merely
> the interval between two manifestations, and not that which is commonly known amongst
> men, for none knoweth what shall be decreed unto them after death except God.” The hope
> of a future reward was not placed before his followers as an inducement to accept him, and
> this is in direct
> 
> A Year amongst the Persians, p. 303.
> “The religion of God is One, though the Theophanies differ.” New History of the Báb, p. 336.
> A Year amongst the Persians, p. 327.
> For a fuller account see Journal, R. A. S., vol. xxi., pp. 927-8.
> Sell’s Faith of Islam, p. 204.
> Ibid, p. 226.
> Ibid, p. 228.
> [page 89]
> 
> contrast to the conduct and teaching of Muḥammad. In the Beyán the Báb wrote the
> following striking words: — “So worship God that, if the recompense of thy worship of
> Him were to be the fire, no alteration in thy worship of Him would be produced. If you
> worship from fear, that is unworthy of the threshold of the holiness of God, nor will you be
> accounted a believer; so also, if your gaze is on Paradise, and if you worship in hope of
> that, for then you have made God’s creation a partner with Him.”97
> To a very large number of Bábís, Behá was during the latter part of his life98 looked up
> to as a divinely appointed guide. Before he assumed that position he wrote a book called
> the Ikán, which is held in great esteem . In this book he seems to acknowledge the then
> superior position Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel, but writes bitterly of some who were hostile to himself. Two
> years after the Turks had banished him to Adrianople, he boldly asserted his claim and_
> called on all the Ezelís to submit to his direction. He then wrote other treatises in which his
> position is dogmatically set forth. “If any one understood the love of Behá in the world of
> creation, and were to fight on his side against all who are in the earth and the heavens, God
> would verily make him victorious over them, as a showing forth of his power, a setting
> forth of his Majesty.” The people of the Beyán (i.e., the Bábís not of his party) complained
> about all this, and Behá very severely censures them: — “O people of the Beyán! have you
> not considered that he99 for twenty years has stood up by himself against the enemies.
> Many are the nights when all were sleeping at ease on their beds, while this Beauty of
> Primal Unity (i.e., Behá) was standing up openly against the unbelievers.” The extent of his
> claim is well shown by Mr. E. G. Browne in a descriptive100 passage from which I
> 
> [page 90]
> 
> have quoted freely. Behá also says in a book of his: — “I101 revealed all the heavenly books
> by the glorious tongue of might.”
> The Bábí hierarchy consists of the Point and eighteen ‘Letters of the Living,’102 making
> up the mystic number nineteen. The Point is the manifestation of the essence of God: the
> others, the eighteen, are regarded as incarnations or manifestations of the attributes or
> names of God. According to Behá he himself was the Point and Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel one of the
> eighteen Letters of the Living. This throws light on a passage where Behá calls himself
> Málik-i-Ṣifát, or the Lord of the attributes, i.e., that he is the divine essence made manifest,
> who reproves those who are “veiled by the names” from the essence. Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel he calls a
> name amongst my names, whom I created by a single letter, and to whom I gave life and
> who yet “arose in war” against his “Beauty.” In another place he calls himself the Nuqṭa-i-
> Úlá or the First Point, or the Báb returned to life again.
> A few extracts103 from some of Behá’s writings will show to some extent what he
> taught his followers. “As for those who commit sin and cling to the world they assuredly
> are not of the people of Behá. O worshippers of the Unity, make firm the girdle of
> endeavour, that perchance religious strife and conflict may be removed from amongst the
> people of the world and be annulled. For love of God and His servants engage in this great
> 
> R.A.S. Journal, October 1889, p. 931.
> He died in exile on May 16th, 1892.
> Behá, who is writing of himself in the third person.
> Journal of the R. A. S., vol. xxi., pp. 951-2.
> Behá is here expressing the Bábí dogma of the Unity of the essential principle which spoke
> through all the prophets, and so what was revealed by preceding prophets he could describe as “I
> revealed.”
> In reality Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel was the 4th letter. The Báb was the first, then came Mullá Muḥammad ‘Alí
> Bárfurúshi (Jenáb-i-quddús); then Mullá Ḥusain of Bushraweyh (Jenáb-i-Bábu’l Báb); then Mírzá
> Yaḥyá (Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel), who on the death of the two above him became second, and on the death of
> the Báb claimed to be the first.
> Episode of the Báb, pp. 70, 114.
> and mighty matter. Religious hatred and rancour is a world-consuming fire.” “With perfect
> compassion and mercy have we guided and directed the people of the world to that
> whereby their souls shall be profited. I swear by the sun of truth
> 
> [page 91]
> 
> that the people of Behá have not any aim save the prosperity and reformation of the world
> and the purifying of the nations.” “The heart must be sanctified from every form of
> selfishness and lust, for the weapons of the worshippers of the Unity and the saints were,
> and are, the fear of God.” “Every one who desireth victory must first subdue the city of his
> own heart with the sword of spiritual truth and of the word.” “No stranger must find his
> way into the city of the heart, so that the Incomparable Friend (i.e., God) may come unto
> His own place — that is. the effulgence of His names and attributes, not His essence, for
> that Peerless King hath been, and will be holy for everlasting, above ascent or descent.”104
> People often came to Behá for direction as to their conduct and for instruction. This led
> him to write the Lauḥ-i-aqdas, or the “Most Holy Book,” in which many practical rules are
> laid down. It will be seen that they differ considerably from those which are current in
> Islám.
> Prayer is to be said three times a day, and the number of prostrations are much fewer
> than those held necessary amongst Muḥammadans. The worshipper no longer turns to
> Mecca, but towards “the Most Holy Region, the Holy Place, whence issueth the command
> to whomsoever is in the earths and the heavens.”105 That Acre is here meant is clear,
> because it is said that when Behá dies, or, as it is put in hyperbolic language, “when the sun
> of truth and exhortation sets,” the Qibla is to be changed to “that place which we have
> appointed you.”
> 
> [page 92]
> 
> The great festival is that of the Persian Naurúz or New Year’s day. Instead of the
> Muḥammadan fast of Ramazán of thirty days, a month of nineteen days, the last month of
> the Bábí year, is appointed. Images and pictures are not allowed in places of worship; but
> music and singing are lawful in such buildings for purposes of devotion. A belief in the
> efficacy of talesmans and charms is encouraged.106 Each man constantly carries on his
> person a charm in the shape of a star, the rays of which are formed of lines, containing the
> name of God; the women wear one made in the form of a circle. No encouragement is
> given to mendicants. It is said: — “The most hateful of mankind before God is he who sits
> and begs: take hold of the rope of means, relying on God, the Causer of Causes.” The
> traffic in slaves is forbidden, and there are laws about great criminal offences, and civil
> matters such as inheritance, endowments, and so on. Shaving the head is not allowed, but
> the beard, may be cut off. Legal impurity is abolished and intercourse with persons of all
> religions is enjoined.107 Music is permitted, wine and opium are prohibited. The furniture of
> houses should be renewed every nineteen years. It is recommended that chairs should be
> This is to guard against the idea held by some that God comes down into man, or man rises up
> unto God, and that thus both are identified. The mystical view is that man is annihilated in God. Mr.
> Browne gives a good quotation from Jámi, a Ṣúfí writer, on this point.
> “So tread this path that duality may disappear,
> For if there be duality in this path, falsity will arise:
> Thou wilt not become He; but if thou strivest,
> Thou wilt reach a place where thou-ness (tú tú’í) shall depart from thee.”
> Count Gobineau says that the Báb did not substitute any Qibla for the ancient ones of Jerusalem
> and Mecca which he set aside; but declared that “ce sera le grand Révélateur qui décidera.” Les
> Religions et les Philosophies dans L’Asie Centrale, p. 332.
> Il (Báb) consacre à nouveau la science talismanique et la releve sans hésiter de la condamnation
> prononcée centre elle par le Christianisme, et, avec regret, prononcée aussi par l’Islám. Ibid, p. 336.
> A Missionary in Persia writes: — “I can again testify, as I did in the pages of the C. M. S.
> Intelligencer five years ago, to the exceeding friendliness, and even brotherliness of these dear
> people.” C. M. S. Intelligencer, 1898 p. 648.
> used. No one must carry arms except in times of tumult or war. Circumcision is treated as a
> matter of indifference. The Báb allowed a second wife to be taken, but prohibited
> concubinage. His reluctance, however, to polygamy was so manifest that his successors
> consider it an evil thing to accept the tolerance which he showed as regards duality of
> wives.108 All are to read the sacred books regularly, to be kind and courteous in their
> conduct, to give alms, to approve for others what they would like themselves,
> 
> [page 93]
> 
> and to forgive their enemies. Instead of the usual Muḥammadan salutation, As-Saláma
> ‘alaikum and ‘alaikumu’s-salám, or “peace be upon you” and “upon you be peace”, the
> Bábís amongst themselves say, on meeting one another, “Alláhu abhá” — God is most
> bright, to which the response is the same.
> The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society for October 1892 contains a translation of
> some of Behá’s selected precepts. They are introduced by the following statement made by
> Behá: “These divine ordinances and commands, formerly revealed in sundry epistles, in the
> Kitáb-i-Aqdas, in the Illuminations, Effulgences, Ornaments, &c., have, agreeably to the
> Supreme and most Holy command, been collected, that all may become cognizant of the
> grace, mercy, and favour of God (great is His glory) in this most mighty Manifestation and
> this great Announcement, and may engage in praise and thanksgiving to the desired object
> of all the inhabitants of the world. Verily, He helpeth His servants unto that which He
> willeth, for He is the wise ordainer.” Some of the precepts to guide the conduct of Bábís are
> on the following subjects: —109
> 1. Abolition of religious warfare.
> 2. Friendly intercourse with all sects and people.
> 3. Promise of this ‘Most Great Peace.’110
> 4. Obedience to the ruler who protects them.
> 5. Submission to the laws of the country in which they live.
> 6. Confession of sin to fellow-men is prohibited. Confession must be to, and
> pardon sought from, God only.
> 7. The study of such sciences as tend to the welfare of mankind is encouraged.
> 
> [page 94]
> 
> 8. All must learn some trade or practise some profession.
> 9. Visits to tombs and shrines are not obligatory.111
> 
> The personal influence of Behá over his followers is not to be wondered at when an
> English visitor can thus describe an interview with him. “The face of him on whom I gazed
> I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one’s
> very soul: power and authority sat in that ample brow; while the deep lines of the forehead
> and face implied an age which the jet black hair and beard flowing down in
> undistinguishable luxuriance almost to the waist seemed to belie. No need to ask in whose
> presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love
> which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain.”112
> 
> Les Religions et les Philosophies dans L‘Asie Centrale, p. 346.
> For a fuller account, see Journal of the R. A. S., October 1892, pp. 678-9.
> An expression used by Behá in conversation with Mr. Browne. Behá said, “We desire that all
> nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bond of affection and unity
> between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversities of religion should cease, and
> differences of race be annulled — what harm is there in this? Yet so it shall be; these fruitless
> strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the ‘Most Great Peace’ shall come.” Traveller’s
> Narrative, vol. ii., p, 40.
> For a fuller account, see Journal of the R. A. S., October 1892, pp. 678-9.
> The Episode of the Báb, p. 40.
> Behá has now passed away.113 A letter written by his son on June 3rd, 1892, gives the
> sorrowful news. A short quotation from a translation made by Mr. Browne reads as follows:
> —
> “The horizon of the phenomenal world is bereft of the effulgence of the sun of wisdom
> and revelation, the throne of the universe is deprived of the radiance of the most mighty
> luminary. The ears of the friends are, to outward appearance, debarred from hearkening to
> the cry of the Supreme Pen and the eyes of the longing are veiled from the contemplation of
> the most Glorious Horizon. Great God! how dire a catastrophe is this which has arisen in
> the world. The sun of truth has bidden farewell to this earthly sphere. . . . We and you alike
> must adorn ourselves with the ornament of patience and resignation, must lay hold of the
> firm rope of submission and acquiescence, apply ourselves with strong hearts and tranquil
> souls to what will conduce to the progress of mankind, the peace and prosperity of the
> world, the amelioration of character, and the appearance of charity and concord, and attach
> ourselves
> 
> [page 95]
> 
> with our whole being to the counsels of the Lord of the Visible and the Invisible, so that the
> Phenomenal World may, by the Grace of that Beneficent Being, be beheld an envy to the
> Garden of Paradise.”114
> After the death of Behá his eldest son ‘Abbás Effendi became his successor and is
> called — man arádalláhu115 — He whom God hath desired. He is described as a strong, tall
> man, with a broad forehead. and keen eye, indicating a firm will and strong intellect. Those
> who come into contact with him feel his influence and soon learn to respect him.116 Some
> Behá’ís consider that he, like Behá, is a divine manifestation and not a mere man, others
> deny this and say that he is nothing more than a servant of Behá, for they hold that no
> 
> His followers do not speak of his death, but always refer to it as his ascension, C. M. S.
> Intelligencer, 1898, p, 645.
> The following is the Persian text of the extract from the letter.
> 
> R. A. S. Journal for October 1892, p. 707.
> 
> Mr. E. G. Browne, writing after a personal interview, says: — “subsequent conversation with him
> served to heighten the respect with which his appearance had from the first inspired me. One more
> eloquent of speech, more ready of argument, more apt of illustration, more intimately acquainted
> with the sacred books of the Jews, the Christians, and the Muḥammadans, could, I think, scarcely
> be found even amongst the eloquent, ready and subtle race to which he belongs. These qualities,
> combined with a bearing at once majestic and general, made me cease to wonder at the influence
> and esteem which he enjoyed even beyond the circle of his father’s followers. About the greatness
> of this man and his power no one who had seen him could entertain a doubt.” Episode of the Báb, p.
> xxxvi.
> further manifestation will take place until a thousand years shall have passed away. ‘Abbás
> Effendi lives at Acre, and maintains a correspondence
> 
> [page 96]
> 
> with his followers in Persia and is visited by some of the more devout of his followers who
> look upon the journey from Persia to Acre as a pilgrimage. In the year 1898 he was much
> troubled by dissension caused by the rivalry of his younger brother.
> The Behá’ís in Persia enjoy much more liberty under Muẓaffara’d-dín Sháh than they
> did under the late Sháh, Náṣiru’d-dín.
> Space forbids us to follow the fortunes of Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel in Cyprus, His person and
> appearance are thus described by Mr.
> Browne.117 “A venerable and benevolent-looking old man of about sixty years of age,
> somewhat below the middle height, with ample forehead on which the traces of care and
> anxiety were apparent, clear searching blue eyes and long grey beard, rose and advanced to
> meet us. Before that mild and dignified countenance, I involuntarily bowed myself with
> unfeigned respect; for at length my long-cherished desire was fulfilled, and I stood face to
> face with Mírzá Yaḥyá, Ṣubḥ-i-Ezel (morning of Eternity), the appointed successor of the
> Báb, fourth Letter of the First Unity. “When Cyprus was handed over to the English
> Government, Mírzá Yaḥyá, with other political exiles, was transferred, and still remains
> there as a political pensioner.
> From what has now been stated, it will be seen that Bábíism is not a political
> movement, though in its early days it was brought into conflict with the civil power; but
> that it is a religious revolt against orthodox Islám, so far as that is represented by the Shí‘ah
> sect. It raises women to a higher level, it professes to limit many of the social evils of
> Islám, it tends to give liberty of thought and to develop a friendly spirit to others. Mr.
> Curzon says: —118 “Brotherly love, kindness to children, courtesy combined with dignity,
> sociability, hospitality, freedom from bigotry, friendliness even to Christians are included
> in its tenets.” If men are sometimes better than their creed,
> 
> [page 97]
> 
> they are sometimes worse, and not every Bábí lives up to this ideal. It is perhaps too soon to
> speculate on the future of the movement. Those who think it will gradually take the place of
> Islám in Persia, base a strong argument on the fact that its “recruits are won from the best
> soldiers of the garrison it is attacking.” It certainly appeals to the traditionary instincts of
> many Persians. The Ṣúfí needs a Pír, or living guide; the Shí‘ah meditates on the Imám, and
> the high position accorded to that person in Bábíism is at least attractive. The life and death
> of the Báb, and the magnificent heroism of his followers all help forward the movement.
> Whether when the victory is won, the Bábís in the day of power will be as gentle and as
> liberal as they are in the night of adversity is perhaps doubtful. The whole movement has a
> disintegrating effect in Islám as professed in Persia, though whether it will prepare the way
> for the Gospel is a matter on which there is room for difference of opinion. Some persons,
> well qualified to judge, consider that it yields a present satisfaction to quickened religious
> instincts, and supplies a brotherhood not yet to be found in Christianity in Persia, where
> indeed it appears to the Persians themselves as a foreign religion. In such a case it would
> seem likely to be a final home, rather than a resting place on the road from Muḥammad to
> Christ. But to all, who take an interest in Christian missions in Persia, the movement is one
> of great interest.119 It does, at least, betrays [sic] a longing
> 
> Episode of the Báb, p. xxiv.
> Persia, Vol. I, p. 502.
> I am indebted to a well-known Missionary who has spent a long time in Persia for the following
> facts:
> (1) The Behá’ís admit that the Lord Jesus Christ was the incarnate son; but claim that Behá
> was the incarnate Father, and as each incarnation is superior to a proceeding one, Behá is greater
> than Christ.
> [page 98]
> 
> for a, real, living, loving, personal guide, the revealer of God to man, which can be best met
> by the acceptance of the Eternal Word. In any case, if only liberty of conscience can be
> secured, there seems to be a wide and open door for the proclamation of “Him whom God
> has manifested,” “in Whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”, for it
> “pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.”120
> 
> (2) Some of the Behá’ís now say: — ‘we are Christians; others say: we are almost Christians;
> others, ‘The only difference between us is that we accepted Christ when he came to us fifty years
> ago (i.e. in Behá) and you rejected him.
> (3) They constantly invite the Christian Missionary to their houses, and are most hospitable
> and kind.
> (4) The Behá’ís admit that the New Testament is the uncorrupted Word of God.
> (5) Many Jews in Persia have become Bábís and, on the other hand, some Bábís have become
> Christians.
> Colossians ii. 3; i. 19.
>
> — *The Bab and the Babis (Used by permission of the curator)*