Bábism
Bábism (Persian: بابیه, romanized: Babiyye), also known as the Bábi Faith,[1] is a monotheistic religion founded in 1844 by the Báb (b. 'Ali Muhammad). The Báb, an Iranian merchant-turned-prophet, professed that there is one incorporeal, unknown, and incomprehensible God[2][3] who manifests his will in an unending series of theophanies, called Manifestations of God. The Báb's ministry, throughout which there was much evolution as he progressively outlined his teachings,[4] was turbulent and short lived and ended with his public execution in Tabriz in 1850. A campaign of extermination followed, in which thousands of followers were killed in what has been described as potentially one of the bloodiest actions of the Iranian military in the 19th century.[5]
Bábi Faith
According to current estimates, Bábism has no more than a few thousand adherents, most of whom are concentrated in Iran,[6][7][8] but it has persisted into the modern era in the form of the Bahá'í Faith, to which the majority of Bábís eventually converted.[9]
The Bábi Faith flourished in Iran until 1852, then lingered on in exile in the Ottoman Empire, especially Cyprus, as well as underground in Iran. An anomaly amongst Islamic messianic movements, the Bábí movement signaled a break with Shia Islam, beginning a new religious system with its own unique laws, teachings, and practices. While Bábism was violently opposed by both clerical and government establishments, it led to the founding of the Bahá'í Faith, whose followers consider the religion founded by the Báb as a predecessor to their own. Bahá'í sources maintain that the remains of the Báb were clandestinely rescued by a handful of Bábis and then hidden. Over time the remains were secretly transported according to the instructions of Bahá'u'lláh and then 'Abdu'l-Bahá through Isfahan, Kermanshah, Baghdad, Damascus, Beirut, and then by sea to Acre on the plain below Mount Carmel in 1899.[10] On 21 March 1909, the remains were interred in a special tomb, the Shrine of the Báb, erected for this purpose by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, on Mount Carmel in present-day Haifa, Israel.
Etymology[edit]
The name Báb (lit. 'Gate') is a reference to the gate to the Twelfth Imam.[11]
Bábism, a term originating from Orientalists rather than the followers of the religion, comes from the Arabic noun bāb "gate" (Arabic: باب). Additionally, Bayání comes from the Semitic root ب ي ن, which forms a class of words relating to concepts of clarity, differentiation, and separation, including Bayán, which can refer to explanation, commentary, or exposition as well as the branch of Arabic rhetoric dealing with metaphors and interpretation.[12]
History[edit]
Antecedents[edit]
Twelver Shia Muslims regard the Twelfth Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, as the last of the Imams.[13] They contend that Muhammad al-Mahdi went into the Occultation in 874 CE, at which time communication between the Imam and the Muslim community could only be performed through mediators called bābs ('gates') or nā'ibs ('representatives').[14] In 940, the fourth nā'ib claimed that Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi had gone into an indefinite "Major Occultation", and that he would cease to communicate with the people. According to Twelver belief, the Hidden Imam is alive in the world, but in concealment from his enemies, and will only emerge shortly before the Last Judgment. At that time, acting as Qa'im Al Muhammad ("He who will arise"), a messianic figure also known as the Mahdi ("He who is rightly guided"), the Hidden Imam will start a holy war against evil, would defeat the unbelievers, and would start a reign of justice.[14]
In 1830s Qajar Persia, Kazim Rashti was the leader of the Shaykhis, a sect of Twelvers. The Shaykhis were a group expecting the imminent appearance of al-Qāʾim. At the time of Kazim's death in 1843, he had counselled his followers to leave their homes to seek the Lord of the Age whose advent would soon break on the world.[15]
Outside reception[edit]
Denis MacEoin, a scholar who was formerly a Baháʼí, describes Bábí law as a "mishmash of rules and regulations that at times are little more than mere whimsy, revolving around some of the Bab's own obsessions about cleanliness, polite behaviour, and elegance. It is a shari'a, but not in any practical sense. Certainly, it does not seem to be going anywhere...Here and there we find indications that the Bab had been impressed by Europeans and that he wanted his followers to emulate them."[92] He further states: "One comes away from the Bayan with a strong sense that very little of this is to be taken seriously. It is a form of a game, never actually intended to be put into practice, much in the same way that whole sections of the Bab's later books don't, in fact, mean anything very much, but are elaborate exercises in interesting things you can do with Arabic roots. Or the way so many of the Bab's early writings, described as tafsirs on this or that sura of the Qurʼan, are really not commentaries at all."[92] He further criticizes the Bábi laws, stating: "The average Babi could hardly hope to afford the three diamonds, four yellow rubies, six emeralds, and six red rubies that he was expected to give to the Babi Messiah, let alone find time to observe all the rules and regulations laid down in the book. For all that, the Babi shari'a made an impact."[92]
Baháʼí scholar Nader Saiedi states that the severe laws of the Bayán were never meant to be put in practice, because their implementation depended on the appearance of He whom God shall make manifest, while at the same time all of the laws would be abrogated unless the Promised One would reaffirm them. Saiedi concludes that these can then only have a strategic and symbolic meaning, and were meant to break through traditions and to focus the Báb's followers on obedience to He whom God shall make manifest.[112]