# Babiism

*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: E. G. Browne, Babiism, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Encyclopaedia Britannica,
> 1th Edition, 1910
> 
> v.3 AUS-BIS pp. 94-95
> 
> [The initials of author E.G.B. are identified in the introduction as identifying E. G. Browne.]
> 
> BÁBÍISM, the religion founded in Persia in a.d. 1844-1845 by Mírzá ‘Alí Muhammad of
> Shíráz, a young Sayyid who was at that time not twenty-five years of age. Before his
> "manifestation" (zukúr), of which he gives in the Persian Bayán a date corresponding to 23rd
> May 1844, he was a disciple of Sayyid Kazím of Rasht, the leader of the Shaykhís, a sect of
> extreme Shi'ites characterized by the doctrine (called by them Rukn-i-rábi', " the fourth support")
> that at all times there must exist an intermediary between the twelfth Imam and his faithful
> followers. This intermediary they called "the perfect Shíite,” and his prototype is to be found in
> the four successive Bábs or "gates" through whom alone the twelfth Imam, during the period of
> his " minor occultation " (Ghaybat-i-sughrá, a.d. 874-940), held communication with his
> partisans. It was in this sense, and not, as has been often asserted, in the sense of "Gate of God"
> or "Gate of Religion," that the title Báb was understood and assumed by Mírzá ‘Alí Muhammad;
> but, though still generally thus styled by non-Babís, he soon assumed the higher title of Nuqta
> ("Point"), and the title Báb, thus left vacant, was conferred on his ardent disciple, Mullá Husayn
> of Bushrawayh.
> 
> The history of the Bábís, though covering a comparatively abort period, is so full of incident
> and the particulars now available are so numerous, that the following account purports to be only
> the briefest sketch. The Báb himself was in captivity first at Shíráz, then at Mákú, and lastly at
> Chihríq, during the greater part of the six years (May 1844 until July 1850) of his brief career,
> but an active propaganda was earned on by his disciples, which resulted in several serious revolts
> against the government, especially after the death of Muhammad Sháh in September 1848. Of
> these risings the first (December 1848-July 1849) took place in Mázandarán, at the ruined shrine
> of Shaykh Tabarsí, near Bárfurúsh, where the Bábís, led by Mullá Muhammad ‘Alí of Bárfurúsh
> and Mullá Husayn of Bushrawayh ("the first who believed"), defied the shah's troops for seven
> months before they were finally subdued and put to death. The revolt at Zanjin in the north-west
> of Persia, headed by Mullá Muhammad 'Alí Zanjání, also lasted seven or eight months
> (May-December 1850), while a serious but less protracted struggle was waged against the
> government at Níríz in Fárs by Agá Sayyid Yahyá of Níríz. Both revolts were in progress when
> the Báb, with one of his devoted disciples, was brought from his prison at Chíríq to Tabríz and
> publicly shot in front of the arg or citadel. The body, after being exposed for some days, was
> recovered by the Bábís and conveyed to a shrine near Tehrán, whence it was ultimately removed
> to Acre in Syria, where it is now buried. For the next two years comparatively little was heard of
> the Bábís, but on the 15th of August 1852 three of them, acting on their own initiative, attempted
> to assassinate Násiru'd-Dín Sháh as he was returning from the chase to his palace at Niyávarán.
> The attempt failed, but was the cause of a fresh persecution, and on the 31st of August 1852
> some thirty Babís, including the beautiful and talented poetess Qurratu’l-‘Ayn, were put to death
> in Tehran with atrocious cruelty. Another of the victims of that day was Hájji Mírzá Jání of
> Káshán, the author of the oldest history of the movement from the Bábí point of view. Only one
> complete MS. of his invaluable work (obtained by Count Gobineau in Persia) exists in any public
> library, the Bibttothěque Nationale at Paris. The so-called " New History " (of which an English
> translation was published it Cambridge in 1893 by E. G. Browne) is based on Mírzá Janí's work,
> but many important passages which did not accord with later Bábí doctrine or policy have been
> suppressed or modified, while some additions have been made. The Báb was succeeded on his
> death by Mírzá Yahyá of Núr (at that time only about twenty years of age), who escaped to
> Bagdad, and, under the title of Subhi-Ezel ("the Morning of Eternity"), became the pontiff of the
> sect. He lived, however, in great seclusion, leaving the direction of affairs almost entirely in the
> hands of his elder half-brother (born 12th November 1817), Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí, entitled
> Bahá’u’lláh ("the Splendour of God"), who thus gradually became the most conspicuous and
> most influential member of the sect, though in the Igán, one of the most important polemical
> works of the Bábís, composed in 1858-1859, he still implicitly recognized the supremacy of
> Subh-i-Ezel. In 1863, however, Bahá declared himself to be "He whom God shall manifest"
> (Man Yuz-hiruhu'lláh, with prophecies of whose advent the works of the Báb are filled), and
> called on all the Bábís to recognize his claim. The majority responded, but Subh-i-Ezel and some
> of his faithful adherents refused. After that date the Bábís divided into two sects, Ezelís and
> Bahá’ís, of which the former steadily lost and the latter gained ground, so that in 1908 there were
> probably from half a million to a million of the latter, and at most only a hundred or two of the
> former. In 1863 the Bábís were, at the instance of the Persian government, removed from Bagdad
> to Constantinople, whence they were shortly afterwards transferred to Adrianople. In 1868 Bahá
> and his followers were exiled to Acre in Syria, and Subh-i-Ezel with his few adherents to
> Famagusta in Cyprus, where he was still living in 1908. Bahá’u’lláh died at Acre on the 16th of
> May 1892. His son 'Abbás Efendí (also called 'Abdu’l-Bahá, "the servant of Bahá") was
> generally recognized as his successor, but another of his four sons, Muhammad ‘Alí, put forward
> a rival claim. This caused a fresh and bitter schism, but 'Abbas Efendí steadily gained ground,
> and there could be little doubt as to his eventual triumph. The controversial literature connected
> with this latest schism is abundant, not only in Persian, but in English, for since 1900 many
> Americani have adopted the religion of Bahá. The original apostle of America was Ibrahim
> George Khayru'lláh, who began his propaganda at the Chicago Exhibition and later supported the
> claims of Muhammad ‘Alí. Several Persian missionaries, including the aged and learned Mírzá
> Abu’l-Fazl of Gulpáyagán, were thereupon despatched to America by 'Abbas Efendí, who was
> generally accepted by the American Baha'is as “the Master.” The American press contained
> many notices of the propaganda and its success. An interesting article on the subject, by Stoyan
> Krstoff Vatralsky of Boston, Mass., entitled “Mohammedan Gnosticism in America” appeared in
> the American Journal of Theology for January 1902, pp. 57-58.
> 
> A correct understanding of the doctrines of the early Bábís (now represented by the Ezelís) is
> hardly possible save to one who is conversant with the theology of Islám and its developments,
> and especially the tenets of the Shi’a. The Bábís are Muhammadans only in the sense that the
> Muhammadans are Christians or the Christians Jews; that is to say, they recognize Muhammad
> (Mahomet) as a true prophet and the Qurán (Koran) as a revelation, but deny their finality.
> Revelation, according to their view, is progressive, and no revelation is final, for, as the human
> race progresses, a fuller measure of truth, and ordinances more suitable to the age, are
> vouchsafed. The Divine Unity is incomprehensible, and can be known only through its
> Manifestations; to recognize the Manifestation of the cycle in which he lives is the supreme duty
> of man. Owing to the enormous volume and unsystematic character of the Bábí scriptures, and
> the absence of anything resembling church councils, the doctrine on many important points (such
> as the future life) is undetermined and vague. The resurrection of the body is denied, but some
> form of personal immortality is generally, though not universally, accepted. Great importance
> was attached to the mystical values of letters and numbers, especially the numbers 18 and 19
> ("the number of the unity") and 192 = 361 ("the number of all things"). In general, the Báb's
> doctrines most closely resembled those of the Isma'ílís and Hurúfís. In the hands of Bahá the
> aims of the sect became much more practical and ethical, and the wilder pantheistic tendencies
> and metaphysical hair-splittings of the early Bábís almost disappeared. The intelligence, integrity
> and morality of the Bábís are high, but their efforts to improve the social position of woman have
> been much exaggerated. They were in no way concerned (as was at the time falsely alleged) in
> the assassination of Násiru'd-Dín Sháh in May 1896. Of recent persecutions of the sect the two
> most notable took place at Yazd, one in May 1891, and another of greater ferocity in June 1903.
> Some account of the latter is given by Napier Malcolm in his book Fire Years in a Persian Town
> (London, 1905), pp. 87-89 and 186. In the constitutional movement in Persia (1907) the Bábís,
> though their sympathies are undoubtedly with the reformers, wisely refrained from outwardly
> identifying themselves with that party, to whom their open support, by alienating the orthodox
> mujtahids and mullás, would have proved fatal. Here, as in all their actions, they clearly obeyed
> orders issued from headquarters.
> 
> Literature.—The literature of the sect is very voluminous, but mostly in manuscript. The
> most valuable public collections in Europe are at St Petersburg, London (British Museum) and
> Paris (Bibliotheque Nationale), where two or three very rare MSS. collected by Gobineau,
> including the precious history of the Báb's contemporary. Hájji Mírzá Jání of Káshán, are
> preserved. For the bibliography up to 1889, see vol. ii. pp. 173-211 of the Traveller’s Narative,
> written to illustrate the Episode of the Báb, a Persian work composed by Bahá’s son, 'Abbas
> Efendí, edited, translated and annotated by E. G. Browne (Cambridge, 1891). More recent works
> are:—Browne, The New History of the Báb (Cambridge, 1893); and “Catalogue and Description
> of the 27 Babí Manuscripts." Journal of R. Asiat. Soc. (July and October 1892): Andreas, Die
> Bábís in Persien (1896); Baron Victor Rosen, Collections scientifiques de l’Institut des Langues
> orientales, vol. i (1877), pp. 179-212; vol iii (1886). pp. 1-51; vol. vi. (1891), pp. 141-255:
> Manuscrits Bábys": and other important articles in Russian by the same scholar: and by Captain
> A. G. Toumansky in the Zapiski vostochnava otdyéleniya Imperatorskava Russkava
> Archeologicheskava Obshchestva (vols, iv.-xii.. St Petersburg, 1890-1900); also an excellent
> edition by Toumansky, with Russian translation, notes and introduction, of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
> (the most important of Bahá’s works), &c. (St Petersburg, 1899). Mention should also be made
> of an Arabic history of the Bábís (unsympathetic but well-informed) written by a Persian, Mírzá
> Muhammad Mahdi Khan, Za'imu’d-Duwla, printed in Cairo in A.H. 1321 (=A.D. 1903-1904). Of
> the works composed in English for the American converts the most important arc:— Bahá’u’lláh
> (The Glory of God), by Ibrahim Khayru'llih. assisted by Howard MacNutt (Chicago, 1900); The
> Three Questions (n.d ) and Facts for Baháists (1901), by the same; Life and Teachings of ‘Abbas
> Efendi, by Myron H. Phelps, with preface by E. G. Browne (New York, 1903); Isabella
> Brittingham, The Revelations of Bahá’u’lláh, in a Sequence of Four Lessons (1902); Laura
> Clifford Burney, Some Answered Questions Collected [in Acre, 1904-1906) and Translated from
> the Persian of ,Abdu’l-Bahá [i.e. Abbas Efendí] (London, 1908). In French, A. L. M. Nicolas
> (first dragoman at the French legation at Tehran) has published several important translations,
> viz. Le Livre des sept preuves de la mission du Báb (Paris, 1902); Le Livre de la certitude
> (1904); and Le Beyán arabe (1905); and there are other notable works of H. Dreyfus, an adherent
> of the Babí faith. Lastly, mention should be made of a remarkable but scarce little tract by
> Gabriel Sacy, printed at Cairo in June 1902, and entitled Du regue de Dien et de l’Agueau, connu
> sous le nom de Babysme.
> 
> (E. G. B.)
>
> — *Babiism (Used by permission of the curator)*