# The Remains of the Bab in Tehran

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Ahang Rabbani, The Remains of the Bab in Tehran, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> The Remains of the Bab in Tehran
> 
> Ahang Rabbani
> 
> 1997
> 
> Introduction: The execution of the Bab and His fellow-martyr, Mirza Muhammad-'Ali Anis, took
> place in July 1850 and it was not until March 1909 that their mangled bodies
> were entombed in their permanent Shrine on Mount Carmel. During this period of
> fifty-nine years, fearing destruction by entrenched enemies, this sacred trust
> was concealed in a number of places, of which, for four years, unbeknown to its
> residence, it was kept in the Tihran home of Husayn-'Ali Nur. The purpose of
> this brief article is to outline the background of this episode and to share a
> translation of Husayn-'Ali Nur's recollections in this regard.[1] [-A. H.]
> 
> Concealment of the Remains of the Bab
> 
> One of the most outstanding achievements of the Bahá'í Faith during its
> opening Age was the safe concealment of the casket containing the sacred dust
> of the Bab for some sixty years. To review: Immediately after the execution of
> the Bab and Anis, their remains were cast by the edge of a moat outside the
> city of Tabriz. In the middle of the second night, through the efforts of Haji
> Sulayman Khan, they were moved to a silk factory owned by one of the Babis of
> Milan, and the next day were laid in a wooden casket and carried to another
> location. In accordance with Bahá'u'lláh's instructions, the casket was then
> transported to Tihran and placed in the shrine of Imam-Zadih Hasan. It was
> later removed to the residence of Haji Sulayman Khan in the Sar-Chashmih
> district of the city, and from his house taken to the shrine of Imam-Zadih
> Ma'sum, where it remained concealed until 1867.
> 
> At that time, Bahá'u'lláh directed Mulla 'Ali-Akbar Shahmirzadi and Jamal
> Burujirdi to transfer the remains to some other spot. The two believers
> searched for a suitable place, until on the road leading to Chashmih-'Ali, they
> came upon the abandoned and dilapidated Masjid Masha'u'llah, where they
> deposited the precious casket within one of its walls. The next day, having
> learned that the hiding-place had been discovered, they removed the casket to
> Tihran, keeping it for fourteen months in the residence of Mirza Hasan
> Vazir.
> 
> Afterwards, Haji Shah Muhammad Manshadi and another believer were instructed to
> bury the casket beneath the floor of the inner sanctuary of the shrine of
> Imam-Zadih Zayd, where it lay undetected until Mirza Asadu'llah Isfahani was
> informed of its exact location through a chart forwarded to him by
> Bahá'u'lláh.
> 
> Mirza Asadu'llah first "removed the remains to his own house in Tihran, after
> which they were deposited in several other localities such as the house of
> Husayn-i-'Aliy-i-Isfahani and that of Muhammad-Karim-i-'Attar, where they
> remained hidden until the year 1316 A.H. (1899), when, in pursuance of
> directions issued by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, this same Mirza Asadu'llah, together with a
> number of other believers, transported them by way of Isfahan, Kirmanshah,
> Baghdad and Damascus, to Beirut and thence by sea to 'Akka, arriving at their
> destination on the 19th of the month of Ramadan 1316 A.H. (January 31, 1899),
> fifty lunar years after the Bab's execution in Tabriz."[2]
> 
> In listing the Bahá'í properties acquired in Iran, Shoghi Effendi has
> recorded, "Other acquisitions that have greatly extended the range of Bahá'í
> endowments in that country include ... the house owned by Mirza
> Husayn-'Aliy-i-Nur, where the Bab's remains had been concealed."[3]
> 
> Aqa Husayn-'Ali Nur:
> 
> Aqa Husayn-'Ali's father was Aqa 'Ali, a deeply religious Muslim who
> would observe the Islamic laws to the point of fanaticism. When Aqa 'Ali first
> heard of the Bahá'í Faith, he decided on investigating its veracity, promising
> himself that should he find it to be of truth, he would walk to the presence of
> its Author. Some time passed and one night he dreamt of Bahá'u'lláh and the
> Bab. Through this vision, he was confirmed in his belief and with great
> ecstasy, began his journey to 'Akka. With utmost difficulty, he reached his
> destination, only to be told, after a prolonged search, that Bahá'u'lláh was
> incarcerated in the city's prison and all were barred from attaining His august
> presence. Desperate to behold the Object of his longing, Aqa 'Ali ascended a
> nearby hill and from its top was able to briefly gaze at the countenance of
> Bahá'u'lláh Who waved at him from the window of His prison cell. Thrilled with
> this blessing, Aqa 'Ali immediately submitted a supplication and was honored
> with a response from Bahá'u'lláh in which He bestowed the surname "Nur" [light]
> upon him. Aqa 'Ali Nur returned to his native town of Isfahan and commenced
> teaching the Cause.[4]
> 
> Aqa Husayn-'Ali was born in 1861 in Isfahan. When he was eighteen, two
> prominent and wealthy Bahá'í merchants of the city, Mirza Hasan and Mirza
> Husayn, surnamed the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs, were
> wrongfully accused, seized and after considerable tortures, put to death. This
> event took place at the instigation of the leading 'ulama and with the
> knowledge and collusion of the governor, Zillu's-Sultan.
> 
> During the evening following these martyrdom, Husayn-'Ali and his older
> brother, Hasan-'Ali, together with three other believers who served the King of
> Martyrs, clandestinely left the city and through unfrequented routes and after
> enduring great hardships eventually reached Tihran.
> 
> Gradually, they were able to reestablish themselves in the capital where
> Husayn-'Ali became a successful merchant, his seed-money having been granted by
> Bahá'u'lláh. He bought a parcel of land on the south side of Bagh Firdaws
> (presently a women's hospital), next to the Bazar Madar-Aqa, where he built a
> nine-room house. It was in this house that for four years the remains of the
> Bab were kept.
> 
> Some time later, Aqa Husayn-'Ali committed to paper his fascinating memories of
> the King and the Beloved of Martyrs and the events leading to their slaying,
> and he included a chapter on the concealment of the remains of the Bab in his
> house in Tihran. Considerably supplementing A.H. Ishraq-Khavari's
> Núrayn-i Nayyiran, this book contains many Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh
> and 'Abdu'l-Bahá and was published in 128 BE through the efforts of Aqa
> Husayn-'Ali's son, Colonel 'Izzatu'llah Nur, under the title "Khatirat Muhajiri
> Az Isfahan" (memoirs of a refugee from Isfahan).
> 
> An Extract from "Khatirat Muhajiri Az Isfahan", pages 68-75[5]:
> 
> About the year 1269 Sh[6], Mirza
> Asadu'llah Isfahani and his wife arrived from Isfahan in Tihran and came to the
> residence of this servant, which was located south of the present Bagh Firdaws.
> After a few days, he mentioned, "We intend to continue our journey to the Holy
> Land, but certain objects have been left in our trust which we have placed in a
> box and now wish to leave them in your care. After our return, we will come and
> retrieve our trust, but you must exert your utmost to ensure the protection and
> safekeeping of these items."
> 
> I accepted this charge and the following day, he and his wife returned to our
> house carrying a wooden box. With utmost reverence, they placed the box in the
> room near the courtyard and asked that the room be locked and no one be
> permitted inside until their return the subsequent day. They took the key with
> them.
> 
> The next day Aqa Mirza Asadu'llah and his wife returned and this time they
> brought with them an iron container (known as, Hishtar-khun Sanduq), which is
> lined with iron sheets from both outside and inside. They opened the room and
> the two of them entered and closed the curtains so carefully that nothing could
> be seen from outside and we had no idea what they were doing within the room.
> 
> They stayed inside for four hours. Finally, they emerged from the room and
> summoning me forward, stated, "This is the trust that we like to leave in your
> charge." I looked inside and noticed that the new iron container was locked and
> sealed, and placed in the center of the room. A fantastic aroma or attar and
> musk was emanating from the container and perfuming the air.
> 
> We left the container in the large, built-in pantry of the room and later, one
> of the Bahá'í youth, who was a builder, came and brick-walled the front of the
> pantry.
> 
> Of course, caring for an entrusted object is a very difficult task,
> particularly when one believes it to be a box of the Writings by the Bab and
> Bahá'u'lláh. As such, after Aqa Mirza Asadu'llah's departure, I was protecting
> that trust with my own life. Even at nights, I would stand guard in the room
> till morning and be watchful. In fact, early on, for many nights I would sleep
> in that room, but after a while refrained from doing so.
> 
> It went thusly for two years, until once more the people of rancor and enmity
> in Tihran raised the standard of sedition and some of the believers, including
> Ibn-i Abhar, Haji Amin and Haji Mulla 'Ali-Akbar were arrested. News was
> spreading throughout the city that the homes of Bahá'ís were being targeted for
> pillage and plunder. This rumor greatly disturbed me and I worried that the
> enemies may rush our home and steal the trust. Therefore, we convened a family
> consultation and it was decided to more securely hide the entrusted container.
> 
> Quickly we moved the container from the pantry on the western side of the house
> to a location on the eastern side, where we removed a portion of one of the
> thick walls and vertically inserted the container in the cavity. That night, we
> raised a wall in front of the cavity and covered it with plaster, which was
> heated all night by a fire so by the morning it was completely dry and looked
> identical to the other portions of the room.
> 
> That very day, I wrote to Mirza Asadu'llah Isfahani, stating, "Great uproar
> reigns throughout Tihran and rouges and ruffians are determined to harm and
> persecut this innocent community [i.e. Bahá'ís], and may even succeed in
> pillaging the homes of believers. Since safekeeping a trust is one of the
> important ordinances enjoined upon the people of Bahá, until now I have
> protected your trust with my life. However, now there is the possibility that
> hoodlums may rush our house and, God forbidden, harm your trust. Therefore, at
> your earliest, kindly arrange for your return to Tihran to retrieve this
> trust."
> 
> I sent the above letter and some time later received a reply from Mirza
> Asadu'llah which stated that, at an opportune time, he would acquaint the
> Master with the situation and after receiving His permission, would come to
> Tihran to regain the entrusted container.
> 
> A year later, Aqa Mirza Asadu'llah came to Tihran, arrived at our house and
> asked for the container. We removed it from its hiding place inside the walls
> and returned it to him. After carefully inspecting it, he moved it to another
> location, which apparently was the home of Aqa Muhammad-Karim 'Attar.
> 
> Six months had passed when one day the postman brought a letter from
> Kirmanshah. Upon examining it, I noticed that it was from Aqa Mirza Asadu'llah.
> I quickly opened it and read that he had expressed much appreciation and
> gratitude for the safekeeping of the trust that had been in my charge for
> nearly four years. He had further written, "However, your efforts in protecting
> this trust are not without their due reward. Indeed, they have won a prize that
> even your progenies, generation after generation, would pride themselves in
> your service. Your house will forever be honored that at one time it was the
> repository of such sacred trust." At last, he had revealed, "Know that this
> trust was none other than the sanctified remains of the Wronged of the World,
> the Primal Point, may my soul be a ransom for His martyrdom. Know the worth of
> this charge as your house will one day be the site of pilgrimage of millions of
> people and indeed it will be regarded as one of the Faith's Holy Places."
> 
> ... On reading this letter, immediately the friends were invited to our house
> and the above letter was read for them. It was a majestic feast that rarely one
> similar to it had been seen before. All the friends and lovers of that
> Manifestation of Divinity, perfumed their nostrils with the musk of the spot
> where the sacred remains had been deposited and prostrating themselves on that
> threshold, used its dust as the kohl of their eyes. It was a feast conducted in
> the utmost magnificence and splendor. The lovers of that Beloved of the World
> composed enchanting odes and sang enthralling songs. From that day, that spot
> was designated as one of the Faith's Holy Places. In accordance with
> 'Abdu'l-Bahá's wish, a picture of the house and that room was taken and sent to
> the Holy Land.
> 
> Some time later, when I was privileged to be in the presence of the Master on
> pilgrimage, one afternoon, along with a group of believers I was invited to the
> home of Mirza Asadu'llah. Once more, Mirza Asadu'llah reiterated, "Protect that
> house since it's one of the Bahá'í Holy Places!"
> 
> Notes:
> 
> [1] This article is dedicated to the
> loving memory of 'Izzatu'llah Nur.
> 
> [2] God Passes By 274.
> 
> [3] God Passes By 338.
> 
> [4] Khatirat Muhajiri Az Isfahan
> 79-80.
> 
> [5] The following extract is translated for
> the first time in this article.
> 
> [6] 1890.
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views22976 views since posted 1997; last edit 2012;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../rabbani_remains_bab_tehran;
> URLs changed in 2010, see archive.org.../bahai-library.org
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> — *The Remains of the Bab in Tehran (Used by permission of the curator)*