The Bab and Baha'u'llah
This module overviews the life of the Twin Manifestations of the Baha'i Revelation - The Bab and Baha'u'llah.
Section 1: The Bab
Discuss with a partner the following two questions:
- What do you already know about the life of the Bab? Does anything stand out?
- Some have compared the life of The Bab to the life of Christ. If Christ were to walk the earth today, how do you imagine His message might be received?
Declaration
In the spring of 1844, a young merchant named Siyyid ʿAlí-Muḥammad made a startling claim: He was the Promised One long awaited in the sacred writings of many religions. Taking on the title “The Bab,” His words marked the beginning of a movement that would set in motion a new chapter in humanity’s spiritual story. For Baha’is, the Bab is the second most important figure of their Faith, honored as one of two Manifestations of God who appeared in rapid succession
The Bab first revealed His station to Mullá Ḥusayn, a devoted seeker whose longing for truth had been shaped by the dying wish of his teacher to find the Promised One. Determined to fulfill that charge, Mullá Ḥusayn spent forty days in fasting and prayer, waiting for God to guide his steps. That search eventually led him to the city of Shíráz, where he encountered the Bab. In that meeting, the Bab announced that He was the One Mullá Ḥusayn sought and entrusted him with a divine message. Mulla Husein recognized The Bab and became His first follower.
The Bab’s message spread with astonishing speed. Within just a few years, tens of thousands—perhaps over 100,000, or around 1% of the country—had embraced His Cause. People were captivated by His purity of character, the power of His Writings, and His vision of a new spiritual and social order. Many came from among scholars and leaders, even the King’s most trusted advisor and foremost religious scholar in the land, who was sent to disprove The Bab’s claims, became one of His most devoted believers. In just six years, the Bab established an independent religion and set in motion a spiritual revolution that opened the door to the next stage in humanity’s collective journey.
His Revelation
The Bab spoke to a society Shoghi Effendi described as “the darkest, the most corrupt, the most oppressive, and the most backward society of the whole civilized world.” Power meant violence: rulers executed at whim, clerics enriched themselves as the people sank into superstition, and corruption was so widespread that justice itself was said to be sold like merchandise in the bazaar.
The Bab’s message broke through as a summons to truth and renewal. He urged people to abandon taqlíd—unquestioning reliance on clerics, inherited customs, and superstition—and to investigate truth for themselves. He called people to purify their hearts, uplift women, and show compassion to the poor and oppressed. His words were a moral summons and a spiritual force, awakening faith in people from every walk of life.
The sheer outpouring of His revelation testified to that spiritual force. The Bab revealed with extraordinary speed and depth—over five million words in all, the equivalent of twenty-five New Testaments. Eyewitnesses recalled Him revealing verses so rapidly that scribes struggled to keep pace, at times even writing with His own hand while dictating to others, at the same time. From His pen and voice poured prayers, commentaries, laws, and letters, all unfolding a vision meant to transform both the individual and society.
Even His very title, “the Bab”—“the Gate” in Arabic—pointed beyond itself. While He bore a new message from God, He explained that His mission was not an end in itself but a preparation: to open the way for “Him Whom God shall make manifest.” This Promised One, later known as Baha'u'llah, would unveil teachings destined to unite the human family and bring about an age of peace and justice.
Martyrdom
The more the Teachings of The Bab captivated the people of Persia, the more fiercely the government and religious leaders opposed it. Religious leaders saw His teachings as a direct challenge to their authority, and the government feared His growing movement could unravel the social order. Within a year of His Declaration, He was summoned to interrogation and imprisoned in increasingly remote and severe conditions.
Over the years, the Bab was moved from prison to prison, repeatedly pressured to deny His claims. He never did. His steadfastness inspired courage among His followers, even as persecution escalated into massacres, torture, and sieges. Many thousands chose to be killed rather than recant their faith.
Finally, officials saw no choice but to end His life. On the morning of July 9, 1850, the Bab and a young disciple, Anís—who had begged to die with Him—were led into a barracks courtyard in Tabríz. Before a crowd of nearly ten thousand, they were suspended by ropes against a wall and faced a regiment of 750 soldiers under the command of Sam Khan, an Armenian Christian. Troubled at the thought of executing the Bab, Sam Khan approached Him, confessing his fear of incurring God’s wrath. The Bab assured him: ”Follow your instructions, and if your intention is sincere, the Almighty is surely able to relieve you of your perplexity.” The order was given, 750 guns fired, and when the smoke cleared, the Bab was gone—only Anís remained, unharmed. The bullets had severed the ropes without touching their bodies.
A frantic search found the Bab back in His cell, calmly finishing a conversation with His secretary that had been interrupted earlier that morning. “Now you may proceed to fulfil your intention,” He said. When the conversation was complete, He returned to the courtyard. Sam Khan, deeply shaken, ordered his soldiers to march away, refusing to fire again even at the cost of his own life. His regiment was dismissed, and a second regiment was brought in. This time, both the Bab and His companion were killed.
The manner of His death shocked even those who had opposed Him. The Bab was a Siyyid, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. Descendants of the Prophet were typically revered and protected, regarded with special honor. To publicly execute one—let alone in so humiliating and violent a way—was considered deeply dishonorable and nearly unthinkable. European diplomats recorded the event, and news of the Bab’s life and teachings began to spread beyond Persia.
Epilogue
After the execution, the bodies of the Bab and Anís were thrown into a ditch outside the city. The authorities left them there, expecting them to be forgotten. But two nights later, a brave follower crept through the darkness to rescue them. He carefully carried the bodies to a workshop where he hid them, then placed them in a wooden casket. Following Baha'u'llah's instructions, he began a dangerous journey—secretly transporting them to the capital.
For the next fifty years, the remains were kept hidden and moved from place to place for safety. They were concealed in various locations—near holy sites, inside the wall of an abandoned mosque, buried beneath a sanctuary floor, and in the homes of trusted believers. Every move happened at night, with only a few people knowing the secret location. This dangerous work of protecting the remains continued for decades until they could finally be laid to rest properly.
In 1909, after being hidden away for more than half a century, the Bab’s remains were finally interred on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land, in present-day Haifa, Israel. Today, entombed in an exquisite golden-domed Shrine, encompassed by spectacular terraced gardens and fountains, the Bab rests in conspicuous glory, a symbol of the triumph of the Cause that He heralded over the fiercest of opposition. Throughout the world, millions recognize the Bab as the divinely inspired Herald of the Baha’i Faith and turn reverently to His Writings to discover the “resplendent Light of God.”
Questions for Discussion
- Why might God have chosen to reveal His message in “the darkest and most corrupt” place rather than in a more enlightened society?
- How do you think the Bab’s call to purify hearts, uplift women, and show compassion sounded to ordinary people living under oppression and corruption? How might it have sounded to the rulers?
Section 2: Baha'u'llah
Discuss with a partner the following two question:
- Imagine living in the 1800s and hearing that a prisoner claimed to be a Messenger of God. How might the people around you have reacted? If this caught your attention, how would you begin to test such a claim for yourself?
- Baha'u'llah invited people to examine His Revelation with an open mind and free from preconceptions. What are some pre-conceptions that might be challenging to overcome?
Basic facts
In the summer of 1844—only months after announcing His mission—The Bab entrusted His first follower, Mulla Ḥusayn, with a sealed scroll and instructed him to deliver it to a “jewel” in Tehran. That jewel was Mirza Ḥusayn-Ali, a nobleman celebrated for His knowledge, wisdom, compassion, and moral courage—later known as Baha’u’llah. Mulla Husein found Baha’u’llah and gave Him the scroll. As soon as Baha’u’llah received the scroll, He recognized The Bab’s truth and arose to champion His Faith—sheltering the oppressed, defending prisoners, and giving away much of His wealth to those in need.
In August 1852, a small group of grief-stricken Bábís—acting on their own—attempted to assassinate the Sháh. The government used the failed attempt as a pretext for a sweeping crackdown: arrests, torture, and public executions.
Though uninvolved, Baha'u'llah was falsely accused and cast into the Síyáh-Chál—the Black Pit—an underground dungeon in Tehran. The authorities placed around His neck a chain so heavy—over one hundred pounds—that it cut deep into His flesh, leaving permanent scars. In that suffocating darkness, abandoned to despair, Baha'u'llah received His divine summons: "I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when lo, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been." After four months in the Síyáh-Chál, Baha'u'llah's innocence was established. He was released from prison and exiled to Baghdad in the Ottoman Empire.
For ten years, Baha’u’llah kept His station as a Manifestation of God concealed. Even so, many prominent followers of The Bab could not help but realize that He was the One foretold. In 1863, He publicly proclaimed that He was the One foretold by The Bab, whose Revelation would ultimately transform the world. This proclamation revived the followers of The Bab, who were dispirited after years of massacre of their community and its leaders. Almost all of The Bab’s followers came to recognize Baha’u’llah as the Promised One.
Over the next forty years Baha'u'llah was imprisoned and exiled to all corners of the Persian and Ottoman Empires. He and His young family were forced from Tehran to Baghdad, then to Constantinople, Adrianople, Akka, and finally Bahji—traveling more than 2,500 miles, often on foot or by mule.
Suffering
Baha'u'llah said that He suffered more than any other human being in history. He was exiled and under house arrest most of His life, He was poisoned twice, surrounded many times by violent mobs, betrayed, and survived repeated attempts on His life. Through every trial He remained patient and compassionate, showing generosity even to His captors.
He declared: “The Ancient Beauty hath consented to be bound with chains that mankind may be released from its bondage, and hath accepted to be made a prisoner within this most mighty Stronghold that the whole world may attain unto true liberty.”
Proclamation
From 1863 until he passed in 1892, Baha'u'llah announced in no uncertain terms that He was a Manifestation of God. Speaking of Himself, He said: ”This is the Day in which mankind can behold the Face, and hear the Voice, of the Promised One. The Call of God hath been raised, and the light of His countenance hath been lifted up upon men.”
He shared this message with every level of society, from peasants to kings. He personally dispatched letters to the rulers of the world—including Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, the Shah of Persia, and the Pope—urging them to recognize His message and unite the human family.
While most ignored His summons, Baha’u’llah warned that if they failed to act, their power would fade—and the peoples of the world would themselves one day rise to bring about the unity of mankind which was the next stage in the evolution of the planet. In His message to Queen Victoria, after praising her for ending the slave trade and establishing representative government, He declared Himself to be God’s latest Messenger and the inevitability of the spread of His Faith: “Incline thine ear unto the voice of thy Lord, the Lord of all mankind, calling from the Divine Lote-Tree: Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise… Soon will all that dwell on earth be enlisted under these banners.”
Baha'u'llah invites every person to investigate His claim through three central proofs: (1) His life—the character, conduct, and sacrifices of the One who claims to speak for God; (2) His teachings—the laws and principles revealed to address the needs of the age; and (3) His words—the depth, insight, and transformative power of His Writings.
Revelation
Baha'u'llah revealed a body of writings unparalleled in scope and depth—nearly 20,000 works, amounting to over seven million words, the equivalent of thirty-five New Testaments.
When He revealed the Word of God, Baha'u'llah would often pace the room as His scribe struggled to keep up. Unlike ordinary writers, who must research and revise, His words flowed without pause or correction. In these moments, He often quoted Himself, the Bible, and the Quran, disclosing divine truth in a range of styles—practical, poetic, and mystical.
One witness described how “the words streamed forth as in a copious rain.” At times, up to a thousand verses were revealed in a single hour—equivalent to one-sixth of the entire Quran—so quickly that His scribes could not always keep pace. For example, the nearly 200 pages of the Kitab-i-Iqan—a work addressing prophetic themes and explaining the unity of all religions—were revealed within just forty-eight hours.
Baha'u'llah stated that the potency of His writings are one of the greatest proofs of His claim to be a revealer of the word of God. His writings are all the more surprising given that Baha'u'llah never studied Arabic or had any formal schooling. Nevertheless, His eloquence and fluency in spoken Arabic, as well as in His Arabic Tablets, astonished the most articulate and accomplished among the Arab men of letters, who all acknowledged His attainments to be without peer or equal.
Approximately ten percent of Baha’u’llah’s writings have been translated into English. For those beginning to His writings, many find it helpful to start with three works, arranged here from the briefest to the more in-depth:
The Hidden Words — a short book of spiritual truths distilled into simple, powerful verses.
Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah — a collection of passages on the soul, the nature of God, Baha’u’llah’s station, and humanity’s future.
The Kitab-i-Iqan (Book of Certitude)—a foundational work that explains the unity of all religions and God’s recurring guidance to humankind.
Effect on people
Many of those who encountered Baha'u'llah were overcome with a love that was anything but ordinary. A single meeting with Baha'u'llah transformed lives, inspired sacrifice, and moved many to devote everything to Him.
His followers were so drawn to Him that many forgot their possessions and jobs. Many who saw him regularly managed to survive on only a few dates a day. Even His enemies could not resist His presence—some came ready to argue, but fell silent upon seeing Him, overwhelmed with humility, some left as devoted followers—unable to deny the power of His presence. Witnesses described being overtaken by His majesty—pouring tea on themselves without realizing it, hearing Him answer unspoken questions, or prostrating spontaneously without knowing who He was.
Story of Badi
Perhaps no story better shows the power of Baha'u'llah to transform souls than that of Badí.
Seventeen-year-old Badí was known for his wild, rebellious nature. After walking four months to meet Baha'u'llah and having just two audiences with Him, he emerged so transformed that those who knew him could scarcely believe he was the same person.
Baha’u’llah declared that He had “created him anew with the hands of power and might and sent him out as a ball of fire.” While many who attained Baha’u’llah’s presence felt an awe that gradually faded, Badi carried that flame unbroken until the very end of his life.
When a messenger was needed to carry Baha'u'llah's Tablet to the Shah of Iran, Badí begged for the honor. With the Tablet pressed to his chest, he walked 950 miles to Tehran. Finding the Shah on a hunting expedition, Badí climbed a rock opposite the royal pavilion and remained there for three days, fasting and praying. When the Shah finally noticed him, Badí' calmly placed the Tablet in the King's hands, reciting: "O King, I have come unto thee from Sheba with a weighty message. I bring you a letter from Baha'u'llah."
Badi was immediately seized and imprisoned. For three days, six executioners took turns torturing him—stripping him, beating the soles of his feet, and repeatedly branding his flesh with hot irons as they demanded that he betray other Baha’is. Witnesses were astonished that he never cried out or begged for mercy. Instead, they reported seeing him smile, even laugh, as though untouched by pain. The smoke and stench of burning flesh grew so overwhelming that some executioners fled the tent, unable to bear it - all the while Badi’s face mysteriously still shone with joy. Soon after, he was executed—seventeen years old, steadfast to the end.
When the Shah's advisers read the Tablet, they found a solemn summons: Baha'u'llah declaring Himself as God's latest Messenger and offering to perform any miracle the Shah might request as proof. Fearing a threat to their power, the advisers dismissed it as the work of a political enemy and urged the Shah to ignore it. The Shah never sent a reply.
Effect on the world
Baha’u’llah proclaimed that the infusion of divine energy from His coming would transform the world—both materially and spiritually. His declaration that “the earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens” foretold the unification of humanity. Baha’is understand the extraordinary advancements of the modern age—air travel, the internet, global communication—as part of God’s plan to bring humanity together.
Yet Baha'u'llah taught that no amount of technology alone can bring peace; only the transformation of human hearts—through love, compassion, and a shared commitment to spiritual principles—can create a just and harmonious world. As Abdu'l-Baha explained: “Material civilization is like a lamp-glass. Divine civilization is the lamp itself, and the glass without the light is dark.”
Baha'u'llah passed away in 1892 at the Mansion of Bahji, near Akka. His Shrine there is the holiest site in the Baha'i world—a place of pilgrimage and prayer for people from every background and nation. To all people, He extended an invitation—to set aside preconceptions, to open their hearts to His Revelation, and to discover the light by which both souls and civilization itself may be renewed.
Questions for Discussion
- In the tablet that Baha’u’llah addressed to the Shah of Iran he offered to perform any miracle the Shah would like as a condition to accepting his Faith. Baha’u’llah had offered this at one other time as well. What might be reasons that the religious authorities never accepted such an offer?
- What standards of evidence should a fair-minded person use to evaluate a claim of divine authority today? Are there any other proofs other than the three Baha’u’llah offers come to mind? Do you think proof is enough for us to start to follow Baha’u’llah’s guidance?