Bábism

Bábism, also known as the Bábi Faith[1] (Persian: ‫بابیه‬, romanized:  Babiyye), is a monotheistic
religion which professes that there is one incorporeal, unknown, and incomprehensible God[2][3]
who manifests his will in an unending series of theophanies, called Manifestation of God. It has no
more than a few thousand adherents according to current estimates, most of whom are
concentrated in Iran.[4][5][6] It was founded by ʻAli Muhammad Shirazi who first assumed the title
of Báb (lit. 'Gate') from which the religion gets its name, out of the belief that he was the gate to the
Twelfth Imam.[7] However, throughout his ministry his titles and claims underwent much
evolution as the Báb progressively outlined his teachings.[8]

Founded in 1844, the Bábi Faith flourished in Iran until 1852, then lingered on in exile in the
Ottoman Empire, especially Cyprus, as well as underground in Iran. An anomaly amongst Islamic
messianic movements, the Bábí movement signaled a break with Shia Islam, beginning a new
religious system with its own unique laws, teachings, and practices. While Bábism was violently
opposed by both clerical and government establishments, it led to the founding of the Baháʼí Faith,
whose followers consider the religion founded by the Báb as a predecessor to their own. Baháʼí
sources maintain that the remains of the Bab were clandestinely rescued by a handful of Bábis and
then hidden. Over time the remains were secretly transported according to the instructions of
Baháʼu'lláh and then ʻAbdu'l-Bahá through Isfahan, Kermanshah, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, and
then by sea to Acre on the plain below Mount Carmel in 1899.[9] On 21 March 1909, the remains
were interred in a special tomb, the Shrine of the Báb, erected for this purpose by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, on
Mount Carmel in present-day Haifa, Israel.[10]

Contents
Etymology
History
Antecedents
Origin
Spread
Uprisings and massacres
Fort Tabarsi
Zanjan upheaval
Nayriz upheaval
After the execution of the Báb
Baháʼí/Bábí split
Beliefs and teachings
Hidden Imam
Resurrection, Judgment Day and cyclical revelation
Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest
Religious law
Writings
Outside reception
See also
References
Citations
Bibliography
Further reading
External links

Etymology
Bábism, a term originating from Orientalists rather than the followers of the religion, comes from
the Arabic noun bab (Arabic: ‫)باب‬, meaning gate. Additionally, Bayání comes from the triliteral root
B-Y-N which forms a class of words relating to concepts of clarity, differentiation, and separation,
including Bayán which can refer to explanation, commentary, or exposition as well as the branch
of Arabic rhetoric dealing with metaphors and interpretation.[11]

History

Antecedents

Twelver Shia Muslims regard the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, as the last of the
imams.[12] They contend that Muhammad al-Mahdi went into the Occultation in 874 CE, at which
time communication between the Imam and the Muslim community could only be performed
through mediators called bābs ('gates') or nā'ibs ('representatives').[13] In 940, the fourth nā'ib
claimed that Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi had gone into an indefinite "Major Occultation", and
that he would cease to communicate with the people. According to Twelver belief, the Hidden
Imam is alive in the world, but in concealment from his enemies, and that he would only emerge
shortly before the Last Judgment. At that time, acting as al-Qa'im ("He who will arise"), a
messianic figure also known as the Mahdi ("He who is rightly guided"), the Hidden Imam would
start a holy war against evil, would defeat the unbelievers, and would start a reign of justice.[13]

In 1830s Qajar Persia, Sayyid Kazim Rashti was the leader of the Shaykhis, a sect of Twelvers. The
Shaykhis were a group expecting the imminent appearance of al-Qāʾim. At the time of Kazim's
death in 1843, he had counselled his followers to leave their homes to seek the Lord of the Age
whose advent would soon break on the world.[14]

Origin

On 22 May,[15] 1844 Mullá Husayn of Boshruyeh in Khorasan, a

The room in the Báb's house in
Shiraz where he declared his
mission to Mulla Husayn.
prominent disciple of Sayyid Kāẓim, entered Shiraz following
the instruction by his master to search for al-Qā'im. Soon after
he arrived in Shiraz, Mullá Husayn came into contact with the
Báb. On the night of 22 May 1844, Mulla Husayn was invited by
the Báb to his home; on that night Mullá Husayn told him that
he was searching for the possible successor to Sayyid Kāẓim, al-
Qā'im, and the Báb told Mullá Husayn privately that he was
Sayyid Kāẓim's successor and the bearer of divine
knowledge.[16] Through the night of the 22nd to dawn of the
23rd, Mulla Husayn became the first to accept the Báb's claims
as the gateway to Truth and the initiator of a new prophetic
cycle;[14][16] the Báb had replied in a satisfactory way to all of Mullá Husayn's questions and had
written in his presence, with extreme rapidity, a long commentary on the surah of Yusuf, which has
come to be known as the Qayyūmu l-Asmā' and is often considered the Báb's first revealed
work,[14] though he had before then composed a commentary on Surat al-Fatihah and Surat al-
Baqara.[17] This night and the following day are observed in the Baháʼí Faith as a holy day since
then.

After Mulla Husayn accepted the Báb's claim, the Báb ordered him to wait until 17 others had
independently recognized the station of the Báb before they could begin teaching others about the
new revelation.

Within five months, seventeen other disciples of Sayyid Kāẓim had independently recognized the
Báb as a Manifestation of God.[18] Among them was one woman, Zarrin Tāj Baraghāni, a poet, who
later received the name of Táhirih (the Pure). These 18 disciples were later to be known as the
Letters of the Living and were given the task of spreading the new faith across Iran and Iraq.[16]
The Báb emphasized the spiritual station of these 18 individuals, who along with himself, made the
first "Unity" of his religion.[19]

After his declaration, he soon assumed the title of the Báb. Within a few years the movement
spread all over Iran, causing controversy. His claim was at first understood by some of the public at
the time to be merely a reference to the Gate of the Hidden Imám of Muhammad, but this
understanding he publicly disclaimed. He later proclaimed himself, in the presence of the heir to
the Throne of Persia and other notables, to be al-Qā'im. In the Báb's writings, the Báb appears to
identify himself as the gate (báb) to Muhammad al-Mahdi and later he begins to explicitly proclaim
his station as equivalent to that of the Hidden Imam and a new messenger from God.[7] Saiedi
states the exalted identity the Báb was claiming was unmistakable, but due to the reception of the
people, his writings appear to convey the impression that he is only the gate to the Hidden Twelfth
Imam.[7] To his circle of early believers, the Báb was equivocal about his exact status, gradually
confiding in them that he was not merely a gate to the Hidden Imam, but the Manifestation of the
Hidden Imam and al-Qā'im himself.[20] During his early meetings with Mullá Husayn, the Báb
described himself as the Master and the Promised One; he did not consider himself just Sayyid
Kāẓim Rashti's successor, but claimed a prophetic status, with a sense of deputyship delegated to
him not just from the Hidden Imam, but from Divine authority;[21] His early texts, such as the
Commentary on the Sura of Yusuf, used Qurʼanic language that implied divine authority and
identified himself effectively with the Imam.[16][22] When Mullā ʿAlī Basṭāmī, the second Letter of
the Living, was put on trial in Baghdad for preaching about the Báb, the clerics studied the
Commentary on the Sura of Yusuf, recognized in it a claim to divine revelation, and quoted from it
extensively to prove that the author had made a messianic claim.[23]

Spread

The Babi movement… [became] an important catalyst of social progressiveness in mid-

nineteenth-century Iran, promoting interreligious peace, social equality between the
sexes and revolutionary anti-monarchism. Babism was a reflection of an older Iran that
had been mass-producing messiahs in opposition to mainstream Islam since the
seventh century…. And yet the new current was also a product of Iran’s grappling with
novelty and change, and [the Babi movement] went on to present a vision of modernity
that was based on secularism, internationalism, and the rejection of war. It is this vision
which has enabled it to survive to the present day - as Bahaism, which emerged from
Babism in the late nineteenth century - in pockets and communities peopled by 5 five
million souls, and which qualifies it for inclusion in any narrative about modernisation
in the Middle East.[24]
The Báb's message was disseminated by the Letters of the Living through Iran and southern Iraq.
One of these initial activities was communicated to the West starting 8 January 1845 as an
exchange of diplomatic reports concerning the fate of Mullá ʿAli-e Bastāmi, the second Letter.[25]
These were exchanges between Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet who wrote first to Stratford
Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe. Followups continued until in 1846 he was sentenced
by the Ottomans to serve in the naval shipyards at hard labor—the Ottoman ruler refusing to
banish him as it would be "difficult to control his activities and prevent him spreading his false
ideas."[25] Seperately each of the Letters and other early believers were sent on various missions to
begin public presentations of the new religion. Indeed various activities the Báb initiated were
devolved to various Letters of the Living like preaching activities and answering questions from the
community.[26] In particular, as these first public activities multiplied, opposition by the Islamic
clergy arose and prompted the Governor of Shiraz to order the Báb's arrest. The Báb, upon hearing
of the arrest order, left Bushehr for Shiraz in June 1845 and presented himself to the authorities.
This series of events become the first public account of the new religion in the West when they were
published 1 November 1845 in The Times of London.[27] The story was also carried from 15
November by the Literary Gazette[28] which was subsequently echoed widely.[29] Meanwhile the
Báb was placed under house arrest at the home of his uncle, and was restricted in his personal
activities, until a cholera epidemic broke out in the city in September 1846.[16]

The Báb was released and departed for Isfahan. There, many came to see him at the house of the
imám jum'ih, head of the local clergy, who became sympathetic. After an informal gathering where
the Báb debated the local clergy and displayed his speed in producing instantaneous verses, his
popularity soared.[30] After the death of the Governor of Isfahan, Manouchehr Khan Gorji, an
Iranian Georgian,[31] who had become his supporter, pressure from the clergy of the province led
to the Shah, Mohammad Shah Qajar, ordering the Báb to Tehran in January, 1847.[32] After
spending several months in a camp outside Tehran, and before the Báb could meet the Shah, the
Prime Minister sent the Báb to Tabriz in the northwestern corner of the country, and later Maku
and Chehriq, where he was confined.[16] During his confinement, he was said to have impressed his
jailers with his patience and dignity.[33] Communication between the Báb and his followers was not
completely severed but was quite difficult, and more responsibilities were devolved to the
Letters[26] as he was not able to elucidate his teachings to the public.[34] With Bábí teachings now
mostly spread by his followers, they faced increasing persecution themselves.[34]

The role played by Táhirih in Karbalāʾ was particularly significant. She began an effort of
innovation in religion based on her station as a Letter of the Living and the incarnation of Fatimah.
In his early teachings, the Báb emphasized observing Sharia and extraordinary acts of piety.
However, his claim of being the Bāb, i.e. the authority direct from God, was in conflict with this
more conservative position of supporting Sharia. Táhirih innovated an advance in the
understanding of the priority of the Báb's station above that of Islamic Sharia by wedding the
concept of the Bāb's overriding religious authority with ideas originating in Shaykhism pointing to
an age after outward conformity. She seems to have made this connection circa 1262/1846 even
before the Bāb himself. The matter was taken up by the community at large at the Conference of
Badasht.[26]

This conference was one of the most important events of the Bábí movement when in 1848 its split
from Islam and Islamic law was made clear.[14] Three key individuals who attended the conference
were Baháʼu'lláh, Quddús, and Táhirih. Táhirih, during the conference, was able to persuade many
of the others about the Bábí split with Islam based on the station of the Báb and an age after
outward conformity. She appeared at least once during the conference in public without a veil,
heresy within the Islamic world of that day, signalling the split.[14] During this same month the Báb
was brought to trial in Tabriz and made his claim to be the Mahdi public to the Crown Prince and
the Shiʻa clergy.[35]
Several sources agree that by 1848 or 1850 there were 100,000 converts to Babism.[36] In the fall of
1850 newspaper coverage fell behind quickly unfolding events. Though the Báb was named[37][38]
for the first time he had in fact already been executed.

Uprisings and massacres

By 1848 the increased fervour of the Bábís and the clerical opposition had led to a number of
confrontations between the Bábís and their government and clerical establishment.[35] After the
death of Mohammad Shah Qajar, the shah of Iran, a series of armed struggles and uprisings broke
out in the country, including at Tabarsi.[35] These confrontations all resulted in Bábí massacres;
Baháʼí authors give an estimate of 20,000 Bábís killed from 1844 to present, with most of the
deaths occurring during the first 20 years.[39] Former Professor of Islamic Studies Denis MacEoin
studied documented deaths, both for individuals and for round figures, from Bábí, Baháʼí,
European, and Iranian sources, and confirmed at most two to three thousand.[39][40][41] He stated
that he could not find evidence for any higher figures.[40][41] Supporters of the Bábís paint their
struggle as basically defensive in nature; Shiʻi writers on the other hand point to this period as
proof of the subversive nature of Bábísm. MacEoin has pointed out that the Bábís did arm
themselves, upon the Báb's instructions, and originally intended an uprising, but that their
eventual clashes with state forces were defensive, and not considered an offensive jihad. In mid-
1850 a new prime-minister, Amir Kabir, was convinced that the Bábí movement was a threat and
ordered the execution of the Báb which was followed by the killings of many Bábís.[35]

Fort Tabarsi

Of the conflicts between the Bábís and the establishment,

the first and best known took place in Māzandarān at the
remote shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi, about 22 kilometres
southeast of Bārfarush (modern Babol). From October
1848 until May 1849, around 300 Bábís (later rising to
600), led by Quddús and Mullá Husayn, defended
themselves against the attacks of local villagers and
members of the Shah's army under the command of
Prince Mahdi Qoli Mirza.[42] They were, after being Shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí
weakened through attrition and starvation, subdued
through false promises of safety, and put to death or sold
into slavery.[14][42]

Zanjan upheaval

The revolt at the fortress of ʿAli Mardan Khan in Zanjan in northwest Iran was by far the most
violent of all the conflicts. It was headed by Mullā Muhammad ʻAli Zanjani, called Hujjat, and also
lasted seven or eight months (May 1850 – January 1851). The Bábí community in the city had
swelled to around 3000 after the conversion of one of the town's religious leaders to the Bábí
movement.[43] The conflict was preceded by years of growing tension between the leading Islamic
clergy and the new rising Bábí leadership. The city governor ordered that the city be divided into
two sectors, with hostilities starting soon thereafter.[43] The Bábís faced resistance against a large
number of regular troops, and led to the death of several thousand Bábís.[43] After Hujjat was
killed, and the Bábí numbers being greatly reduced, the Bábís surrendered in January 1851 and
were massacred by the army.[43]

Nayriz upheaval
Meanwhile, a serious but less protracted struggle was waged against the government at Neyriz in
Fars by Yahya Vahid Darabi of Nayriz. Vahid had converted around 1500 people in the community
and had thus caused tensions with the authorities which led to an armed struggle in a nearby
fort.[44] The Bábís resisted attacks by the town's governor as well as further reinforcements. After
being given a truce offer on 17 June 1850, Vahid told his followers to give up their positions, which
led to Vahid and the Bábís being killed; the Bábí section of the town was also plundered, and the
property of the remaining Bábís seized.[44] Later, in March 1853 the governor of the city was killed
by the Bábís. These further events led to a second armed conflict near the city where the Bábís once
again resisted troop attacks until November 1853, when a massacre of Bábís happened, with their
women being enslaved.[44]

After the execution of the Báb

The revolts in Zanjan and Nayriz were in progress when

in 1850 the Báb, with one of his disciples, was brought
from his prison at Chehriq citadel, which was called jabal
alshadid meaning mount extreme by Báb, to Tabriz and
publicly shot in front of the citadel. The body, after being
exposed for some days, was recovered by the Bábís and
conveyed to a shrine near Tehran, whence it was
ultimately removed to Haifa, where it is now
enshrined.[1][9]

Most western scholars who reviewed the Faith of the Báb The Shrine of the Báb in Haifa
after 1860 saw it as a way of letting in Western and
Christian ideals into "a closed and rigid Moslem system"
and giving the Báb himself sometimes less or more credit for being authentic in the process.[25]
However some went further. In 1866 British diplomat Robert Grant Watson (b. 8 February 1834, d.
28 October 1892) published a history of the first 58 years of the 19th century of Persia[45][46] and
would serve in several diplomatic capacities[47] Watson summarizes the impact of the Báb in
Persia:

Bábism, though at present a proscribed religion in Persia, is far from being extinct, or
even declining, and the Báb may yet contest with Mahomed (sic) the privilege of being
regarded as the real prophet of the faithful. Bábism in its infancy was the cause of a
greater sensation than that even which was produced by the teaching of Jesus, if we
may judge from the account of Josephus of the first days of Christianity.[45]

Latter commentators also noted these kinds of views: Ernest Renan,[48] Stephen Greenleaf
Bulfinch,[49] son of Charles Bulfinch, and others.[50]

For the next two years comparatively little was heard of the Bábís. The Bábís became polarized
with one group speaking of violent retribution against Naser al-Din Shah Qajar, while the other,
under the leadership of Bahaʼu'lláh, looked to rebuild relationships with the government and
advance the Babí cause by persuasion and the example of virtuous living.[51][52][53]

The militant group of Babis was between thirty and seventy persons, only a small number of the
total Babi population of perhaps 100,000. Their meetings appear to have come under the control of
a "Husayn Jan", an emotive and magnetic figure who obtained a high degree of personal devotion
to himself from the group. Meanwhile, Tahirih and Baha'u'llah, visible leaders of the community
previously, were removed from the scene – Tahirih by arrest and in the case of Baha'u'llah an
invitation to go on pilgrimage to Karbila. On 15 August 1852, three from this small splinter group,
acting on their own initiative, attempted to assassinate Naser al-Din Shah Qajar as he was
returning from the chase to his palace at Niavarān.[54] Notwithstanding the assassins' claim that
they were working alone, the entire Bábí community was blamed, and a slaughter of several
thousand Bábís followed, starting on 31 August 1852 with some thirty Bábís, including Táhirih. Dr
Jakob Eduard Polak, then the Shah's physician,[55] was an eye-witness to her execution.[56]
Baháʼu'lláh surrendered himself and he along with a few others were imprisoned in the Siāhchāl
"Black Pit", an underground dungeon in Tehran.[57] Meanwhile, echoes of the newspaper coverage
of the violence continued into 1853.[58]

Baháʼí/Bábí split

In most of his prominent writings, the Báb alluded to a Promised One, most commonly referred to
as "He whom God shall make manifest", and that he himself was "but a ring upon the hand of Him
Whom God shall make manifest." Within 20 years of the Báb's death, over 25 people claimed to be
the Promised One, most significantly Baháʼu'lláh.

Shortly before the Báb's execution, a follower of the Báb, Abd al-Karim, brought to the Báb's
attention the necessity to appoint a successor; thus the Báb wrote a certain number of tablets
which he gave to Abd al-Karim to deliver to Subh-i Azal and Baháʼu'lláh.[59] These tablets were
later interpreted by both Azalis and Baháʼís as proof of the Báb's delegation of leadership.[59] Some
sources state that the Báb did this at the suggestion of Baháʼu'lláh.[60][61] In one of the tablets,
which is commonly referred to as the Will and Testament of the Báb, Subh-i Azal is viewed to have
been appointed as leader of the Bábis after the death of the movement's founder; the tablet, in
verse 27, orders Subh-i Azal "...to obey Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest."[62] At the time of
the apparent appointment Subh-i Azal was still a teenager, had never demonstrated leadership in
the Bábí movement, and was still living in the house of his older brother, Baháʼu'lláh. All of this
lends credence to the Baháʼí claim that the Báb appointed Subh-i Azal the head of the Bábí Faith so
as to divert attention away from Baháʼu'lláh, while allowing Bábís to visit Baháʼu'lláh and consult
with him freely, and allowing Baháʼu'lláh to write Bábís easily and freely.

Subh-i Azal's leadership was controversial. He generally absented himself from the Bábí
community spending his time in Baghdad in hiding and disguise; and even went so far as to
publicly disavow allegiance to the Báb on several occasions.[63][64][65] Subh-i Azal gradually
alienated himself from a large proportion of the Bábís who started to give their alliance to other
claimants.[64] During the time that both Baháʼu'lláh and Subh-i-Azal were in Baghdad, since Subh-i
Azal remained in hiding, Baháʼu'lláh performed much of the daily administration of the Bábí
affairs.[63]

Baháʼu'lláh claimed that in 1853, while a prisoner in Tehran, he was visited by a "Maid of Heaven",
which symbolically marked the beginning of his mission as a Messenger of God. Ten years later in
Baghdad, he made his first public declaration to be He whom God shall make manifest to a small
number of followers, and in 1866 he made the claim public.[64] Baháʼu'lláh's claims threatened
Subh-i Azal's position as leader of the religion since it would mean little to be leader of the Bábís if
"Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest" were to appear and start a new religion.[63] Subh-i-Azal
responded by making his own claims, but his attempt to preserve the traditional Bábísm was
largely unpopular, and his followers became the minority.[64]

Eventually Baháʼu'lláh was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make
manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Baháʼís.[63] By 1908, there were probably
from half a million to a million Baháʼís, and at most only a hundred followers of Subh-i Azal.
According to Ali Raza Naqavi, Bábism and the Baháʼí Faith are "almost inseparable" and have
"almost identical beliefs and doctrines."[66] He writes that in the way Muslims view Judaism as
having been abrogated by Christianity and Christianity as having been abrogated by Islam, Baháʼís
 view Bábism as
having been
abrogated and
replaced by the
Baháʼí Faith.[66]

A Baha'i Community (1910) An Azali Community in Iran

Subh-i Azal died in Famagusta, Cyprus in 1912, and his followers are known as Azalis or Azali
Bábis. MacEoin notes that after the deaths of those Azali Babis who were active in the Persian
Constitutional Revolution, the Azali form of Babism entered a stagnation from which it has not
recovered as there is no acknowledged leader or central organization.[64] Some few have coined the
term Bayání faith though it died out in Cyprus.[67] (Persian: ‫بيانى‬, Bayání).

In 2001, Azalis were estimated to number no more than a few thousand, living mainly in Iran.[65]

Beliefs and teachings

The Báb's teachings can be grouped into three broad stages which each have a dominant thematic
focus. His earliest teachings are primarily defined by his interpretation of the Quran and other
Islamic traditions. While this interpretive mode continues throughout all three stages of his
teachings, a shift takes place where his emphasis moves to the philosophical elucidation and finally
to legislative pronouncements. In the second philosophical stage, the Báb gives an explanation of
the metaphysics of being and creation, and in the third legislative stage his mystical and historical
principles are explicitly united.[68]
An analysis of the Báb's writings throughout the three stages
shows that all of his teachings were animated by a common principle that had multiple dimensions
and forms.[69]

Hidden Imam

In Twelver Shiʻa Islamic belief there were twelve Imams, the last of which, known as Imam Mahdi,
communicated with his followers only through certain representatives.[70] According to the
Twelver's belief, after the last of these representatives died, the Imam Mahdi went into a state of
Occultation; while still alive, he was no longer accessible to his believers.[70] Shiʻa Muslims believe
that when the world becomes oppressed, the Imam Mahdi (also termed the Qa'im) will come out of
occultation and restore true religion on Earth before the cataclysmic end of the world and
judgement day.[70][71]

In Bábí belief the Báb is the return of the Imam Mahdi, but the doctrine of the Occultation is
implicitly denied; instead the Báb stated that his manifestation was a symbolic return of the Imam,
and not the physical reappearance of the Imam Mahdi who had died a thousand years earlier.[70]
In Bábí belief the statements made from previous revelations regarding the Imam Mahdi were set
forth in symbols.[70] The Báb also stated that he was not only the fulfillment of the Shiʻi
expectations for the Qá'im, but that he also was the beginning of a new prophetic dispensation.[71]

Resurrection, Judgment Day and cyclical revelation

The Báb taught that his revelation was beginning an apocalyptic process that was bringing the
Islamic dispensation to its cyclical end, and starting a new dispensation.[71] He taught that the
terms "resurrection", "Judgement Day", "paradise" and "hell" used in Shiʻa prophecies for the end-
times are symbolic.[72] He stated that "Resurrection" means that the appearance of a new
revelation, and that "raising of the dead" means the spiritual awakening of those who have stepped
away from true religion.[72] He further stated that "Judgement Day" refers to when a new
Manifestation of God comes, and the acceptance or rejection of those on the Earth.[72] Thus the
Báb taught that with his revelation the end times ended and the age of resurrection had started and
that the end-times were symbolic as the end of the past prophetic cycle.[71] The Báb wrote: "Verily,
the world and the hereafter are two spiritual states. If you turn towards God, exalted be He, then
you are in paradise and if you are occupied with your self then you are in hell and in the world.
Therefore understand these allusions".[73]

In the Persian Bayán, the Báb wrote that religious dispensations come in cycles, as the seasons, to
renew "pure religion" for humanity.[71] This notion of continuity anticipated future prophetic
revelations after the Báb.[71]

Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest

While the Báb claimed a station of revelation, he also claimed no finality for his revelation.[70] One
of the core Bábí teachings is the great Promised One, whom the Báb termed He whom God shall
make manifest, promised in the sacred writings of previous religions would soon establish the
Kingdom of God on the Earth.[74] In the books written by the Báb he constantly entreats his
believers to follow He whom God shall make manifest when he arrives and not behave like the
Muslims who have not accepted his own revelation.[70]

Religious law

The Báb abrogated Islamic law and in the Persian Bayán promulgated a system of Bábí law, thus
establishing a separate religion distinct from Islam.[75][76] Some of the new laws included changing
the direction of the Qibla to the Báb's house in Shiraz, Iran and changing the calendar to a solar
calendar of nineteen months and nineteen days (which became the basis of the Baháʼí calendar)
and prescribing the last month as a month of fasting.[57] The Bab also prohibits confession and
seeking forgiveness from anyone but God and His Manifestation.[77]

In many respects, the Báb raised the status of women in his teachings. The Báb taught that, since
God transcends the boundaries of male and female, God wishes that "neither men exalt themselves
over women, nor women exalt themselves over men".[78] He instructs his followers to not mistreat
women "even for the blink of an eye" [79] and sets the penalty for causing grief to women as double
that of causing grief to men.(Persian Bayān 7:18)[80] He also encourages the education of women
[81] and doesn't display a gender distinction in Bábi laws on education.[79] Armin Eschraghi notes

the context of 19th century Iran and that, "Modern western readers might not appreciate the
revolutionary potential" of the Báb's teaching that "Those who have been brought up in this
community, men and women, are allowed to look [at each other], speak and sit together" [79] The
Primal Will of God is also personified as the female figure of the maid of heaven.[82] The Báb also
foreshadowed later developments in media, by emphasising the need for a rapid system of news
communication, which would be available for all to access, no matter their wealth or social
standing. He writes, regarding the news, that "until such a system is made universal, its benefit will
not reach those servants of the kingdom unless there come a time when it will be accessible to all
the people. Although today the kings have their own special couriers, this is fruitless, for the poor
are deprived of such a service." Commenting on the extremes of wealth and poverty in society, the
Báb also teaches that the true station of the rich should be as "the depositories of God" [83] and
enjoins generosity and charity. He says, "Should ye find one stricken with poverty, enrich him to
the extent of your ability...should ye find one who is in distress, bring him tranquility by any means
in your power" [84]

Jack McLean, summarising Nader Saiedi's analysis, writes that "the Báb’s writings even foresee
current global issues of crisis, such as the protection of the environment and the commodification
of natural resources" The Báb specifically calls for the absolute purity of water (Bayán 6:2). It may
be easily deduced from this injunction that the environment must not be polluted since all
substances return to the inland water table and the oceans. The Arabic Bayán (9:11) also forbids the
commodification of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water [85]

The Báb also created a large number of other rituals, rites and laws.[86] Some of these include the
carrying of arms only in times of necessity, abstaining from smoking tobacco,[87] the obligatory
sitting on chairs, the advocating of the cleanliness displayed by Christians, the non-cruel treatment
of animals, the prohibition of beating children severely, the recommendation of the printing of
books, even scripture and the prohibition on the study of logic or dead languages.[86] Other laws
include elaborate regulations regarding pilgrimage, fasting, the manufacture of rings, the use of
perfume, and the washing and disposal of the dead.[86]

Writings
The Báb affirms that the verses revealed by a Manifestation of God are the greatest proof of His
mission and the writings of the Báb comprise over two thousand tablets, epistles, prayers, and
philosophical treatises. These writings form part of Baháʼí scripture, particularly his prayers, which
are often recited individually as well as in devotional gatherings.[88] The Báb's major writings
include the Qayyúmu'l-Asmáʼ (a commentary on the Sura of Joseph), and the Persian Bayán, which
the Bábís saw as superseding the Qurʼan. The latter has been translated into French; only portions
exist in English.

The works of the Báb have also excited scholarly interest and analysis. Elham Afnan describes the
writings of the Báb as having "restructured the thoughts of their readers, so that they could break
free from the chains of obsolete beliefs and inherited customs".[89] Jack McLean notes the novel
symbolism of the Báb's works, observing that "The universe of the Báb’s sacred writings is
pervasively symbolic. Numbers, colors, minerals, liquids, the human body, social relationships,
gestures, deeds, language (letters and words), and nature itself are all mirrors or signs that reflect
the profounder reality of the names and attributes (asmá va sifát) of God".[90] Todd Lawson
similarly identifies in the commentaries of the Báb an assertion of "the potential and ultimate
meaningfulness of all created things, from the highest to the lowest.” [91] The Báb's works are
characterised by linguistic innovation, including many neologisms whenever He found existing
theological terms inadequate.[88] Several scholars have identified the continual repetition of
particular words or phrases of religious importance to be a distinct feature throughout the Bab's
writings.[92][93] John Walbridge views the "unquestionably hypnotic" use of repetition in the Bab's
Kitab-i-Panj Sha'n, where "the same evocative words are repeated ceaselessly" with gradual
variations over time, as anticipating a minimalist aesthetic as well as possibly prefiguring the
modernist style of Finnegans Wake.[94] The Báb himself categorised his writings into five modes:
divine verses, prayers, commentaries, rational discourse — written in Arabic — and the Persian
mode, which encompasses the previous four.[89] Baháʼí scholars have argued that there are
commonalities between the Báb’s writings and those of Western philosophers such as Hegel,[95]
Kant[96] and James Joyce.[97][98]

Unfortunately, most of the writings of the Báb have been lost. The Báb himself stated they
exceeded five hundred thousand verses in length; the Qurʼan, in contrast, is 6300 verses in length.
If one assumes 25 verses per page, that would equal 20,000 pages of text.[99] Nabíl-i-Zarandí, in
The Dawn-Breakers, mentions nine complete commentaries on the Qurʼan, revealed during the
Báb's imprisonment at Máh-Kú, which have been lost without a trace.[100] Establishing the true
text of the works that are still extant, as already noted, is not always easy, and some texts will
require considerable work. Others, however, are in good shape; several of the Báb's major works
are available in the handwriting of his trusted secretaries.[101]

Most works were revealed in response to specific questions by Bábís. This is not unusual; the genre
of the letter has been a venerable medium for composing authoritative texts as far back as Paul of
Tarsus. Three-quarters of the chapters of the New Testament are letters, were composed to imitate
letters, or contain letters within them.[102] Sometimes the Báb revealed works very rapidly by
chanting them in the presence of a secretary and witnesses.

The Archives Department at the Baháʼí World Centre currently holds about 190 Tablets of the
Báb.[103] Excerpts from several principal works have been published in an English language
compilation of the Báb's writings: Selections from the Writings of the Báb, other publications
include Prayers from the Bab: The Remembrance of God. Denis MacEoin, in his Sources for Early
Bābī Doctrine and History, gives a description of many works; much of the following summary is
derived from that source. In addition to major works, the Báb revealed numerous letters to his wife
and followers, many prayers for various purposes, numerous commentaries on verses or chapters
of the Qurʼan, and many khutbihs or sermons (most of which were never delivered). Many of these
have been lost; others have survived in compilations.[104]

Also significant to Bábism are the writings of Quddús, which "display a close similarity to that of
the Báb in both form and content" according to Moojan Momen and Todd Lawson,[105] as well as
the poetry and prose of Tahirih.

Outside reception
Denis MacEoin, a scholar who was formerly a Baháʼí, describes Bábí law as a "mishmash of rules
and regulations that at times are little more than mere whimsy, revolving around some of the Bab's
own obsessions about cleanliness, polite behaviour, and elegance. It is a shari'a, but not in any
practical sense. Certainly, it does not seem to be going anywhere...Here and there we find
indications that the Bab had been impressed by Europeans and that he wanted his followers to
emulate them."[86] He further states: "One comes away from the Bayan with a strong sense that
very little of this is to be taken seriously. It is a form of a game, never actually intended to be put
into practice, much in the same way that whole sections of the Bab's later books don't, in fact, mean
anything very much, but are elaborate exercises in interesting things you can do with Arabic roots.
Or the way so many of the Bab's early writings, described as tafsirs on this or that sura of the
Qurʼan, are really not commentaries at all."[86] He further criticizes the Bábi laws, stating: "The
average Babi could hardly hope to afford the three diamonds, four yellow rubies, six emeralds, and
six red rubies that he was expected to give to the Babi Messiah, let alone find time to observe all the
rules and regulations laid down in the book. For all that, the Babi shari'a made an impact."[86]

Baháʼí scholar Nader Saiedi states that the severe laws of the Bayán were never meant to be put in
practice, because their implementation depended on the appearance of He whom God shall make
manifest, while at the same time all of the laws would be abrogated unless the Promised One would
reaffirm them. Saiedi concludes that these can then only have a strategic and symbolic meaning,
and were meant to break through traditions and to focus the Báb's followers on obedience to He
whom God shall make manifest.[106]

See also
Outline of Bábism
 Azalis
Baháʼí Faith
Persian Bayán
Selections from the Writings of the Báb

References

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Bibliography
Amanat, Abbas (1989). Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Bábí Movement in Iran
1844–1850 (https://archive.org/details/resurrectionrene00aman). Ithaca, NY: Cornell University
Press. ISBN 978-0-8014-2098-6.
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Garnett, Richard (1878), "Bábi"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannic
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ISBN 9781118555767.
MacEoin, Denis (1992). The Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History: A Survey (https://boo
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55458-056-9.

Attribution:

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Browne, Edward
Granville (1911), "Bábíism", in Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 3
(11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 94–95

Further reading
Afnan, Habibuʾllah (2008). Ahang Rabbani (ed.). The Genesis of the Bábí-Baháʼí Faiths in
Shíráz and Fárs (http://bahai-library.com/afnan_rabbani_genesis_faiths). Numen Book Series –
Studies in the History of Religions -Texts and Sources in the History of Religions. Vol. 122.
Boston, USA: Brill; Leiden. ISBN 978-90-04-17054 4. ISSN 0169-8834 (https://www.worldcat.or
g/issn/0169-8834).
MacEoin, Denis (1994). Rituals in Babism and Baha'ism (https://books.google.com/books?id=4
Bpd0xhUKewC). Cambridge, UK: British Academic Press and Centre of Middle Eastern
Studies, University of Cambridge. ISBN 978-1-85043-654-6.
MacEoin, Denis (2009). The Messiah of Shiraz: Studies in Early and Middle Babism (https://bo
oks.google.com/books?id=LgOPsxZofrkC). Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-
17035-3.
 Smith, Peter (1987). The Bábí and Baháʼí Religions: From Messianic Shiʻism to a World
Religion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-30128-2.

External links
The Gate: Dawn of the Baháʼí Faith (https://thegatefilm.com). (2018 documentary from a Baháʼí
perspective).

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