# Bab, Birth of *Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 1 clipping.* --- > Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Christopher Buck, Bab, Birth of, bahai-library.com. > ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── > > World Religions: Belief, Culture, and Controversy http://religion.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1571548?sid=1571... > > print page close window > > birth of The Bab > > Sayyid Ali-Muhammad, known by his spiritual title as the "Bab" (the "Gate"), was born on October 20, 1819, in > Shiraz, Persia (now Iran). The Bab was the founder of a 19th-century new religious movement generally known > as Babism. The Bab declared himself to be the long-awaited Qá'im (Ariser/Resurrector), the expected > eschatological deliverer (known in both Shia and Sunni Islam as the Mahdi), who, according to Islamic tradition, > would come to revive Islam when it was at its lowest ebb. While proclaiming himself to be an independent > "Manifestation of God," the Bab also spoke of the imminent advent of the Promised One, or "Him whom God shall > make manifest." One of the Bab's followers, Bahá'u'lláh, would later receive revelations confirming that he was > that Promised One heralded by the Bab. > > Armin Eschraghi has argued that the new faith proclaimed by the Bab fulfilled all the criteria of an independent > religion: a new founder, newly revealed scriptures, a new set of metaphysical and theological teachings distinct > from those of Islam, new religious laws and principles. In revealing his new code of laws (called the Bayán), the > Bab pursued three major goals: (1) paving the way for the advent of the Promised One; (2) provoking the clerical > establishment and shattering the foundations of their often-abused institutionalized authority; and (3) proving the > independence of his own religion as distinct from Islam. > > Soon after the Bab publicly proclaimed his prophetic mission beginning on the evening of May 22, 1844, the > Islamic government then in power in Persia began to suppress the movement and violence ensued. The Bab was > arrested and executed by a firing squad of 750 musketeers on July 9, 1850, in Tabríz, Persia. Subsequent to an > unauthorized and ill-fated attempt on the life of the shah of Persia in 1852, the shah ordered the most brutal > tortures and deaths of a great number of Bábís, with estimates ranging from around 5,000 to 20,000 martyrs. > > In the fall of 1852, in the wake of the Bab's execution, Bahá'u'lláh was imprisoned in the notorious Siyáh-Chál > (Black Pit), during which time he experienced a series of visions that awakened him to his prophetic destiny. He > was released, but banished—exiled successively to Baghdad (1853–1863), Constantinople/Istanbul (1863), > Adrianople/Edirne (1863–1868), and finally to the prison-city of 'Akká, considered the vilest penal colony of the > Ottoman Empire. In 1892, Bahá'u'lláh passed away in Bahjí, near 'Akká in Palestine (now Israel). > > In his article on "Babism" published that same year, Professor Browne wrote: "I say nothing of the mighty > influence which, as I believe, the Bábí faith will exert in the future, nor of the new life it may perchance breathe > into a dead people; for, whether it succeed or fail, the splendid heroism of the Bábí martyrs is a thing eternal and > indestructible." The "Bábí faith" that Browne spoke of evolved into the Baha'i Faith, which has since spread > worldwide to become the most widely diffused world religion next to Christianity, according to the 2001 World > Christian Encyclopedia. > > Today, Baha'is accept the Bab as a John the Baptist figure, whose words and actions heralded the arrival of > Bahá'u'lláh. However, unlike John the Baptist, the Bab revealed much in substance, both in terms of doctrine and > religious laws, that was subsequently revoiced and reenacted, with certain revisions, by Bahá'u'lláh. > > 1 of 2 02/11/11 12:42 PM > World Religions: Belief, Culture, and Controversy http://religion.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1571548?sid=1571... > > The Bab did not instruct his followers to formally observe the day of his birth; however, for that occasion, > Bahá'u'lláh had revealed the Lawh-i Mawlúd, which awaits an authorized translation. Today, Baha'is worldwide > annually celebrate the birth of the Bab on October 20 as a holy day, with work and school suspended for the day. > There being no required observances, Baha'is are free to creatively organize commemorative activities which, > although attended mostly by Baha'is, are open to people of all faiths and persuasions. > > J. Gordon Melton > > Further Reading > > Browne, Edward G. "Bábism." In Religious Systems of the World: A Contribution to the Study of Comparative > Religion. Edited by William Sheowring and Conrad W. Thies, 333–353. London: Swann Sonnenschein, 1892; > Eschraghi, Armin. "'Undermining the Foundations of Orthodoxy': Some Notes on the Báb's Shar'ah (Sacred > Law)." In A Most Noble Pattern: Essays in the Study of the Writings of the Báb. Edited by Todd Lawson. Oxford: > George Ronald, forthcoming; Keil, Gerald. Time and the Baha'i Era: A Study of the Badí' Calendar. Oxford: > George Ronald, 2008; Saiedi, Nader. Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Waterloo, ON: > Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2008. > > Select Citation Style: MLA > > MLA > Melton, J. Gordon. "birth of The Bab." World Religions: Belief, Culture, and Controversy. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. > 2 Nov. 2011. > > back to top Entry ID: 1571548 Server: WEB2 | Client IP: 50.101.52.243 | Session ID: > r4xsruunrbrl0za0uroucnpm | Token: 9DB63A75B772765CD9AAFC8DC4E65D15 > Referer: http://religion.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1571548 > > 2 of 2 02/11/11 12:42 PM > > — *Bab, Birth of (Used by permission of the curator)*