DISCOVERING OUR FAITH

Anniversary of the Birth of the Báb

Monarch of God's Messengers

A Bahá'í Holy Day

Siyyid 'Alí-Muhammad, the Báb, was born in the southern Iranian city of Shíráz  on 20th October 1819, into a family of traders and merchants. His father, Siyyid Muhammad Ridá, died while the Báb was still a child (c.1826) and he was brought up by his mother, Fátima Bagum, and under the guardianship of one of her brothers, Hájí Mírzá Siyyid 'Alí. He was an only child. His family claimed descent from the Prophet Muhammad (hence the title siyyid). (1)

"Recall the peerless tributes paid to His memory by the Founder of the Faith, acclaiming Him Monarch of God's Messengers, the Primal Point round Whom the realities of all the Prophets circle in adoration." (2)

The anniversary of the birth of the Báb is observed between sundown on 19th October and sundown on 20th October. Work should be suspended.

"I am the Primal Point from which have been generated all created things ... I am the Countenance of God Whose splendour can never be obscured, the light of God whose radiance can never fade ... All the keys of heaven God hath chosen to place on My right hand, and all the keys of hell on My left ... I am one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God. Whosoever hath recognised Me, hath known all that is true and right, and hath attained all that is good and seemly ... The substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of which others have been formed. He hath conferred upon Me that which the wordly-wise can never comprehend, nor the faithful discover." (3)

1. A Short History of the Bahá'í Faith, Peter Smith, p19

2. Shoghi Effendi, Citadel of Faith, p81

3. The Báb, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p126

Note: the spelling of "Siyyid" has been changed from "Sayyid" as used by One World publications in Peter Smith's book. "Siyyid" is the usual transliteration of this word in the UK.

Some significant dates in Bahá'í history

October

10th-12th October 1848: Mullá Husayn, journeying to the Mázindarán region of Persia on instructions from the Báb, arrived with more than 200 companions near the town of Bárfurúsh. There a band of townspeople, stirred up by a local cleric, attacked the Bábís. Though Mullá Husayn's company was victorious, several were slain. Suffering snipings and an attempted surprise attack, they presented an able defense and took sanctuary in the shrine of Shaykh Tabarsí. Within weeks they were besieged and the shrine became a fort.

October 1852: While imprisoned in the Síyáh-Chál (Black Pit) in Tehran, Iran, Bahá'u'lláh had a vision of a Maiden that told Him of His station as the Manifestation of God for this age.

30th October 1868: A contingent of German Templars landed at Haifa in the Holy Land to establish a colony awaiting the return of Jesus Christ. In later years, Bahá'u'lláh stayed at least twice at the Templar colony.

October 1920: Shoghi Effendi entered Oxford University in England. He was able to attend only for a little over a year; after the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi was designated Guardian of the Faith in early 1922 according to the provisions of the Master's Will.

26th October-13th November 1928: In the first in a series of appeals to the League of Nations (a forerunner to the United Nations), the claim of the Bahá'ís to the house of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad was upheld. However, the government of Iraq consistently refused to transfer the property to the Bahá'ís

25th October 1939: John Eichenauer became the first Bahá'í pioneer to El Salvador, aged 17. He was the youngest pioneer sent out in the Guardian's First Seven Year Plan.

22nd October 1951: Ethel Stephens, the first AfricanAmerican pioneer to Africa, arrived in Accra, Ghana. She was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for opening this country to the Faith.

7th-15th October 1953: The Asian Intercontinental Teaching Conference, one of several conferences held to energize the 1953-63 Ten Year Crusade, was held in New Delhi, India. It was the first international Bahá'í gathering in the East.

20th October 1983: The Universal House of Justice issued a letter to the Bahá'í world outlining the principles of the Faith concerning social and economic development.

24th October 1985: A statement to the peoples of the world, known by the title The Promise of World Peace, was released by the Universal House of Justice on the 40th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. On 22nd November it was presented to the secretary-general of the United Nations by the Hand of the Cause of God 'Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and representatives of the Bahá'í International Community.

29th-31st October 1993: The founding conference of the Association of Bahá'í Studies in Russia was held at St. Petersburg, a significant step in the re-emergence of the Faith in that nation.

First published in "The American Bahá'í". Facts found in the "Some significant dates" section compiled from "A Basic Bahá'í Chronology".