The Roots of the Baha’i Faith The Bab and Baha’u’llah

Just as all the world's major religions have dawned in the east, the Baha'i faith had its roots in Iran, which once was known as Persia. It was the middle of the 19th century an air of religious fervor permeated Christian, Jewish, and Islamic countries around the world. Predictions by Bible scholars sparked a new wave of evangelism. And the birth of Adventist denominations. Thousands flocked to the middle east to await the appearance of the messiah. Meanwhile in Shiraz Iran, a young merchant quietly proclaimed that he was the bearer of a revelation from God… … referring to himself as the Báb, meaning the gate. He explained that he was the forerunner of a divine teacher greater than himself who would soon appear and bring about a new age of unity and peace. The Bab's spiritual and moral teachings spread rapidly throughout Persian society. He promoted the upliftment of women and the poor, and encouraged universal education and the study of science, themes considered radical in a society still steeped in centuries old traditions. Perceiving the progressive new faith as a threat, religious and civil authorities imprisoned and killed thousands of the Bab's followers. In 1850, the Bab himself was executed by firing squad in this public square in Tabriz and his remains were hidden away by his followers. In 1852 in Tehran, one of the most courageous supporters of the Bab, a nobleman named Mirza Hossein Ali was arrested, tortured and cast into a subterranean dungeon known as the Black Pit. While in prison through the foul air, filth and pitch black darkness came the first intimations of a divine revelation within him. He later described, “The breezes of the all glorious were wafted over me and taught me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from me, but from one who is almighty and all knowing and he bade me lift up my voice between Earth and Heaven." When finally released and banished to Baghdad, he began to revive the dispirited followers of the Báb. In 1863, he publicly declared that he was the promised one of whom the Bab had spoken. He took the name Baha’u'llah, meaning glory of God and his followers became known as Baha'is.