# Aqasi, Haji Mirza ('Abbas Iravani)

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Sholeh A. Quinn, Aqasi, Haji Mirza ('Abbas Iravani), bahai-library.com.
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> Aqasi, Haji Mirza (‘Abbas Iravani)
> (c. 1783–1849)
> Prime minister of Iran under Muhammad Shah Qajar from 1835 to 1848; regarded
> by Bahá’ís as the Antichrist of the Bábí dispensation.
> 
> ARTICLE OUTLINE:                                        LIFE
> Life                                            Haji Mirza Aqasi, whose given name was ‘Abbas
> Relations with the Báb and Bábís               Iravani, was born and raised in Mákú, Azerbaijan,
> Haji Mirza Aqasi in the Bábí and Bahá’í        in northwestern Iran. His father was a mullá and
> Writings                                       small landowner from Yerevan, Armenia. During
> ARTICLE RESOURCES:                                   his youth Mírzá ‘Abbás Íravání studied with Mullá
> ‘Abdu’s-Samad, a guide and elder of the
> Notes
> Ni‘matu’lláhí Sufi order, in the holy city of Karbala
> Other Sources and Selected Reading
> in Iraq. Mírzá ‘Abbás Íravání then spent a period
> of time living as a dervish, wandering from place
> to place, before taking up residence in Yerevan. Later he went to Tabriz, where he was employed by
> Mírzá Buzurg Qá’im-Maqám as a tutor to one of his sons, Músá, and gained both rank and wealth. Mírzá
> Buzurg gave him the title Aqasi (Chief Officer of the Household) by which he was subsequently known.
> 
> After his patron’s death in 1821, factionalism stemming from the rivalry
> between Mírzá Buzurg’s sons caused Aqasi to fall into disfavor for a time, but
> by 1824 he was back in Tabriz, tutoring several of the sons of the crown
> prince, ‘Abbás Mírzá. In his position as tutor, Aqasi succeeded in becoming
> the confidant and spiritual guide of Muhammad Mírzá (b. 1808), the crown
> prince’s eldest son, who acceded to the throne as Muhammad Shah in 1834.
> 
> In 1835 Muhammad Shah had his first prime minister, Abu’l-Qásim Qá’im-
> Maqám, murdered and replaced him with Haji Mirza Aqasi. During his first
> year in office, Aqasi succeeded in removing from power most of the
> supporters of the previous prime minister, filling their positions with his own
> nominees from Mákú. Among those whom Aqasi removed from power was
> Bahá’u’lláh’s father, Mírzá Buzurg Núrí. Bahá’u’lláh Himself had a prolonged
> legal dispute with Aqasi over a village, Qúch-Hisár, that Aqasi coveted.
> 
> During his term as prime minister, Haji Mirza Aqasi sought unsuccessfully to
> reform the army. The campaign of 1837–38 in which Muhammad Shah and
> his forces besieged the city of Herat in western Afghanistan resulted in the
> shah’s being forced to retreat and to conclude an unfavorable treaty with
> Haji Mirza Aqasi, prime minister
> Britain in 1841. Aqasi’s inexperience in administration and finance, combined
> under Muhammad Shah Qajar of      with entrenched governmental corruption and incompetence and a soaring
> Iran. Bahá’í Photographic Library
> budget deficit, contributed to the near bankruptcy of the country, rendering
> it ripe for revolution. He became extremely unpopular, which led to a number of attempts on his life.
> One of his most unpopular acts was to repossess villages from tuyúl holders (whose fiefdoms were
> granted during the reign of Fath ‘Ali Shah, 1797–1834), resulting in the transfer of a great deal of land
> to the crown.
> On the death of the chronically ill Muhammad Shah in September 1848, many of Tehran’s elite rose
> against Aqasi. He fled to the shrine of Shah ‘Abdu’l-‘Azím near Tehran. Stripped of his wealth, he
> sought refuge in Karbala, where he died on 1 August 1849.
> 
> RELATIONS WITH THE BÁB AND BÁBÍS
> Since Aqasi’s position as prime minister was a consequence of his spiritual mastery over Muhammad
> Shah, it is not surprising that Aqasi viewed with alarm any rival for the shah’s favor. He seems to have
> remained unconcerned about the rise of the Bábí movement between 1844 and 1846, but the Báb’s
> growing renown finally triggered Aqasi’s fear that the shah, who was curious about the claims of the
> youthful and charismatic religious leader, might be influenced by Him. These fears could only have been
> intensified when Aqasi learned that the Báb had won over the redoubtable governor of Isfahan,
> Manúchihr Khán, in 1846.
> 
> Seeking to discredit the Báb in the shah’s eyes, Haji Mirza Aqasi incited the mullás of Isfahan to
> condemn the Báb. The shah subsequently summoned the Báb to Tehran. Manúchihr Khán, however,
> concerned for the Báb’s safety, managed to keep Him in Isfahan for four months. Then, early in 1847,
> Manúchihr Khán died suddenly. He had expressed a desire to convert the shah, but he died
> unexpectedly before he could act on his intention.
> 
> When it became apparent that Manúchihr Khán had been keeping the Báb safe in Isfahan, the shah
> again summoned the Báb to Tehran. While the Báb was en route, Haji Mirza Aqasi instructed Him to
> break his journey by stopping in the village of Kulayn, less than fifty kilometers (thirty-one miles) from
> Tehran. Aqasi, who owned the village, had a tent pitched for the Báb in pleasant surroundings. After
> weeks had passed, the Báb wrote a letter to the shah, requesting a meeting with the sovereign.
> Determined that the meeting not take place, Haji Mirza Aqasi instilled fear in the shah, saying that the
> Báb planned trouble and mischief, and also stressed that a meeting would be untimely because the
> shah was about to leave the capital. He managed to persuade Muhammad Shah that the best plan of
> action would be to send the Báb to the fortress of Mákú. The shah sent a letter to the Báb, dated
> March/April 1847, asking Him to proceed to Mákú. Shoghi Effendi has said that this letter, "though
> couched in courteous terms, clearly indicated the extent of the baneful influence exercised by the Grand
> Vizir [Prime Minister] on his sovereign."1 The Báb was being sent to Mákú as a prisoner; He would
> remain a prisoner for the rest of His life.
> 
> In the course of the Báb’s journey to Mákú, Haji Mirza Aqasi stopped letters between the Báb and the
> shah from being delivered. With the Báb imprisoned in Mákú, Haji Mirza Aqasi thought his actions—
> sending the Báb to Mákú (whose residents were strongly in Aqasi’s debt) and preventing the Báb from
> meeting the shah—had suppressed the Bábí movement. During the Báb’s confinement in Mákú,
> however, Haji Mirza Aqasi discovered through his spies that the Báb’s popularity in Azerbaijan was
> growing. In addition, partly because the warden of the fortress, ‘Alí Khán, had relaxed the rules of
> access to the charismatic prisoner, Bábís were able to go to Mákú and meet the Báb, ensuring that His
> influence continued to spread throughout the country. Haji Mirza Aqasi realized that his efforts had not
> succeeded, and his hostility toward the Báb and the Bábís increased.
> 
> Therefore, in April 1848, Haji Mirza Aqasi decided to send the Báb to a more remote location. In
> Chihríq, another fortress in Azerbaijan, the pattern repeated itself. When the jailors began relaxing the
> terms of the Báb’s confinement, Haji Mirza Aqasi again intervened, and, after three months in Chihríq,
> the Báb was summoned to Tabriz. There the prime minister issued an order for the Báb to be tried as
> an apostate before a gathering of high-ranking religious leaders (mujtahid) in the presence of the
> young crown prince, Násiri’d-Dín Mírzá.
> 
> Aqasi hoped for a public humiliation of the Báb that would extinguish the Bábí movement. Instead, the
> result of the trial was inconclusive. The Báb shocked the gathering by claiming publicly to be the
> promised Mahdi. The mujtahids attempted to ridicule and discredit Him but, unable to shake His claim,
> finally managed to sentence Him, not to death, the usual punishment for apostasy, but to corporal
> punishment by means of the bastinado. After He recovered from his injuries, which were complicated by
> a blow that struck His face, He was sent back to Chihríq on Haji Mirza Aqasi’s orders.
> 
> By the end of 1848, Muhammad Shah was dead and Aqasi in exile. However, governmental opposition
> to the Báb continued and intensified. Encouraged by the ulama (Muslim religious leaders), the public
> increasingly turned against the Báb and His followers, and the Bábís "were held responsible for the
> country’s general state of turmoil." 2
> 
> HAJI MIRZA AQASI IN THE BÁBÍ AND BAHÁ’Í WRITINGS
> In His book the Qayyúmu’l-Asmá’       , written early in His ministry, the Báb addresses Haji Mirza Aqasi:
> 
> O Minister of the Sháh! Fear thou God, besides Whom there is none other God but
> Him, the Sovereign Truth, the Just, and lay aside thy dominion, for We, by the leave
> of God, the All-Wise, inherit the earth and all who are upon it, and He shall rightfully
> be a witness unto thee and unto the Sháh. Were ye to obey the Remembrance of
> God with absolute sincerity, We guarantee, by the leave of God, that on the Day of
> Resurrection, a vast dominion shall be yours in His eternal Paradise.3
> 
> The Báb’s later position regarding Haji Mirza Aqasi is unequivocal. In a letter to Muhammad Shah, the
> Báb calls Aqasi "the devil whom thou hast appointed as thy Chancellor" 4 and warns the shah that Haji
> Mirza Aqasi "will bring thee into grievous trouble by reason of that which Satan instilleth in his heart,
> and verily, he himself is Satan." The Báb finds Aqasi’s actions unprincipled and self-serving: "He
> comprehendeth not a single letter from the Book of God and is seized with fear by reason of that which
> his hands have wrought. Fain would he extinguish the light which thy Lord hath kindled, so that the old
> impiety which is concealed in his inner being may not be revealed." The Báb adds that, if Muhammad
> Shah had not appointed Haji Mirza Aqasi as prime minister, "no one would have paid him the slightest
> attention. Indeed in the estimation of the people he is naught but manifest darkness." 5
> 
> Haji Mirza Aqasi was the recipient of at least one epistle, known as the Khutbiy-i-Qahríyyih (Sermon of
> Wrath), from the Báb. Shoghi Effendi describes it as "couched in bold and moving language" and
> "unsparing in its condemnation."6 The Bábí historian Nabíl states that in this document, which has not
> yet been published, the Báb "addresses the Grand Vazír of Muhammad Shah in these terms: 'O thou
> who has disbelieved in God and hast turned thy face away from His signs!'" 7
> 
> In his survey of the first century of Bábí and Bahá’í history, God Passes By , Shoghi Effendi refers to
> Haji Mirza Aqasi as "a vulgar, false-hearted and fickle-minded schemer" and calls him "the Antichrist of
> the Bábí Revelation." 8
> 
> Author: Sholeh A. Quinn
> 
> © 2009 National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Terms of Use.
> 
> Notes:
> 1. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, new ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1974, 2004
> printing) 16.
> 2. Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran, 1844–1850 ,
> paperback ed. (Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 2005) 395.
> 3. Báb, Selections from the Writings of the Báb, comp. Research Department of the Universal House of
> Justice, trans. Habib Taherzadeh, 1st pocket-size ed. (Wilmette, IL, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2006)
> 2:3.2: 53–54.
> 4. Báb, Selections 1:6.7: 32–33.
> 5. Báb, Selections1:6.6: 32.
> 6. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 27.
> 7. Nabíl A’zam [Muhammad Zarandí], The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’í
> Revelation, trans. and ed. Shoghi Effendi (1932; Wilmette, IL, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1996) 323.
> 8. Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 4, 164.
> 
> Understanding the Citations
> Citing Bahá’í Encyclopedia Project Articles
> 
> Other Sources and Related Reading:
> For a general biography and extensive bibliography, see A[bbas] Amanat, "Āqāsī, Hājjī Mīrzā Abbās
> Īravānī," Encyclopedia Iranica, ed. Ehsan Yarshater, http://www.iranica.com/newsite/   (accessed 2 Feb.
> 2009). See also Amanat’s Resurrection and Renewal 20–23, 204, 234, 258–59, 273, 362–63, 387–93, 411;
> and his Pivot of the Universe: Nasir al-Din Shah Qajar and the Iranian Monarchy, 1831–1896 (Berkeley: U
> of California P, 1997) 28–30, 91–93.
> For statements about Aqasi in the Bahá’í authoritative texts, in addition to those cited, see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, A
> Traveler’s Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb, trans. Edward G. Browne (Los Angeles:
> Kalimát Press, 2004) 13–16; and Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By 6, 13, 15, 17–20, 36–37, 70, 82.
> Other sources include Husayn Sa‘ādat-Nūrī, Zindigī-yi Hājjī Mīrzā Āqāsī (Tehran: Intishārāt-i Vahīd,
> 1356/1977); Dennis MacEoin, The Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History (Leiden: Brill, 1992) 16–17,
> 58, 64, 82, 92–93; Stephen N. Lambden, "Antichrist-Dajjāl: Some Notes on the Christian and Islamic
> Antichrist Traditions and their Bahá’í Interpretation," Bahá’í Studies Bulletin 1.2 (1982): 14–49 (part one)
> and 1.3 (1982): 3–43 (part two); Nár va-núr: Muntakhabátí az áthár-i-mubárakiy-i-Jamál-i-Aqdas-i-Abhá
> va-Hadrat-i-‘Abdu’l-Bahá va-tawqí‘át-i-Hadrat-i-Valíyí-Amru'lláh (Fire and Light), 1st ed. (Hofheim–
> Langenhain, Ger.: Bahá’í-Verlag, Lajniy-i-Nashr-i-Áthár bi-Lisánháy-i-‘Arabí va-Fárisí, 139/1982) 120–21,
> 204–05, 226–27, 231–32, 244, 259, 301–02; Moojan Momen, ed., The Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, 1844–
> 1944: Some Contemporary Western Accounts (Oxford: George Ronald, 1981) 70, 73, 89, 154–56; H. M.
> Balyuzi, Bahá’u’lláh: The King of Glory, 2nd rev. ed. (Oxford: George Ronald, 1991) 15–16, 23–24, 28, 48,
> 52–55; H. M. Balyuzi, The Báb: The Herald of the Day of Days (Oxford: George Ronald, 1973) 11–12, 111–
> 12, 117, 121–23, 128, 131–32, 136–37, 139–40, 147.
> 
> Understanding the Citations
> Citing Bahá’í Encyclopedia Project Articles
>
> — *Aqasi, Haji Mirza ('Abbas Iravani) (Used by permission of the curator)*