on this day, 163 years ago, in the town of shiraz in iran, the Báb proclaimed that He was the new Messenger of God, awaited by followers of all world religions. to us Baha'is, this day means the birth of our Faith.
here's what Baha'i World News writes about it:
Baha'i communities around the world celebrate the anniversary with special devotional programs and gatherings on the evening of May 22. Believers suspend work, and children and youth take off from school.
A 25-year-old merchant at the time of his declaration in 1844, Siyyid Ali-Muhammad became known as the Bab, which is Arabic for "gate." He said His mission was to prepare the way for a universal Messenger of God who would soon appear, as predicted in the scriptures of the world's major religions. One of the followers of the Bab, later known as Baha'u'llah, announced in 1863 that he was that Messenger.
Baha'is consider both the Bab and Baha'u'llah to be founders of their faith.
The Bab's declaration of his station was made in the city of Shiraz in what is now Iran. He almost immediately attracted a large following, which governmental and religious authorities found threatening. Some 20,000 of His followers were killed, and the Bab Himself was executed by firing squad in 1850 in the northern Iranian city of Tabriz. His remains are entombed in Haifa in a beautiful, golden-domed shrine surrounded by gardens on the side of Mount Carmel.
I prepared a short devotional for it a while ago, so I thought I'd post it here:
This is 23 May, the anniversary of the message and Declaration of the Báb. It is a blessed day and the dawn of manifestation, for the appearance of the Báb was the early light of the true morn... Therefore, it is a blessed day, the inception of the heavenly bounty, the beginning of the divine effulgence. On this day in 1844 the Báb was sent forth heralding and proclaiming the Kingdom of God, announcing the glad tidings of the coming of Bahá'u'lláh and withstanding the opposition of the whole Persian nation.
"O thou who art the first to believe in Me! Verily I say, I am the Bab, the Gate of God, and thou art the Babu'l-Bab, the gate of that Gate. Eighteen souls must, in the beginning, spontaneously and of their own accord, accept Me and recognise the truth of My Revelation. Unwarned and uninvited, each of these must seek independently to find Me. And when their number is complete, one of them must needs be chosen to accompany Me on My pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. There I shall deliver the Message of God to the Sharif of Mecca. I then shall return to Kufih, where again, in the Masjid of that holy city, I shall manifest His Cause. It is incumbent upon you not to divulge, either to your companions or to any other soul, that which you have seen and heard."
"I am, I am, I am, the promised One! I am the One whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at whose mention you have risen, whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. Verily I say, it is incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West to obey My word and to pledge allegiance to My person."
"O My beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. It behoves each one of you to manifest the attributes of God, and to exemplify by your deeds and words the signs of His righteousness, His power and glory. The very members of your body must bear witness to the loftiness of your purpose, the integrity of your life, the reality of your faith, and the exalted character of your devotion...
The days when idle worship was deemed sufficient are ended. The time is come when naught but the purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity, can ascend to the throne of the Most High and be acceptable unto Him."
here's what Baha'i World News writes about it:
Baha'i communities around the world celebrate the anniversary with special devotional programs and gatherings on the evening of May 22. Believers suspend work, and children and youth take off from school.
A 25-year-old merchant at the time of his declaration in 1844, Siyyid Ali-Muhammad became known as the Bab, which is Arabic for "gate." He said His mission was to prepare the way for a universal Messenger of God who would soon appear, as predicted in the scriptures of the world's major religions. One of the followers of the Bab, later known as Baha'u'llah, announced in 1863 that he was that Messenger.
Baha'is consider both the Bab and Baha'u'llah to be founders of their faith.
The Bab's declaration of his station was made in the city of Shiraz in what is now Iran. He almost immediately attracted a large following, which governmental and religious authorities found threatening. Some 20,000 of His followers were killed, and the Bab Himself was executed by firing squad in 1850 in the northern Iranian city of Tabriz. His remains are entombed in Haifa in a beautiful, golden-domed shrine surrounded by gardens on the side of Mount Carmel.
I prepared a short devotional for it a while ago, so I thought I'd post it here:
This is 23 May, the anniversary of the message and Declaration of the Báb. It is a blessed day and the dawn of manifestation, for the appearance of the Báb was the early light of the true morn... Therefore, it is a blessed day, the inception of the heavenly bounty, the beginning of the divine effulgence. On this day in 1844 the Báb was sent forth heralding and proclaiming the Kingdom of God, announcing the glad tidings of the coming of Bahá'u'lláh and withstanding the opposition of the whole Persian nation.
'Abdu'l-Bahá
"O thou who art the first to believe in Me! Verily I say, I am the Bab, the Gate of God, and thou art the Babu'l-Bab, the gate of that Gate. Eighteen souls must, in the beginning, spontaneously and of their own accord, accept Me and recognise the truth of My Revelation. Unwarned and uninvited, each of these must seek independently to find Me. And when their number is complete, one of them must needs be chosen to accompany Me on My pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. There I shall deliver the Message of God to the Sharif of Mecca. I then shall return to Kufih, where again, in the Masjid of that holy city, I shall manifest His Cause. It is incumbent upon you not to divulge, either to your companions or to any other soul, that which you have seen and heard."
The Báb
"I am, I am, I am, the promised One! I am the One whose name you have for a thousand years invoked, at whose mention you have risen, whose advent you have longed to witness, and the hour of whose Revelation you have prayed God to hasten. Verily I say, it is incumbent upon the peoples of both the East and the West to obey My word and to pledge allegiance to My person."
The Báb
"O My beloved friends! You are the bearers of the name of God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. It behoves each one of you to manifest the attributes of God, and to exemplify by your deeds and words the signs of His righteousness, His power and glory. The very members of your body must bear witness to the loftiness of your purpose, the integrity of your life, the reality of your faith, and the exalted character of your devotion...
The days when idle worship was deemed sufficient are ended. The time is come when naught but the purest motive, supported by deeds of stainless purity, can ascend to the throne of the Most High and be acceptable unto Him."
The Báb
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