Birthplace of the New Revelation |
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1 | Persia, the birthplace of the Bahá'í Revelation, has occupied a unique place in the history of the world. In the days of her early greatness she was a veritable queen among nations, unrivaled in civilization, in power and in splendor. She gave to the world great kings and statesmen, prophets and poets, philosophers and artists. Zoroaster, Cyrus and Darius, Háfiz and Firdawsi, Sa'dí and `Umar Khayyam are but a few of her many famous sons. Her craftsmen were unsurpassed in skill; her carpets were matchless, her steel blades unequaled, her pottery world famous. In all parts of the Near and Middle East she has left traces of her former greatness. |
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Yet, in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries she had sunk
to a condition of deplorable degradation. Her ancient glory
seemed irretrievably lost. Her government was corrupt and in
desperate financial straits; some of her rulers were feeble, and
other monsters of cruelty. Her priests were bigoted and intolerant,
her people ignorant and superstitious. Most of them
belonged to the Shí'ih sect,
[1]
of |
3 | Social as well as religious affairs were in a state of hopeless decadence. Education was neglected. Western science and art were looked upon as unclean and contrary to religion. Justice was travestied. Pillage and robbery were of common occurrence. Roads were bad and unsafe for travel. Sanitary arrangements were shockingly defective. |
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Yet, notwithstanding all this, the light of spiritual life was
not extinct in Persia. Here and there, amid the prevailing
worldliness and superstition, could still be found some saintly
souls, and in many a heart the longing for God was cherished,
as in the hearts of Anna and Simeon before the appearance of
Jesus. Many were eagerly awaiting the coming of a promised
Messenger of God, and confident that the time of His advent
was at hand. Such was the state of affairs in Persia when the
Báb, the Herald of a new era, set all the country in commotion
with His message.
Early Life
Mírzá `Alí |
5 |
As a youth He was noted for great personal beauty and
charm of manner, and also for exceptional piety, and nobility
of character. He was unfailing in His observance of the prayers,
fasts and other ordinances of the |
2. [First day of Muharram, 1235 A.H.]
3. [On this point a historian remarks: "The belief of many people in the East, especially the believers in the Báb (now Bahá'ís) was this: that the Báb received no education, but that the Mullás, in order to lower him in the eyes of the people, declared that such knowledge and wisdom as he possessed were accounted for by the education he had received. After deep search into the truth of this matter we have found evidence to show that in childhood for a short time he used to go to the house of Shaykh 1. A Traveller's Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb with an introduction by E. G. Browne, referred to subsequently as A Traveller's Narrative (Episode of the Báb).