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. Contents Biographies Acknowledgments A Note on Transliteration Map Preface 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 Iraq · 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 Ali 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 (''ulum 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 Surat 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 · Surat 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 (ahifa, pl. uhuf ) and Other Scriptural Communications · The Risala fi''l-nubuwwa al-khassa (A Treatise on the Specific Prophethood of Muhammad) · Epistles, Treatises, Booklets (ahifa, pl. uhuf ) · 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 (Lawhi) Haykal aldin ("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 Muammad 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 Babi Upheavals in Iran (1848-53): A Preliminary Analysis Moojan Momen · Introduction · The Shaykh abarsi Upheaval: 1848-49 ·· Total Number of Babis at Shaykh abarsi ·· Rural/Urban Origin of Babi Participants at Shaykh abarsi · The Nayriz Upheavals of 1850 and 1853 ·· Occupations of Babi Participants in the Two Nayriz Upheavals ·· Origins of Participants at the Two Nayriz Upheavals ·· Total Numbers of Babi Participants at the Two Nayriz Upheavals · The Zanjan Upheaval: 1850-51 ·· Occupations of Babi Participants at Zanjan ·· Origins of Babi Participants at Zanjan ·· Total Numbers of Babi Participants at Zanjan · The Tehran Episodes of 1850 and 1852 ·· The Seven Martyrs of Tehran, 1850 ·· The Tehran Executions of 1852 ·· Occupations of the Babis 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 áhirih 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 Index.