Bahá'í Holy Day - the Birth of The Báb

A short history of the Báb

Siyyid Ali-Muhammad was born on October 20, 1819 in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran). His father died when He was at a young age and He was raised by his uncle, Haji Mirza Siyyid Ali. As a young man He joined the family business in Bushehr as a merchant.

On May 23, 1844, in an upper room of His home in Shiraz, the Báb declared to a young man, Mulla Husayn, that He was the Promised One foretold in Islamic and Bible scripture. The word Báb means Gate or Door and the Báb declared that He was the gate to One greater than Himself who was to follow Him. He called this great One, "Him whom God shall make manifest." Mulla Husayn was the first to believe in Him.

Seventeen others found the Báb independently and they became His first disciples whom He called The Letters of the Living.

He sent out His disciples to spread His message. The news that the Báb had declared that He was the Promised One crossed the land of Persia like wildfire and thousands of people embraced the new Faith. This caused fear and anger in the government and clergy and they arose to wipe out the Faith and all its followers.

After having made a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina where He openly declared His Mission, he was arrested and taken to the Governor of Shiraz who publicly vilified and humiliated Him and then placed Him under house arrest in His uncle's house.

He was then forced to leave Shiraz and made His way to Isfahan. As he neared the city of Isfahan, the Báb wrote a letter to the Governor of the city asking him to appoint the place where He should live. The Governor was so moved by the courtesy of the Báb's letter that he instructed the highest religious official of the province to receive Him at his home and gave him a warm and generous reception.

Mosque in Isfahan

Again the Báb's fame spread through the city and people came to see Him every day and listen to His wisdom. This aroused the wrath of the clergy who secretly plotted to have the Him killed. The Governor, aware of their plans moved Him into his own home for His safely. During their conversations the Governor came to understand the greatness of the Báb's Revelation.

The Governor died just three months later. His successor did not know what to do with the Báb so sent a message to the Shah informing him that He was in his home. The Báb was invited by Muhammad Shah, the king of Persia to Tehran to meet him so he could learn of the new Revelation.

But the Shah’s Prime Minister was scared that if the Báb met with the Shah he would lose his position and his wealth so he convinced the Shah to change his orders and have the Báb taken to the mountain fortess of Mah Ku by the way of the city of Tabriz.

The Báb was in Mah Ku from July, 1847 to April, 1848. The Prime Minster had thought that by sending the Báb to this remote and inhospitable region His influence would wane and His Faith would be forgotten.

Through His majesty and loving kindness though, the Báb soon won the love and respect of both the official in charge of the fortress and the people in the region. The severe discipline placed upon Him was relaxed and the doors of the fortress were opened to His followers who came from far and wide to visit Him.

It was in Mah Ku that the Báb wrote the most important of all His Works, the Persian Bayan, which contained the laws of His Dispensation and clearly announced the coming of another Revelation greater than His Own, and urged His followers to seek and find "Him whom God shall make manifest."

Learning of the popularity of the prisoner of Mah Ku, the Prime Minister ordered Him to be taken to another prison, the fortress of Chihriq, in an even more remote region than before. Soon, here too, the people of the surrounding towns and the official of the fortress were attracted to the Báb's magnetic personality. Some of the most distinguished clergy of the region even accepted the new Faith and gave up their privileged positions to follow Him.

When the Prime Minister heard of the Báb's growing popularity he had Him sent to Tabriz where he was interrogated by the religious authorities in the hope of finding an effective way to put an end to His influence. At this meeting the clergy and government officials tried to humiliate Him but were overpowered by His majesty and greatness. His enemies were now convinced that as long as He was alive it would be impossible to stop His influence growing.

A few days later he was taken back to Chihriq where he stayed until in 1850, when a new Prime Minister, more bloodthirsty than the previous one, ordered His execution. From Chihriq, The Báb was taken back to Tabriz where, on July 9, 1850, in the barracks square, He was martyred with a companion.

Today the remains of the Báb and His companion are laid to rest in a beautiful Shrine on the slopes of Mt Carmel in Israel, brought there by the command of Bahá'u'lláh, the Glory of God, Him whom God did, indeed, make manifest.

The Shrine of the Báb on Mt Carmel, Haifa, Israel