# The Bab and the Babi Community of Iran

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-20 — 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: Fereydun Vahman, The Bab and the Babi Community of Iran, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> The Báb and the Bábí Community of Iran
> 
> Fereydun Vahman, editor
> 
> Oneworld Academic, London, 2020
> 
> 1. The three items from this book currently online (in earlier versions)
> 
> Interpretation as Revelation:
> The Qur'an Commentary of the Báb, by Todd Lawson
> 
> Social Basis of the Bábí Upheavals in Iran (1848-1853): A Preliminary Analysis, by Moojan Momen
> 
> The Bábí-State Conflict at Shaykh Tabarsí, by Siyamak Zabihi-Moghaddam (see also 2002 version and audio)
> 
> 2. Complete contents, for reference (from bahai.works)
> 
> Biographies
> 
> Acknowledgments
> 
> A Note on Transliteration
> 
> Map
> 
> Preface
> 
> 1. THE BAB: A SUN IN A NIGHT NOT FOLLOWED BY DAWN
> 
> Fereydun Vahman
> translated by Adib Masumian
> 
> The Bab Discontinues his Formal Education and Begins his Mercantile Work
> 
> Epiphany, Piety, and Intuition
> 
> The Bab’s Journey to the Sacred Shrine Cities of ‘Iraq
> 
> The Bab’s Return to Shiraz and Marriage
> 
> The Declaration of the Bab’s Cause: The Birth of a New Religion
> 
> After the Declaration of the Bab’s Cause
> 
> Mulla ‘Ali Bastami
> 
> The Bab’s Eventful Journey to Mecca
> 
> The Bab’s Return from Pilgrimage and the Events of Shiraz
> 
> The Bab in Isfahan
> 
> From Isfahan to Azarbaijan
> 
> The Trial of Tabriz
> 
> The Return to Chihriq Prison
> 
> The Execution of the Bab in Tabriz
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> 2. THE WORLDVIEW OF THE BAB: THE RECONSTRUCTION OF RELIGION AND SOCIETY
> 
> Nader Saiedi
> 
> Reconstruction of the Idea of Religion: Dialectical Logic and Historical Consciousness
> 
> Reconstruction of the Idea of the Human Being and Human Identity
> 
> Rationalism and Humanism
> 
> Equality of the Believers and Canceling of the Authority of the Clerics
> 
> Centrality of the Word and the Rejection of Miracles
> 
> Reconstruction of Heaven, Hell, and the Day of Resurrection
> 
> Reconstruction of the Concept of the Occultation and Return of the Imam
> 
> Equal Rights, Social Justice, and Ethics
> 
> Station of Women, Rejection of Patriarchy
> 
> The Ethical Maxim: For the Sake of God
> 
> Culture of Affirmation
> 
> Development and Modernization: Perfection and Refinement
> 
> Conclusion
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> 3. THE SHAPING OF THE BABI COMMUNITY: MERCHANTS, ARTISANS, AND OTHERS
> 
> Abbas Amanat
> 
> The Changing Economy
> 
> The Babi Merchants
> 
> The Babi Artisans
> 
> Converts from the Government Ranks
> 
> The Babi Community: An Assessment
> 
> Selected Bibliography
> 
> 4. FROM A PRIMAL POINT TO AN ARCHETYPAL BOOK: LITERARY TRAJECTORIES THROUGH SELECT WRITINGS OF THE BAB (1819-50)
> 
> Stephen N. Lambden
> 
> The Writings of the Bab, Some Preliminary Observations
> 
> Bayan/Mubin (“Crystal Clear”) yet “Abstruse, Bewilderingly Abstruse (sa‘b mustasa‘b)”: Exegetical Clarity and Esoteric Depth in the Writings of the Bab
> 
> The Shahada (Testimony of Faith) and its Alphabetical Mysteries
> 
> Esoterica, the Abstruse, Sciences of the Unseen (‘ulūm al-ghayb)
> 
> The Style, Grammar, and Syntax of the Bab
> 
> Personal Letters, “Scriptural Tablets” (Lawh, pl. Alwah)
> 
> Letters or Scriptural Tablets
> 
> The Genesis of the New Shari‘a (Laws), the Khasa’il-i Sab‘a (mid. 1845)
> 
> The All-Comprehensive Bayan (Exposition) of the Bab
> 
> The Five Modes of Revelation
> 
> Devotional Writings of the Bab
> 
> Tafsir Sūrat al-Hamd (Praise) or al-Fatiha (“The Opening,” Q.1)
> 
> “We indeed proffered thee al-Kawthar (The Abundance).”
> 
> Hadith Commentary
> 
> Commentaries on Hadith Texts by the Bab
> 
> Sūrat al-Ridwan
> 
> Khutbas, Literary Orations
> 
> The Khutba al-Jidda (Literary Oration Nigh Jeddah)
> 
> The Khutba on ‘ilm al-huruf (On the “Science of the Letters”)
> 
> Select Treatises (Risala, pl. Rasa’il), Epistles (Ṣahifa, pl. Ṣuhuf) and Other Scriptural Communications
> 
> The Risala fi’l-nubuwwa al-khassa (A Treatise on the Specific Prophethood of Muhammad)
> 
> Epistles, Treatises, Booklets (Ṣahifa, pl. Ṣuhuf)
> 
> The Persian Dala’il-i sab‘a (Seven Proofs)
> 
> The Arabic al-dala’il al-sab‘a (Seven Proofs)
> 
> Kitab al-asma’/Kull shay’ (The Book of the Divine Names, the “All Things”)
> 
> Kitab-i panj sha‘n (The Book expressive of Five Modes of Revelation)
> 
> The (Lawh-i) Haykal al-din (“Temple of Religion”) (1266/early-mid-1850)
> 
> The Late Messianism of the Bab
> 
> The Wasiyyat-nama (Will and Testament) Attributed to the Bab
> 
> Concluding Summary Note
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> 5. INTERPRETATION AS REVELATION: THE QURAN COMMENTARY OF THE BAB, SAYYID ‘ALÍ MUḤAMMAD SHÍRÁZÍ (1819-50)
> 
> Todd Lawson
> 
> Life of the Báb
> 
> The Shaykhí School
> 
> Shaykhí Teachings
> 
> Tafsír Works
> 
> Tafsír súrat al-baqara
> 
> Tafsír súrat Yúsuf
> 
> Conclusions
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> 6. THE SOCIAL BASIS OF THE BĀBĪ UPHEAVALS IN IRAN (1848-53): A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS
> 
> Moojan Momen
> 
> Introduction
> 
> The Shaykh Ṭabarsī Upheaval: 1848-49
> 
> Total Number of Bābīs at Shaykh Ṭabarsī
> 
> Rural/Urban Origin of Bābī Participants at Shaykh Ṭabarsī
> 
> The Nayrīz Upheavals of 1850 and 1853
> 
> Occupations of Bābī Participants in the Two Nayrīz Upheavals
> 
> Origins of Participants at the Two Nayrīz Upheavals
> 
> Total Numbers of Bābī Participants at the Two Nayrīz Upheavals
> 
> The Zanjān Upheaval: 1850-51
> 
> Occupations of Bābī Participants at Zanjān
> 
> Origins of Bābī Participants at Zanjān
> 
> Total Numbers of Bābī Participants at Zanjān
> 
> The Tehran Episodes of 1850 and 1852
> 
> The Seven Martyrs of Tehran, 1850
> 
> The Tehran Executions of 1852
> 
> Occupations of the Bābīs Executed in Tehran in 1852
> 
> Conclusions
> 
> A Comparative Analysis
> 
> The Role of Women
> 
> Other Social Groups
> 
> The Social Basis of Babism
> 
> 7. THE BABI-STATE CONFLICTS OF 1848-50
> 
> Siyamak Zabihi-Moghaddam
> 
> Babi Clashes with the State: Neither Social Protest nor Offensive Holy War
> 
> Review of the Primary Sources of the Babi Upheavals
> 
> An Outline of the Conflict at Shaykh Tabarsi, September 1848—May 1849
> 
> The Objectives of the Babis at Shaykh Tabarsi
> 
> The Calm between Storms: May 1849-May 1850
> 
> The Nayriz Conflict of May—June 1850
> 
> An Analysis of the Objectives of Vahid and the Babis in Nayriz
> 
> Hujjat and the ‘Ulama’ of Zanjan
> 
> The Zanjan Episode of May 1850—January 1851
> 
> An Analysis of the Objectives of Hujjat and the Zanjani Babis
> 
> Conclusion
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> 8. FROM BABI MOVEMENT TO THE BAHA'I FAITH: SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF A NEW RELIGION
> 
> Armin Eschraghi
> 
> Some General Observations on the Bab’s Sacred Law
> 
> Messianism in the Bab’s Writings
> 
> The Later Development of the Babi Movement
> 
> Baha’u’llah After the Bab’s Martyrdom
> 
> Babi Messianism and the Question of Leadership
> 
> Some General Observations on Baha’u’llah’s Sacred Law
> 
> Some Further Observations on the Baha’i Faith’s Evolution from the Babi Movement
> 
> Messianism
> 
> Ritual Impurity (najasah)
> 
> Holy War and Religious Legitimization of Violence
> 
> Conclusion
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> 9. “THE HAND OF GOD IS NOT CHAINED UP”: NOTES ON TWO SALIENT THEMES IN THE PROSE WRITINGS OF ṬÁHIRIH QURRATU’L-‘AYN
> 
> Omid Ghaemmaghami
> 
> Introduction
> 
> Progressive Revelation
> 
> Love, Friendship, and Forbearance
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> 10. BABI-BAHA’I BOOKS AND BELIEVERS IN E. G. BROWNE’S A YEAR AMONGST THE PERSIANS
> 
> Sholeh A. Quinn
> 
> Introduction
> 
> Terminology and Identifications
> 
> Isfahan
> 
> Shiraz
> 
> Books in Shiraz
> 
> Reading in Shiraz
> 
> Yazd
> 
> Kirman
> 
> Conclusion
> 
> The Texts Browne Encountered in Iran
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> Index
> 
> METADATA
> 
> Views3138 views since posted 2025-03-28; last edit 2025-04-04 13:11 UTC;
> 
> previous at archive.org.../vahman_bab_babi_community
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> Shortlink: bahai-library.com/6847
> Citation: ris/6847
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> — *The Bab and the Babi Community of Iran (Used by permission of the curator)*