# Iran: Province of Khurasan

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-19 — 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: Moojan Momen, Iran: Province of Khurasan, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Iran: Province of Khurásán
> 
> Moojan Momen
> 
> 1994
> 
> The north-east province of Iran, its capital is Mashhad, an important
> religious center on account of the presence there of the shrine of the
> eighth Imam, `Alí ar-Ridá. Although in former times, the
> boundaries of Khurásán had extended as far as the
> Oxus river (now called Amu Darya), during the period of Qajar rule, Iranian
> control of the north-eastern parts of this area became increasingly tenuous
> until the Russians moved in from the middle of the nineteenth century onwards.
> The boundary between Iran and the Russian Empire was fixed in 1881. The
> population of this province is mainly Iranian and Shi`i although there
> are some Kurds and Turkoman tribesmen who are Sunni. The area of Qúhistán
> in the south of this province has always been an Ismá`ílí
> stronghold.
> Six of the Báb's Letters of the Living were from Khurásán
> as were many prominent followers such as Mullá Sádiq Muqaddas
> (q.v.) and Shaykh `Alí `Azím Turshízí
> (executed 1852). Bábí communities were established in most
> of the major towns in this province as well as in some of the villages,
> in particular the villages in the Turbat-i-Haydarí area: Dughábád
> (known among Bahá's as Furúgh) and Faydábád;
> as well as Hissár and of course Bushrúyih. In Mashhad,
> the home of Mírzá Muhammad-Báqir-i-Qá'iní
> became the center of Bábí activities becoming known as the
> "Bábyyih" (which is now regarded as a holy place by Bahá'ís).
> Here Mullá Husayn Bushrú'í and Quddús
> taught and numerous people were converted. It was near Mashhad that
> the Black Standard was unfurled by Mullá Husayn as he set off for
> his eventual martyrdom at
> 
> ShaykhTabarsí.
> 
> When Bahá'u'lláh first made his open claim from Edirne
> in about 1866, he immediately sent Nabíl Zarandí to Khurásán.
> Through him and such persons as Mírzá Ahmad Yazdí
> and Mírzá Ja`far Yazdí the majority of Bábís
> in this province became Bahá'ís. This included such prominent
> names as Mullá Mahmúd Furúghí, Mullá
> Sádiq Muqaddas (q.v.) and Hájí `Abdu'l-Majíd
> Nishapúrí (martyred 1877). There is no mention of
> any Azalí remnant here.
> 
> A number of important government officers as well as other notables
> of the province either became Bahá'ís or were sympathetic:
> in Mashhad, Mírzá `Alí-Ridá Mustasháru'd-Dawlih
> (d. 1298/1881) and Mírzá Muhammad-Ridá Mutaminu's-Saltanih
> (poisoned 1890), who were government finance officers (mustawfis)
> were Bahá'ís, together with other members of their families;
> in Tabas, the governor, Mírzá Muhammad-Báqir Khán,
> `Imádu'l-Mulk, was a Bahá'í as was his son and successor,
> `Alí-Akbar Khán (d. 1319/1901); in Qúchán,
> the governor, Shuja`u'd-Dawlih, was very sympathetic and his son Hasan
> `Alí Khán was a Bahá'í; the leading
> cleric in Sabzivár, Hájí Ibráhím Khán
> 
> Shari`atmadar, and in Tabas, Mullá `Abdu'l-`Azím Mujtahid,
> were sympathetic and, according to some accounts, secret converts. The
> former had met the Báb in Isfahan. Perhaps the most well-known Bahá'í
> of this province was Hájí Shaykhu'r-Ra'ís,
> a Qájár prince who was a prominent figure in the reform movement.
> 
> One consequence of the sympathy of these highly-placed government officials
> and clerics was that there was little persecution of the Bahá'ís
> in the early years of this period. Most of the prominent `ulamá,
> for example, had dealings with Mutaminu's-Saltanih, who was responsible
> for assessing their tax liability to the government, and they were well
> aware of his religious adherence. Due to the relative safety afforded by
> having such high government officials sympathetic to the Bahá'í
> Faith, a number of Bahá'ís from such places as Isfahan migrated
> to Sabzivár and Quchán. Some Bahá'ís
> moved from Khurásán to Ashkhabad and other places
> in Turkistan.
> 
> The protection did not encompass the whole province, however, and in
> a few places such as Nishápúr and Turbat-i Haydarí,
> the governors were unfriendly towards the Bahá'ís. The one
> major martyrdom that did occur in this province during the early period
> of Bahá'u'lláh's ministry was that of Hájí
> `Abdu'l-Majíd Nishapúri, the father of Badí`,
> in 1877. This episode was instigated by a cleric who was not a native of
> Khurásán and was only temporarily there,
> 
> ShaykhMuhammad-Báqir
> of Isfahan (q.v., "the Wolf"). As this earlier generation of highly-placed
> protectors of the Bahá'í community died out, however, a number
> of episodes of persecution began to occur, such as the martyrdom of Hájí
> Muhammad-i-Turk in Mashhad in 1898, of Ismá`íl-i-Kadkhudá
> in Hissár in 1909, and of Shaykh `Alí-Akbar-i-Qúchání
> in 1915.
> 
> The Bahá'í Faith expanded in many of the towns and villages
> of Khurásán. In Mashhad itself there was steady
> increase in numbers. Shaykh Ahmad, known as Shaykh
> 
> Fání (executed 1867), took the new religion to Nishápúr
> and to his home village of Ma`múrih (Fu'ádí 249-50.
> ZH 6:127). The Bahá'í community in the Turbat-i Haydarí
> area continued to expand and took a new direction when a number of the
> Jews in that area were converted. They had begun to be interested when
> Mullá Ahmad Azghandí had been arrested in his home
> village and brought to Turbat in fetters during the Bábí
> period. Later they were converted by Karbalá'í Ya`qúb
> in about 1290/1873 (Fu'ádí 183-6; ZH6:134-5). These then
> began to convert their co-religionists in Mashhad (in fact these were Jews
> whose families had been forcibly converted to Islam in the previous century
> but kept their former religion in secret) so that by the 1890s there were
> some 60 Jewish converts at meetings in Mashhad (See Fu'ádí
> 183-194; ZH6:133-136). Shaykh Muhammad-`Alí Hidáyat
> began the first school to be run along modern lines in Mashhad,
> and later began schools in other towns in Khurásán.
> A Bahá'í school was begun in Bushrúyih
> 
> In Námiq and Hissár, two villages in the Turshíz
> area, Shaykh Ahmad Mu`allim, one of the leading religious
> authorities of the area and a former Shaykhí brought
> a large number to the Bábí movement and these later became
> Bahá'ís (Fu'ádí 275-285). In Tún, Áqá
> Mír Muhammad Bayk (d. 1317/1899) and his son Hájí
> 
> Sháh Khalílu'lláh Bayk, who was descended
> through his mother from Sháh Ni`matu'lláh Walí
> the famous Sufi Shaykh, both notables of the town, became known as Bahá'ís.
> Later a number of other prominent individuals in Tún were converted
> (Fu'ádí, pp. 334-339; ZH6:75-7). In Tabas, Hájí
> Mír `Abdu'r-Rahím Bayk, a prominent citizen of the town converted
> and while he was alive, the Bahá'ís were free to propagate
> the religion. After his death in 1297/1880, however, a certain amount of
> opposition arose (ZH6:77-9). From about 1300/1882-3 onwards, a number of
> Bahá'ís settled in the Gunábád area and a number
> of the notables of the area were converted (Fu'ádí 352-354).
> In Bushrúyih, there was a steady stream of conversions, several
> from among the `ulamá.
> 
> Áqá Muhammad Nabíl Akbar (q.v.), after having studied
> in Iraq and obtained a certificate of recognition from Shaykh
> Murtadá Ansárí, the foremost religious authority of
> the time, and having taught at a religious college in Tehran, returned
> to Qá'in. He immediately became one of the religious leaders of
> the town. During his travels, however, he had encountered the Bahá'ís
> and had even met Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad and was now a Bahá'í.
> He began to teach the new religion in Qá'in. One of his early converts
> was Áqá Muhammad `Alí Nabíl Qá'iní.
> Within a short time there were some 150 Bahá'ís in Qá'in
> (ZH6:98-102).
> 
> During the time of `Abdu'l-Bahá, the Bahá'í community
> of Khurásán continued to expand and there were a number
> of important conversions such as that of Shaykh `Ali-Akbar
> of Quchán and later Siyyid `Abbas `Alaví in Mashhad
> in 1341/1922.
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> Hasan Fu'ádí Bushrú'í, Manázirih
> Táríkh Nihdat Amr Bahá'í dar Khurásán,
> copy of typed manuscript in Afnan Library. ZH 3:112-175; 6:22-137; 8a:200-263
> 
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> Views8626 views since posted 2010-08-10; last edit 2023-10-05 18:44 UTC;
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> — *Iran: Province of Khurasan (Used by permission of the curator)*