Declaration of the Bab May 22nd-23rd

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arthra

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In a week or so Baha'is around the world will be observing the Declaration of the Bab... a Baha'i Holy Day on which work and school will be suspended. For Baha'is it is the beginning of the Baha'i era when Siyyid Ali Muhammad the Bab declared that He was the Promised One fulfilling prophecies of the appearence of the Mahdi and the Return of the Twelfth Imam.

Siyyid Ali Muhammad was a descendent of Prophet Muhammad and His family were merchants in Shiraz and Bushir...

There was what one could call a Messianic fervor at the time and people were expecting that the Mahdi would soon appear.. this was particularly strong among a group of Shiah Muslims who followed the teachings of a Shaykh Ahmad.

The title Bab means "gate" and became the title of Siyyid Ali Muhammad.. After sundown in Shiraz the Bab revealed His station to one Mulla Husayn who soon accepted His station.

"Verily, the One True God beareth Me witness that in this Day I am the true mystic Fane of God, and the Essence of all good. He who doeth good unto Me, it is as if he doeth good unto God, His angels and the entire company of His loved ones. He who doeth evil unto Me, it is as if he doeth evil unto God and His chosen ones. Nay, too exalted is the station of God and of His loved ones for any person's good or evil deed to reach their holy threshold. Whatever reacheth Me is ordained to reach Me; and that which hath come unto Me, to him who giveth will it revert. By the One in Whose hand is My soul, he hath cast no one but himself into prison. For assuredly whatsoever God hath decreed for Me shall come to pass and naught else save that which God hath ordained for us shall ever touch us. Woe betide him from whose hands floweth evil, and blessed the man from whose hands floweth good. Unto no one do I take My plaint save to God; for He is the best of judges. Every state of adversity or bliss is from Him alone, and He is the All-Powerful, the Almighty."

~ The Bab, Selections from the Writings of the Bab, p. 14

Soon afterwards Mulla Husayn shared the news far and wide.. The first followers who recognized the Bab were known as the "Letters of the Living". They recognized Him without having any personal contact with Him.
 
Veils only you can remove...

THE death of Siyyid Kazim was the signal for renewed activity on the part of his enemies. Athirst for leadership, and emboldened by his removal and the consequent dismay of his followers, they reasserted their claims and prepared to realise their ambitions. For a time, fear and anxiety filled the hearts of Siyyid Kazim's faithful disciples, but with the return of Mulla Husayn-i-Bushru'i from the highly successful mission with which he had been entrusted by his teacher, their gloom was dispelled.

It was on the first day of Muharram, in the year 1260 A.H., that Mulla Husayn came back to Karbila. He cheered and strengthened the disconsolate disciples of his beloved chief, reminded them of his unfailing promise, and pleaded for unrelaxing vigilance and unremitting effort in their search for the concealed Beloved. Living in the close neighbourhood of the house the Siyyid had occupied, he, for three days, was engaged continually in receiving visits from a considerable number of mourners who hastened to convey to him, as the leading representative of the Siyyid's disciples, the expression of their distress and sorrow. He afterwards summoned a group of his most distinguished and trusted fellow-disciples and enquired about the expressed wishes and the last exhortations of their departed leader. They told him that, repeatedly and emphatically, Siyyid Kazim had bidden them quit their homes, scatter far and wide, purge their hearts from every idle desire, and dedicate themselves to the quest of Him to whose advent he had so often alluded.

"He told us," they said, "that the Object of our quest was now revealed. The veils that intervened between you and Him are such as only you can remove by your devoted search...."

- From Nabil's Narrative


THE DAWN-BREAKERS---Chapter III
 
Abdul Baha entered. We all arose. He said:

"Today is the anniversary of the declaration of the Bab - Peace be upon thee! Today the Bab declared this cause in Shirza, Persia. The appearance of the Bab resembles the dawn, for the dawn holds the promise of the sun. The dawn of the Bab promised the rising of the sun of truth that is to envelop the whole world."

He said,

"O my glorious Lord, I sacrifice myself entirely to thee. My only desire is to be martyred for thy love. Thou dost suffice me!"

The Báb's desire was to be realized, for the glorious crown of martyrdom was placed upon his head. The gems light the whole world.

He was imprisoned at Shiraz, then went to Isfahan, was afterward confined in a fortress at Makow and finally executed in a public square of Tabriz. This supreme martyrdom raised his banner yet higher and heightened the power of divine manifestation on earth, for the reality which is reflected is the same from the beginning.

The Christ was the word of God from the beginning - in the same way Mohammed says, "I was a prophet before the existence of Adam,"

and Baha'o'llah says,

"In the beginning which has no beginning I loved thee."

The sun is always the sun; if at a certain period it gave no light it would not at that period be called the sun, for the characteristics of the sun are light and heat. The great ones are from all time in their glorious station, their reality is luminous from the beginning, the reality that causes the qualities of God to appear, but the day of their manifestation is the day when they proclaim themselves of this earth.

The Bab in his writings heralded the advent of Baha'o'llah. He declared to his followers

"You will attain the perfect well-being at your meeting with God; the horizon will be illumined; the infinite spirit will send forth its breezes - the divine proclamation will make itself heard."

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Divine Philosophy, p. 51
 
"Enter the Gate..."

From Shastri Purushotma


"Enter the Gate: Celebrating the Declaration of the Bab"



That night marked the beginning of a process that has since spread from a small room in Shiraz to more than 200 countries and territories of the world. That first follower of Siyyid Ali Muhammad -- the young Persian, Mulla Husayn -- has multiplied to more than 5 million people representing the diversity of the human race, from a Romanian Queen, to a Samoan King, to Eskimos, to Kalahari Bushmen. Siyyid Ali Muhammad soon after took the title of "The Bab," which in Arabic means "the Gate." He was the first of two prophetic figures who founded the Baha'i Faith, the other being Baha'u'llah, which in Arabic means "The Glory of God."

The day after that conversation in Shiraz, Samuel Morse sent the first telegram from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore with the famous four words: "What hath God wrought?" Since that time, the world has contracted into a neighborhood with the rapid advance in communications technology and transportation. With it has also come an intense search by people of all races and nations for a unifying vision of the nature of human beings and society for this stage of history. During the 20th century, for example, vast numbers of people experimented with ideologies such as communism, extreme nationalism and fascism, racial superiority and materialism, just to name a few, hoping that these would provide the vision and worldview they were looking for. The search continues.

Read more at:

Shastri Purushotma: Enter the Gate: Celebrating the Declaration of the Bab
 
"...they must celebrate and adorn that Blessed Day"

O ye friends of God! According to what is heard, some of the friends have celebrated my birthday in some countries on the fifth of Zamadi-Avval (23rd day of May). Although their intention is no other than good, their aim be to promote the Word of God and to commemorate the True One among the people in this manner, yet, according to the text of the Religion of God and the irrefutable command, the fifth of Zamadi-Avval (May 23rd) is the day of the Declaration of His Highness the Supreme (the Bab) -- may my life be a sacrifice to Him!

Consequently, they must celebrate and adorn that Blessed Day in the name of the Declaration of that Orb of regions; make rejoicing and happiness, and impart the glad-tidings of heavenly beatitude to each other. For that holy essence was the Herald of the Most great Name. Therefore, no one must mention that day of the fifth of Zamadi-Avval (May 23rd) except as the Day of the Declaration of His Highness the BAB. This is the unquestionable text of the Religion of God.

Regarding the birth of this servant, which also happened on that day, this a proof of the favors and bounties of God toward this servant. However, this Blessed Day must be known as the Day of the Declaration of His Highness the Supreme (BAB) and the beginning of the effulgence of the Sun of Reality. You must on this account be engaged in rejoicing, happiness and gladness. This is the truth! Beware! Beware! that you avoid that which is mentioned; otherwise, it will cause the utmost grief to the heart of Abdul-Baha.

I ask from the inexhaustible bounties of His Highness the Almighty, that the righteous ones become assisted to live in accord with the Religion of God; neither do they deviate a hair's breadth therefrom; and spread this Tablet throughout all regions, so that all the friends may comprehend the truth and act accordingly.

~ Abdu'l-Baha, Tablets of Abdu'l-Baha v3, p. 575
 
A view of the House of the Bab:

bwns_8004-0.jpg


The above is a photo of the House of the Bab before it was destroyed by fanatics...
 
The Declaration from the perspective of Bab's Wife:

Khadijih Bagum recalled that one day in the late afternoon He
came home
earlier than usual. That evening, He said, He had a particular
task to attend
to, and asked that dinner be served earlier. Fiddih, the servant
who did
the cooking, was so informed, and the family had their evening meal
in the room
of the mother of Siyyid 'Ali-Muhammad. Then He retired for the
night.

Speaking of the events of that memorable night, which,
according to
recollections of members of the Afnan family, occurred some time
before the
Báb declared His mission, Khadijih Bagum related: 'An hour later,
when the
house was quiet and its occupants had gone to sleep, He rose from
His bed and
left the room. At first I took no particular notice of His
absence, but when
it lengthened to more than an hour I felt some concern. Then I
went out to
look for Him, but He was nowhere to be found.


Perhaps, for some reason, He had left the house, I thought; but,
trying the
street door I found it locked from within, as usual. Then I walked
to the
western side of the house, looked up at the roof-top, and saw that
the upper
chamber was well lighted. This added to my surprise, because I had
never known
Him to go to that part of the house at that hour of the night,
unless He had
guests. And He always told me when a visitor was expected. He had
not said
that He was to have a guest that night. So, with both astonishment
and
trepidation, I went up the steps at the northern side of the
courtyard. There
I saw Him standing in that chamber, His hands raised heavenwards,
intoning a
prayer in a most melodious voice, with tears streaming down His
face. And His
face was luminous; rays of light radiated from it. He looked so
majestic and
resplendent that fear seized me, and I stood transfixed where I
was, trembling
uncontrollably. I could neither enter the room nor retrace my
steps. My
will-power was gone, and I was on the point of screaming, when He
made a
gesture with His blessed hands, telling me to go back.

This movement of His hands gave me back my courage, and I returned
to my room
and my bed. But all that night long I remained deeply disturbed.
In my fitful
moments of sleep that scene in the upper chamber would present
itself to my
mind, adding to my consternation. I kept asking myself what grave
event had
come to pass to evoke such sorrow and such tears, inducing prayer
and
supplication of such intensity. Sleep was impossible that night,
and then came
the dawn, so foreboding, and I heard the muezzin's call to prayer.

~ H.M. Balyuzi, Khadijih Bagum - Wife of the Bab
 
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