Declaration of the Bab May 22nd-23rd...

arthra

arthra

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To get in the mood for the anniversary of the Declaration of the Bab we'll be posting some information in the coming week:

On May 23, 1844, in Shiraz, Persia, a young man known as the Báb announced the imminent appearance of the Messenger of God awaited by all the peoples of the world. The title Báb means "the Gate." Although Himself the bearer of an independent revelation from God, the Báb declared that His purpose was to prepare mankind for this advent.

Swift and savage persecution at the hands of the dominant Muslim clergy followed this announcement. The Báb was arrested, beaten, imprisoned, and finally on July 9, 1850 was executed in the public square of the city of Tabriz. Some 20,000 of His followers perished in a series of massacres throughout Persia. Today, the majestic building with the golden dome, overlooking the Bay of Haifa, Israel, and set amidst beautiful gardens, is the Shrine where the Báb's earthly remains are entombed.
bab_room.jpg

Room of the Báb's home in Shiraz, Iran, where He declared His mission, May 1844.​
 
In the year one thousand two hundred and sixty [A.H.]

"In the year one thousand two hundred and sixty [A.H.], when He was in His twenty-fifth year, certain signs became apparent in His conduct, behavior, manners, and demeanor whereby it became evident in Shiraz that He had some conflict in His mind and some other flight beneath His wing.

"He began to speak and to declare the rank of Bab-hood.* Now what He intended by the term Bab [Gate] was this, that He was the channel of grace from some great Person still behind the veil of glory, Who was the possessor of countless and boundless perfections, by Whose will He moved, and to the bond of Whose love He clung. And in the first book which He wrote in explanation of the Surih of Joseph,* He addressed Himself in all passages to that Person unseen from Whom He received help and grace, sought for aid in the arrangement of His preliminaries, and craved the sacrifice of life in the way of His love.

Amongst others is this sentence: "O Remnant of God, I am wholly sacrificed to Thee; I am content with curses in Thy way; I crave naught but to be slain in Thy love; and God the Supreme sufficeth as an Eternal Protection."

He likewise composed a number of works in explanation and elucidation of the verses of the Qur'án, of sermons, and of prayers in Arabic; inciting and urging men to expect the appearance of that Person; and these books He named "Inspired Pages" and "Word of Conscience." But on investigation it was discovered that He laid no claim to revelation from an angel."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, A Traveller's Narrative, p. 4
 
"Bábí is the name given to the followers of the Bab, the young
merchant of Shiraz, Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad, who in May 1844, at the
age of 25 years, declared Himself to be the Bab, the Gate of God,
the return of the hidden Imam-Mahdi, the Deliverer eagerly awaited
by the world of Shi'ih Islam.

"His Ministry was to last but six
years, though in that short time He attracted thousands to accept
His Cause, and in doing so inevitably provoked the most bitter
enmity amongst those who did not believe in Him.

"Supported by the
State, the orthodox Persian clergy instigated a period of brutal
and fanatical persecution, which not only brought the Bab before
a firing-squad to meet His death in July 1850, but almost succeeded
in obliterating the followers of the new religion."

~ H.M. Balyuzi, Eminent Baha'is in the Time of Baha'u'llah, p. xiv
 
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