The Báb

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Contents

His travels

From Lights of Guidance (to categorize)

Duration of the Bab's Dispensation

"The Bab said that whenever 'He Whom God will make manifest' appears, accept Him. He never said don't accept Him until after the lapse of 1000 years. Also Bahá'u'lláh says that in the year 9 of the Babi Dispensation the time was ripe for the Revelation of 'He Whom God will make manifest.' As the Bab was not only a Manifestation but a Herald of this Bahá'í Faith, the interval between His revelation and that of Bahá'u'lláh was of shorter duration. His Dispensation in a sense will last as long as Bahá'u'lláh's lasts."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of India, December 27, 1941: Dawn of a New Day, p. 94, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1540)

Declaration of the Bab

"...The believers must hold gatherings for the Bahá'ís at exactly 2 hours and 11 minutes after sunset on May 22nd ..., as this is the exact time when the Bab declared His mission to Mulla Husayn...."

(Ibid., June 22, 1943, p. 105, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1541)

The Declaration of the Bab and the Birthday of Abdu'l-Bahá

"...regarding the declaration of the Bab and the birthday of the Master: The Bab declared His Mission on the fourth day of the month of Jamadi I, two hours and eleven minutes after sunset, corresponding with the evening of May 22nd. But as the Bahá'í day begins after sunset, and not after midnight as in the West, the Bab's declaration is celebrated on the fifth day of Jamadi I, corresponding to the 23rd of May. Abdu'l-Bahá was born in the course of that same night, but the exact hour of His birth has not been ascertained."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, November 25, 1936, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1542)

The Bayan

"In the Bayan the Bab says that every religion of the past was fit to become universal. The only reason why they failed to attain that mark was the incompetence of their followers. He then proceeds to give a definite promise that this would not be the fate of the Revelation of 'Him Whom God would make manifest', that it will become universal and include all the people of the world. This shows that we will ultimately succeed. But could we not through our shortcomings, failures to sacrifice, and reluctance to concentrate our efforts in spreading the Cause, retard the realization

of that ideal. And what would that mean? It shall mean that we will be held responsible before God, that the race will remain longer in its state of waywardness, that wars would not be so soon averted, that human suffering will last longer."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, February 20, 1932: Living the Life, pp. 3-4, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1543)

The Iqan and the Bayan

"The Bab specified that the 'Bayan' is not completed and that 'He Whom God would manifest' (Bahá'u'lláh) would complete it, though not in its actual form, but only spiritually in the form of another book. The 'Iqan' is believed to be its continuation."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of India, February 17, 1939: Dawn of a New Day, p. 78, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1544)

Reason for Severe Laws Revealed by the Bab

"...The severe laws and injunctions revealed by the Bab can be properly appreciated and understood only when interpreted in the light of His own statements regarding the nature, purpose and character of His own Dispensation. As these statements clearly reveal, the Babi Dispensation was essentially in the nature of a religious and indeed social revolution and its duration had therefore to be short, but full of tragic events, of sweeping and drastic reforms. These drastic measures enforced by the Bab and His followers were taken with the view of undermining the very foundations of Shi'ah orthodoxy, and thus paving the way for the coming of Bahá'u'lláh. To assert the independence of the new Dispensation, and to prepare also the ground for the approaching Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, the Bab had therefore to reveal very severe laws, even though most of them were never enforced. But the mere fact that He revealed them was in itself a proof of the independent character of His Dispensation and was sufficient to create such widespread agitation, and excite such opposition on the part of the clergy that led them to cause His eventual martyrdom."

(Ibid., pp. 77-78, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1545)

Portrait of the Bab

"...The portrait of the Bab should be regarded as an inestimable privilege and blessing to behold, as past generations were denied a glimpse of the Face of the Manifestation, once He had passed on."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, November 13, 1944: Bahá'í News, No. 210, August 1948, p. 2, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1546)

Hour of Birth of the Bab

"The Bab was born before dawn."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, July 10, 1939, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1547)

The Term "Afnan" Refers to Relatives of the Bab

"The term 'afnan' means literally small branch, and refers to the relatives of the Bab, both men and women. As the Bab's only son died while in infancy, the former had no direct descendants. The 'afnan' are, therefore, all indirectly related to the Bab.

"As to 'aghsan', it also means branch. But it is a bigger branch than 'afnan'. It refers to Bahá'u'lláh's descendants."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, September 25, 1934, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1548)

The Sacrifice of 19 Lambs by the Bab Was Prior to His Revelation

"As regards your question concerning the sacrifice of 19 choice lambs which the Bab is reported to have made on the day of Nahr: This is indeed an Islamic custom. But the sacrifice in question was performed by the Bab prior to the revelation of His own laws, and at a time, therefore, when the laws and practices of Islam had not yet been entirely abrogated by Him."

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, August 22, 1939, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1549)


See also

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