The Bab and the Babi Community of Iran

In 1844, a young merchant from Shiraz called Sayyid ‘Ali-Muhammad declared himself the ‘gate' (the Bab) to the Truth and, shortly afterwards, the initiator of a new prophetic cycle. His messianic call attracted a significant following across Iran and Iraq.

Regarded as a threat by state and religious authorities, the Babis were subject to intense persecution and the Bab himself was executed in 1850.

In this volume, leading scholars of Islam, Baha'i studies and Iranian history come together to examine the life and legacy of the Bab, from his childhood to the founding of the Baha'i faith and beyond. Among other subjects, they cover the Bab's writings, his Qur'an commentaries, the societal conditions that underlay the Babi upheavals, the works of Babi martyr Tahirih Qurratu'l-‘Ayn, and Orientalist Edward Granville Browne's encounters with Babi and Baha'i texts.

1 The Bab: A Sun in a Night Not Followed by Dawn | Fereydun Vahman

The Bab Discontinues his Formal Education and Begins his Mercantile Work
Epiphany, Piety, and Intuition
The Bab's Journey to the Sacred Shrine Cities of ʻIraq
The Bab's Return to Shiraz and Marriage
The Declaration of the Bab's Cause: The Birth of a New Religion
After the Declaration of the Bab's Cause
Mulla ʻAli Bastami
The Bab's Eventful Journey to Mecca
The Bab's Return from Pilgrimage and the Events of Shiraz
The Bab in Isfahan
From Isfahan to Azarbaijan
The Trial of Tabriz
The Return to Chihriq Prison
The Execution of the Bab in Tabriz
Bibliography

2 The Worldview of the Báb: The Reconstruction of Religion and Society | Nader Saiedi

Reconstruction of the Idea of Religion: Dialectical Logic and Historical Consciousness
Reconstruction of the Idea of the Human Being and Human Identity
Rationalism and Humanism
Equality of the Believers and Canceling of the Authority of the Clerics
Centrality of the Word and the Rejection of Miracles
Reconstruction of Heaven, Hell, and the Day of Resurrection
Reconstruction of the Concept of the Occultation and Return of the Imam
Equal Rights, Social Justice, and Ethics
Station of Women, Rejection of Patriarchy
The Ethical Maxim: For the Sake of God
Culture of Affirmation
Development and Modernization: Perfection and Refinement
Conclusion
Bibliography

3 The Shaping of the Babi Community: Merchants, Artisans, and Others | Abbas Amanat

The Changing Economy
The Babi Merchants
The Babi Artisans
Converts from the Government Ranks
The Babi Community: An Assessment
Selected Bibliography

4 From a Primal Point to an Archetypal Book: Literary Trajectories through Select Writings of the Bab (1819-50) | Stephen N. Lambden

The Writings of the Bab, Some Preliminary Observations
Bayan/Mubin ("Crystal Clear”) yet "Abstruse, Bewilderingly Abstruse (sa‘b mustasa‘b)”: Exegetical Clarity and Esoteric Depth in the Writings of the Bab
The Shahada (Testimony of Faith) and its Alphabetical Mysteries
Esoterica, the Abstruse, Sciences of the Unseen (‘ulūm alghayb)
The Style, Grammar, and Syntax of the Bab
Personal Letters, "Scriptural Tablets” (Lawh, pl. Alwah)
Letters or Scriptural Tablets
The Genesis of the New Shari‘a (Laws), the Khasa'il-i Sab‘a (mid. 1845)
The All-Comprehensive Bayan (Exposition) of the Bab
The Five Modes of Revelation
Devotional Writings of the Bab
Tafsir Sūrat al-Hamd (Praise) or al-Fatiha ("The Opening,” Q. 1)
"We indeed proffered thee al-Kawthar (The Abundance).”
Hadith Commentary
Commentaries on Hadith Texts by the Bab
Sūrat al-Ridwan
Khutbas, Literary Orations
The Khutba al-Jidda (Literary Oration Nigh Jeddah)
The Khutba on ‘ilm al-huruf (On the "Science of the Letters”)
Select Treatises (Risala, pl. Rasa'il), Epistles (Ṣahifa, pl. Ṣuhuf ) and Other Scriptural Communications
The Risala fi'l-nubuwwa al-khassa (A Treatise on the Specific Prophethood of Muhammad)
Epistles, Treatises, Booklets (Ṣahifa, pl. Ṣuhuf )
The Persian Dala'il-i sab‘a (Seven Proofs)
The Arabic al-dala'il al-sab‘a (Seven Proofs)
Kitab al-asma'/Kull shay' (The Book of the Divine Names, the "All Things”)
Kitab-i panj sha‘n (The Book expressive of Five Modes of Revelation)
The (Lawh‑i) Haykal al‑din ("Temple of Religion”) (1266/early-mid-1850)
The Late Messianism of the Bab
The Wasiyyat-nama (Will and Testament) Attributed to the Bab
Concluding Summary Note
Bibliography

5 Interpretation as Revelation: The Qur'án Commentary of the Báb, Sayyid ‘Alí Muḥammad Shírází (1819-50) | Todd Lawson

Life of the Báb
The Shaykhí School
Shaykhí Teachings
Tafsír Works
Tafsír súrat al-baqara
Tafsír súrat Yúsuf
Conclusions
Bibliography

6 The Social Basis of the Bābī Upheavals in Iran (1848-53): A Preliminary Analysis | Moojan Momen

Introduction
The Shaykh Ṭabarsī Upheaval: 1848-49
Total Number of Bābīs at Shaykh Ṭabarsī
Rural/Urban Origin of Bābī Participants at Shaykh Ṭabarsī
The Nayrīz Upheavals of 1850 and 1853
Occupations of Bābī Participants in the Two Nayrīz Upheavals
Origins of Participants at the Two Nayrīz Upheavals
Total Numbers of Bābī Participants at the Two Nayrīz Upheavals
The Zanjān Upheaval: 1850-51
Occupations of Bābī Participants at Zanjān
Origins of Bābī Participants at Zanjān
Total Numbers of Bābī Participants at Zanjān
The Tehran Episodes of 1850 and 1852
The Seven Martyrs of Tehran, 1850
The Tehran Executions of 1852
Occupations of the Bābīs Executed in Tehran in 1852
Conclusions
A Comparative Analysis
The Role of Women
Other Social Groups
The Social Basis of Babism

7 The Babi-State Conflicts of 1848-50 | Siyamak Zabihi-Moghaddam

Babi Clashes with the State: Neither Social Protest nor Offensive Holy War
Review of the Primary Sources of the Babi Upheavals
An Outline of the Conflict at Shaykh Tabarsi, September 1848-May 1849
The Objectives of the Babis at Shaykh Tabarsi
The Calm between Storms: May 1849-May 1850
The Nayriz Conflict of May-June 1850
An Analysis of the Objectives of Vahid and the Babis in Nayriz
Hujjat and the ‘Ulama' of Zanjan
The Zanjan Episode of May 1850-January 1851
An Analysis of the Objectives of Hujjat and the Zanjani Babis
Conclusion
Bibliography

8 From Babi Movement to the Baha'i Faith: Some Observations About the Evolution of a New Religion | Armin Eschraghi

Some General Observations on the Bab's Sacred Law
Messianism in the Bab's Writings
The Later Development of the Babi Movement
Baha'u'llah After the Bab's Martyrdom
Babi Messianism and the Question of Leadership
Some General Observations on Baha'u'llah's Sacred Law
Some Further Observations on the Baha'i Faith's Evolution from the Babi Movement
Messianism
Ritual Impurity (najasah)
Holy War and Religious Legitimization of Violence
Conclusion
Bibliography

9 "The hand of God is not chained up”: Notes on Two Salient Themes in the Prose Writings of Ṭáhirih Qurratu'l-‘Ayn | Omid Ghaemmaghami

Introduction
Progressive Revelation
Love, Friendship, and Forbearance
Bibliography

10 Babi-Baha'i Books and Believers in E. G. Browne's A Year amongst the Persians | Sholeh A. Quinn

Introduction
Terminology and Identifications
Isfahan
Shiraz
Books in Shiraz
Reading in Shiraz
Yazd
Kirman
Conclusion
The Texts Browne Encountered in Iran
Bibliography