Tuesday, May 22, 2007 at 1:01am
The first rays of dawn
Column: Life at First Sight
Just after sunset on the evening of May 22, Baha'is around the world will gather to commemorate an event that marks the very beginnings of the faith we love so much.
The story has its roots in 1783, when a learned man named Shaykh Ahmad began traveling throughout Persia (now Iran) to announce that the advent of the Qa'im, the Promised One of Muslim tradition, was at hand. His momentous news attracted many leaders of that day, both clerical and secular. Among them, a man named Siyyid Kazim became his student.
After Shaykh Ahmad died in 1826, Siyyid Kazim continued to promote awareness of the Qa'im's advent, although opposition to this message soon escalated. Shortly before his death in 1843, he instructed his students to go out into the world and search for the "Lord of the Age," as his coming was imminent.
Among those who set out on this search was a man named Mulla Husayn. In a spirit of preparation, he prayed and fasted for 40 days and then embarked on his journey throughout the country. When he finally reached the gates of the city of Shiraz on May 22, 1844, he must have been very tired indeed. The object of his quest had taken him far from his home, and when he reached Shiraz, he sent his companions, a brother and nephew, on ahead to a mosque to wait for him while he took some time to decide what to do next.
He wandered alone outside the gates for a while, when, shortly before sunset, he was greeted by a very warm, enthusiastic young man of the merchant class. He later described his amazement at the expressions of affection and loving-kindness with which this youth urged him to come to his home to refresh himself after his long journey. "I was profoundly impressed," he remembered, "by the gentle yet compelling manner in which that Youth spoke to me." When they reached his modest house, the young man urged, "Enter therein in peace, secure."
After he had been served graciously and the two had conversed for a bit, Mulla Husayn suddenly remembered his companions and rose to depart, explaining that he needed to meet them at the mosque for evening prayer.
"With extreme courtesy and calm," he describes, his young host asked, "you must surely have made the hour of your return conditional upon the will and pleasure of God. It seems that His will has decreed otherwise. You need have no fear of having broken your pledge."
Again, something in this youth's manner compelled Mulla Husayn to stay, and the two men offered their evening prayer together. When they had finished, his host inquired as to the reason for his visit to Shiraz.
Mulla Husayn described the object of his long search.
His host further inquired, "Has your teacher given you any detailed indications as to the distinguishing features of the Qa'im?"
Mulla Husayn, who had been well-equipped with a list of such qualifications, replied confidently. "He is of a pure lineage, is of illustrious descent, and of the seed of Fatimih (conditions all alluding to the Qa'im's being a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad). As to His age, He is more than 20 and less than 30. He is endowed with innate knowledge. He is of medium height, abstains from smoking, and is free from bodily deficiency."
Listening intently, his young host paused for a bit, then with a vibrant voice declared: "Behold, all these signs are manifest in Me!"
The young man, whose name was Siyyid Ali Muhammad, also offered a sign by which Mulla Husayn could identify that he was, indeed, that Promised One whom Siyyid Kazim had foretold. Mulla Husayn had once asked his teacher to provide a commentary on a passage from the Qur'an known as the Surih of Joseph. Siyyid Kazim had said that he was unable to do this, that it was far beyond the scope of his own knowledge, but that the Promised One would one day reveal it, without the seeker's even asking.
And that is just what Mulla Husayn's young host, who would come to be known as the Bab ("gate"), proceeded to do, writing the commentary in full.
As the verses flowed from his pen uninterrupted, "I sat enraptured by the magic of His voice and the sweeping force of His revelation," Mulla Husayn describes.
When it was finally time for Mulla Husayn to rejoin his friends, he felt re-created. "The universe seemed but a handful of dust in my grasp. I seemed to be the Voice of Gabriel personified, calling unto all mankind: 'Awake, for lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest. The portal of His grace is open wide; enter therein, O peoples of the world! For He who is your promised One is come!'"
As the clock registered two hours and eleven minutes after sunset, the Bab told him, "This night, this very hour will, in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals. Render thanks to God for having graciously assisted you to attain your heart's desire, and for having quaffed from the sealed wine of His utterance."
Although the Bab declared that he was the one foretold by Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim, he also indicated that he was the herald of yet another Messenger, "Him Whom God shall make manifest." He said that this next Messenger of God, awaited not only by Islam but by all the peoples of the world, would appear very soon and bring a revelation that would usher in the age in which peace would finally dawn in the world.
For a while, Mulla Husayn was the only person on earth to know of the Bab's claim. In time, as his host predicted they would, 17 other souls each found their way to this message and embraced it, 18 apostles that the Bab would call "the Letters of the Living." One of them was a woman, Tahirih, whose moral courage and fame as a poet endure to this day. All of them would eventually give their lives in the path of a revelation that aimed to bring humankind, finally, to peace.
After the eve of May 22, there followed six tempestuous years during which tens of thousands embraced the Bab's vision of the dawn of a new day, and tens of thousands were tortured and put to death at the hands of outraged Muslim clergy for doing so. The Bab himself was eventually arrested, beaten, imprisoned and finally executed by firing squad in 1850.
The 19th person to recognize the Bab's claim would be a young Persian nobleman who would refuse a position in the court of the Shah in order to pursue his self-appointed vocation of caring for the poor. He accepted the Bab's claim the instant he heard of it. Only later would he come to know that he was that very one the Bab had said would soon follow. But that is another story, for another Baha'i Holy Day.
— — —
Phyllis Edgerly Ring, mother of two, is a writer and editor. Her current book project addresses how adults can recognize and nurture children's spiritual nature. She is a former program director at Green Acre Baha'i School in Eliot, Maine, and has been a member of the Baha'i Faith for more than 30 years. Email her at {email columns@bahai.us}columns@bahai.us{/email}. See the website of the Baha'is of the United States for more information. © copyright 2007 by Phyllis Edgerly Ring.
The story has its roots in 1783, when a learned man named Shaykh Ahmad began traveling throughout Persia (now Iran) to announce that the advent of the Qa'im, the Promised One of Muslim tradition, was at hand. His momentous news attracted many leaders of that day, both clerical and secular. Among them, a man named Siyyid Kazim became his student.
After Shaykh Ahmad died in 1826, Siyyid Kazim continued to promote awareness of the Qa'im's advent, although opposition to this message soon escalated. Shortly before his death in 1843, he instructed his students to go out into the world and search for the "Lord of the Age," as his coming was imminent.
Among those who set out on this search was a man named Mulla Husayn. In a spirit of preparation, he prayed and fasted for 40 days and then embarked on his journey throughout the country. When he finally reached the gates of the city of Shiraz on May 22, 1844, he must have been very tired indeed. The object of his quest had taken him far from his home, and when he reached Shiraz, he sent his companions, a brother and nephew, on ahead to a mosque to wait for him while he took some time to decide what to do next.
He wandered alone outside the gates for a while, when, shortly before sunset, he was greeted by a very warm, enthusiastic young man of the merchant class. He later described his amazement at the expressions of affection and loving-kindness with which this youth urged him to come to his home to refresh himself after his long journey. "I was profoundly impressed," he remembered, "by the gentle yet compelling manner in which that Youth spoke to me." When they reached his modest house, the young man urged, "Enter therein in peace, secure."
After he had been served graciously and the two had conversed for a bit, Mulla Husayn suddenly remembered his companions and rose to depart, explaining that he needed to meet them at the mosque for evening prayer.
"With extreme courtesy and calm," he describes, his young host asked, "you must surely have made the hour of your return conditional upon the will and pleasure of God. It seems that His will has decreed otherwise. You need have no fear of having broken your pledge."
Again, something in this youth's manner compelled Mulla Husayn to stay, and the two men offered their evening prayer together. When they had finished, his host inquired as to the reason for his visit to Shiraz.
Mulla Husayn described the object of his long search.
His host further inquired, "Has your teacher given you any detailed indications as to the distinguishing features of the Qa'im?"
Mulla Husayn, who had been well-equipped with a list of such qualifications, replied confidently. "He is of a pure lineage, is of illustrious descent, and of the seed of Fatimih (conditions all alluding to the Qa'im's being a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad). As to His age, He is more than 20 and less than 30. He is endowed with innate knowledge. He is of medium height, abstains from smoking, and is free from bodily deficiency."
Listening intently, his young host paused for a bit, then with a vibrant voice declared: "Behold, all these signs are manifest in Me!"
The young man, whose name was Siyyid Ali Muhammad, also offered a sign by which Mulla Husayn could identify that he was, indeed, that Promised One whom Siyyid Kazim had foretold. Mulla Husayn had once asked his teacher to provide a commentary on a passage from the Qur'an known as the Surih of Joseph. Siyyid Kazim had said that he was unable to do this, that it was far beyond the scope of his own knowledge, but that the Promised One would one day reveal it, without the seeker's even asking.
And that is just what Mulla Husayn's young host, who would come to be known as the Bab ("gate"), proceeded to do, writing the commentary in full.
As the verses flowed from his pen uninterrupted, "I sat enraptured by the magic of His voice and the sweeping force of His revelation," Mulla Husayn describes.
When it was finally time for Mulla Husayn to rejoin his friends, he felt re-created. "The universe seemed but a handful of dust in my grasp. I seemed to be the Voice of Gabriel personified, calling unto all mankind: 'Awake, for lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest. The portal of His grace is open wide; enter therein, O peoples of the world! For He who is your promised One is come!'"
As the clock registered two hours and eleven minutes after sunset, the Bab told him, "This night, this very hour will, in the days to come, be celebrated as one of the greatest and most significant of all festivals. Render thanks to God for having graciously assisted you to attain your heart's desire, and for having quaffed from the sealed wine of His utterance."
Although the Bab declared that he was the one foretold by Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kázim, he also indicated that he was the herald of yet another Messenger, "Him Whom God shall make manifest." He said that this next Messenger of God, awaited not only by Islam but by all the peoples of the world, would appear very soon and bring a revelation that would usher in the age in which peace would finally dawn in the world.
For a while, Mulla Husayn was the only person on earth to know of the Bab's claim. In time, as his host predicted they would, 17 other souls each found their way to this message and embraced it, 18 apostles that the Bab would call "the Letters of the Living." One of them was a woman, Tahirih, whose moral courage and fame as a poet endure to this day. All of them would eventually give their lives in the path of a revelation that aimed to bring humankind, finally, to peace.
After the eve of May 22, there followed six tempestuous years during which tens of thousands embraced the Bab's vision of the dawn of a new day, and tens of thousands were tortured and put to death at the hands of outraged Muslim clergy for doing so. The Bab himself was eventually arrested, beaten, imprisoned and finally executed by firing squad in 1850.
The 19th person to recognize the Bab's claim would be a young Persian nobleman who would refuse a position in the court of the Shah in order to pursue his self-appointed vocation of caring for the poor. He accepted the Bab's claim the instant he heard of it. Only later would he come to know that he was that very one the Bab had said would soon follow. But that is another story, for another Baha'i Holy Day.
— — —
Phyllis Edgerly Ring, mother of two, is a writer and editor. Her current book project addresses how adults can recognize and nurture children's spiritual nature. She is a former program director at Green Acre Baha'i School in Eliot, Maine, and has been a member of the Baha'i Faith for more than 30 years. Email her at {email columns@bahai.us}columns@bahai.us{/email}. See the website of the Baha'is of the United States for more information. © copyright 2007 by Phyllis Edgerly Ring.