Birth of the Bab October 20th

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Preparing to observe the upcoming Holy Day on October 20th the Birth of the Bab I wanted to share some excerpts from various sources:

From H.M. Balyuzi, The Bab - The Herald of the Day of Days, p. 32


"HE WHOM THEY SOUGHT"

The gentle spirit of the Báb is surely high up in
the cycles of eternity.

Who can fail, as Prof. Browne
says, to be attracted by him?

-- T. K. Cheyne, D.Litt., D.D.

Siyyid (or Mirza) 'Ali-Muhammad, known to history as the Báb, was the son of Siyyid (or Mir) Muhammad-Rida, a mercer of Shiraz.(1) He was born on October 20th 1819 (Muharram 1st, 1235 A.H.). Through both His father and His mother He was descended from Imam Husayn,[1] the third Imam.

Thus He stood in direct line of descent from the Prophet Muhammad. According to Mirza Abu'l-Fadl-i-Gulpaygani, Siyyid Muhammad-Rida, the Báb's father, died when his only child was an infant, unweaned. Then the care of the child devolved upon a maternal uncle, Haji Mirza Siyyid 'Ali.

He was the only relative of the Báb to espouse His Cause openly during His lifetime and, as will be seen, to accept martyrdom for His sake. But according to a manuscript history of the Bábí-Bahá'í Faith in Shiraz by Haji Mirza Habibu'llah-i-Afnan,[2] Siyyid Muhammad-Rida passed away when his son was nine years old, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá appears to confirm this account.[3]


[1 He was the son of Fatimih and 'Ali.]

[2 Haji Mirza Habibu'llah's father, Aqa Mirza-Aqa, was a nephew of the wife of the Báb, and his paternal grandfather, Aqa Mirza Zaynu'l-'Abidin, was a paternal cousin of the father of the Báb. (See Foreword for other details of the manuscript.)]

[3 Browne (ed.), A Traveller's Narrative, Vol. II, p. 2.]

 

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The Báb, whose name was Siyyid Ali-Muhammad,[1] was born in the city of Shiraz, on the first day of Muharram, in the year 1235 A.H.[2] He belonged to a house which was renowned for its nobility and which traced its origin to Muhammad Himself.

The date of His birth confirmed the truth of the prophecy traditionally attributed to the Imam Ali: "I am two years younger than my Lord."

Twenty-five years, four months, and four days had elapsed since the day of His birth, when he declared His Mission.

In His early childhood He lost His father, Siyyid Muhammad-Rida,[3] a man who was known throughout the province of Fars for his piety and virtue, and was held in high esteem and honour.

Both His father and His mother were descendants of the Prophet, both were loved and respected by the people. He was reared by His maternal uncle, Haji Mirza Siyyid Ali, a martyr to the Faith, who placed Him, while still a child, under the care of a tutor named Shaykh Abid.[4] The Báb, though not inclined to study, submitted to His uncle's will and directions.


[1 He is also known by the following designations:


Siyyid-i-Dhikr
Abdu'dh-Dhikr
Babu'llah
Nuqtiy-i-Ula
Tal'at-i-A'la
Hadrat-i-A'la
Rabb-i-A'la
Nuqity-i-Bayan
Siyyid-i-Bab

[2 October 20, 1819 A.D.]


[3 According to Mirza Abu'l-Fadl (manuscript on history of the Cause, p. 3), the Báb was still an infant, and had not yet been weaned, when His father passed away.]

~ Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, p. 72

 

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Celebrating the Birth of the Bab – October 20


“For centuries, all the peoples of the world have awaited the Promised Day of God, a Day when peace and harmony would be established on earth. The dawn of this new Day witnessed the appearance of not one but two Manifestations of God, the Bab and Baha’u’llah, Whose Revelations released the spiritual forces destined to transform society in accordance with the Will of God.” - Ruhi Book 4, The Twin Manifestations


Siyyid ‘Ali Muḥammad (the Bab) was born on October 20, 1819, in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran) to a middle-class merchant. In 1844 He took the name “Bab,” a title that means “Gate” or “Door” in Arabic. His coming, the Bab explained, represented the portal through which the universally anticipated Revelation of God to all humanity would soon appear. The central theme of His major work–the Bayan–was the imminent appearance of a second Messenger from God, one Who would be far greater than the Bab, and Whose mission would be to usher in the age of peace and justice promised in Islam, Judaism, Christianity, and all the other world religions.

The Bab referred to this coming Divine Teacher as “Him Whom God shall make manifest” and stated that “no words of Mine can adequately describe Him, nor can any reference in My Book, the Bayan, do justice to His Cause.” For the Bab, a climacteric in human history had been reached, and He was the “Voice of the Crier, calling aloud in the wilderness of the Bayan” announcing to humanity that it was entering the period of its collective maturity.

Throughout His writings, the Bab warned His followers to be watchful, and as soon as the promised Teacher revealed Himself, to recognize and follow Him. The Bab exhorted them to see with the “eye of the spirit” rather than through their “fanciful imaginations.” To be worthy of “Him Whom God shall make manifest” required entirely new standards of conduct, a nobility of character that human beings had theretofore not achieved: “Purge your hearts of worldly desires,” the Bab urged His first group of disciples, “and let angelic virtues be your adorning…The time is come when naught but the purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity, can ascend to the throne of the Most High and be acceptable unto Him…”

In several instances the Bab alluded to the identity of the Promised One: “Well is it with him who fixeth his gaze upon the Order of Baha’u'llah and rendereth thanks unto his Lord. For He will assuredly be made manifest.” And: “When the Day-Star of Baha will shine resplendent above the horizon of eternity it is incumbent upon you to present yourselves before His Throne.”

Celebrating the Births of the Bab and Baha

 

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The mother of the Báb was Fatimih-Bagum. She was the daughter of Mirza Muhammad-Husayn, a merchant of Shiraz, and had three brothers. Of these, Haji Mirza Siyyid 'Ali became the guardian of the Báb, while Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad and Haji Mirza Hasan-'Ali, although not enlisted in the ranks of the followers of their illustrious Nephew, feature in His story.

Every account that we have of Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad's childhood indicates that He was not an ordinary child. When He was sent to school, He so surprised the schoolmaster, Shaykh 'Abid, with His wisdom and intelligence that the bewildered man took the child back to His uncle, and said that he had nothing to teach this gifted pupil: 'He, verily, stands in no need of teachers such as I.'

The uncle had already noticed the remarkable qualities of his ward, and it is recorded that on this occasion he was very stern with Him: 'Have You forgotten my instructions? Have I not already admonished You to follow the example of Your fellow-pupils, to observe silence, and to listen attentively to every word spoken by Your teacher?'

It was totally alien to the nature of that gentle child to disregard the wishes of His guardian. He returned to school and conducted Himself on the pattern of other children. Nothing, however, could restrain the superior mind and intelligence possessed by that exceptional boy. As time went on, the schoolmaster became convinced that he could not help his student; in the role of instructor he felt as the instructed.

~ H.M. Balyuzi, The Bab - The Herald of the Day of Days, p. 32

 

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He, verily, stands in no need of teachers such as I.

"One day," he [Shaykh 'Abid] related, "I asked the Báb to recite the opening words of the Qur'án: 'Bismi'lláhi'r-Rahmáni'r-Rahim.' He hesitated, pleading that unless He were told what these words signified, He would in no wise attempt to pronounce them.

I pretended not to know their meaning. 'I know what these words signify,' observed my pupil; 'by your leave, I will explain them.'

He spoke with such knowledge and fluency that I was struck with amazement.

He expounded the meaning of 'Alláh,' of 'Rahmán,' and 'Rahim,' in terms such as I had neither read nor heard. The sweetness of His utterance still lingers in my memory. I felt impelled to take Him back to His uncle and to deliver into his hands the Trust he had committed to my care.

I determined to tell him how unworthy I felt to teach so remarkable a child. I found His uncle alone in his office. 'I have brought Him back to you,' I said, 'and commit Him to your vigilant protection. He is not to be treated as a mere child, for in Him I can already discern evidences of that mysterious power which the Revelation of the Sáhibu'z-Zamán [the Lord of the Age, one of the titles of the promised Qá'im] alone can reveal. It is incumbent upon you to surround Him with your most loving care. Keep Him in your house, for He, verily, stands in no need of teachers such as I.'

Hájí Mírzá Siyyid Ali [11] sternly rebuked the Báb. 'Have You forgotten my instructions?' he said. 'Have I not already admonished You to follow the example of Your fellow-pupils, to observe silence, and to listen attentively to every word spoken by Your teacher?' Having obtained His promise to abide faithfully by his instructions, he bade the Báb return to His school.

The soul of that child could not, however, be restrained by the stern admonitions of His uncle. No discipline could repress the flow of His intuitive knowledge. Day after day He continued to manifest such remarkable evidences of superhuman wisdom as I am powerless to recount." At last His uncle was induced to take Him away from the school of Shaykh 'Abid, and to associate Him with himself in his own profession.[12]

11. Hájí Mírzá Sayyid Ali was one of the maternal uncles of the Báb who looked after him following the death of his father. See Balyuzi, The Báb, p. 334f, 85ff.

12. Shoghi Effendi, The Dawn-Breakers, pp. 75-76.

 

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Prayer revealed by Baha'u'llah

A prayer revealed for the anniversary of the Birth of the Bab by Baha'u'llah:

ALL praise be to Thee, O my God, inasmuch as Thou hast adorned the world with the splendour of the dawn following the night wherein was born the One Who heralded the Manifestation of Thy transcendent sovereignty, the Dayspring of Thy divine Essence and the Revelation of Thy supreme Lordship. I beseech Thee, O Creator of the heavens and Fashioner of names, to graciously aid those who have sheltered beneath the shadow of Thine abounding mercy and have raised their voices amidst the peoples of the world for the glorification of Thy Name.

O my God! Thou beholdest the Lord of all mankind confined in His Most Great Prison, calling aloud Thy Name, gazing upon Thy face, proclaiming that which hath enraptured the denizens of Thy kingdoms of revelation and of creation. O my God! I behold Mine own Self captive in the hands of Thy servants, yet the light of Thy sovereignty and the revelations of Thine invincible power shine resplendent from His face, enabling all to know of a certainty that Thou art God, and that there is none other God but Thee. Neither can the power of the powerful frustrate Thee, nor the ascendancy of the rulers prevail against Thee. Thou doest whatsoever Thou willest by virtue of Thy sovereignty which encompasseth all created things, and ordainest that which Thou pleasest through the potency of Thy behest which pervadeth the entire creation.

I implore Thee by the glory of Thy Manifestation and by the power of Thy might, Thy sovereignty and Thine exaltation to render victorious those who have arisen to serve Thee, who have aided Thy Cause and humbled themselves before the splendour of the light of Thy face. Make them then, O my God, triumphant over Thine enemies and cause them to be steadfast in Thy service, that through them the evidences of Thy dominion may be established throughout Thy realms and the tokens of Thine indomitable power be manifested in Thy lands. Verily Thou art potent to do what Thou willest; no God is there but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.

This glorious Tablet hath been revealed on the Anniversary of the Birth [of the Bab] that thou mayest recite it in a spirit of humility and supplication and give thanks unto thy Lord, the All-Knowing, the All-Informed. Make thou every effort to render service unto God, that from thee may appear that which will immortalize thy memory in His glorious and exalted heaven.

~ Baha'u'llah, Tablets of Baha'u'llah, p. 232