The belief in the revelation of a redeemer has existed at different ages through the history. The Divine and Holy prophets, as the Messengers of Allah, have been the harbingers of monotheism and justice all around the world. They have borne the good news of the establishment of the global government by the just leader of humanity who will rid the world and protect it from sedition and injustices. Bearing these tidings of the future of the world has been among the most important ordained duties of the prophets.
Right from the beginning, there has been a form of enmity and hostility to the holy belief of Mahdiism. The prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his household) introduced Mahdi (a.s.) as the one who will establish the global government and take charge of the affairs of the world, the one who will rid the world of sedition and fill it with justice and equity.
About 170 years ago, the opposition against the promised Qa’em (Mahdi) manifested itself in the beliefs of a misled group called Babi (later Bahá’í) in Iran. This article will highlight the rise of this movement.
The Shaikhies
In the early years of the 18th century, “Shaikh Ahmad Ahsaei” in Karbala (Iraq), claimed that he was in direct contact with Imam Mahdi (a.s.). His claim laid the grounds for the rise of a new sect called “Shaykhi”. Shaikh Ahmad’s successor, “Sayyed Kazim Rashti” extended this claim and disseminated it among the public. The dissemination coincided with Iran’s wars with Russia and its repeated defeats which laid the grounds for public despair and frustration. Ultimately it led some people, in their search for salvation from sedition, to follow the Shaykhi teachings. They claimed to communicate directly with Imam Mahdi (a.s.) and this caused a feeling of hope and expectancy in the public, and hence the leaders of the Shaykhi reaped the benefits of this situation. Although they pretended to agree with Shi’a beliefs, and believed in the prophet of Islam as the seal of prophets, and accepted Imam Mahdi as the promised Qa’em, but they prepared the circumstances for the coming of the Babi group, which later on became a source of sedition in Iran.
Babi dispensation by Mirza Ali Mohammad Shirazi(surnamed Bab)
Ali Mohammad Shirazi was born in Shiraz (South Iran) in 1819 .His father was Mirza Reza cloth seller there. He went to old fashioned primary school when he was five years old. His teacher was among the followers of Shaikh Ahmad and taught him the preliminary lessons.
Bab went to Bushehr when he was young and engaged in commerce. After a while, he went to Karbala and lived there for a short time, where he became one of Sayyed Kazim-i-Rashti’s followers.
Sayyed Kazim did not appoint a successor for himself, the so-called “fourth pillar of faith” or the intermediary between the public and Imam Mahdi (a.s.), and thus his death divided his followers. One of these searching for a new successor was “Mulla Hussein-i-Boshrui” who went to Shiraz to meet “Mirza Ali Mohammad Shirazi” who was his classmate in Karbala. Mirza, a young Shaikh from Shiraz, claimed to be the fourth pillar of faith and called himself Bab or gate of Qa’em(Mahdi).
This obvious novelty caused an uproar and disorder in Shiraz. It was clear that Bab had orchestrated this novelty so they recalled him and Bab retracted his claim when he was slapped in the face and accordingly said:
Damn to the men who call me as the attorney of the Hidden Imam.
Damn to the men who suppose me as the denier of Imamate of Amir-Al Momenin Ali (a.s.) and other Imams.
Damn be to the men who called me the Bab of Imam.
After this confession, he secretly remained in contact with his followers. These contacts continued until a widespread Cholera outbreak in Shiraz, and as anarchy prevailed, at an opportune moment Bab fled Shiraz for Isfahan (Center of Iran).
A Mysterious Countenance
“Manouchehr Khan Motamed-Al Dovle Gorji” was the Armenian governor of Isfahan with some secret contacts withthe Czar Russian Government. He was irreligious and had a secretive personality. He persuaded Isfahan’s Friday Prayers Chief Mullah to send his brother to welcome Bab when he arrived in Isfahan. His obvious support resulted in public some complaints against him. The Iran central government ordered Manouchehr Khan to send Bab, under guard, to the capital but surprisingly, he disobeyed the order and hid Bab in the Sun palace, and married him to a beautiful girl!
Bab enjoyed life during that period, but his luck soon ran out when the governor of Isfahan died, his hidden residence in the Sun palace was revealed and the governor’s successor had to send him to Tehran. Halfway to Tehran, they received an order from capital to conduct Bab and imprison him in Maku (North West of Iran) and then in Chehrigh there.
Dispersion of sedition
Mirza Ali Mohammad manifested his claim as Bab in 1844 and continued until 1848. In that year, a group of his followers gathered in Badasht(North Iran ) which was a plain of a pleasant climate to decide the future. The main director of the meeting was one of Bab’s young followers called “Mirza Hussein Ali Noori Mazandarani”. After much deliberation they finally decided to proclaim the abrogation of Islam. They believed that the age of Islam had come to an end.
After this incident, Bab made a new proclamation as the Qa’em. Then he said: “اننی انا القائم الحق الذی انتم بظهوره توعدون”, “I am the right Qa’em whom you have been promised to his appearance!”
Later Bab stepped beyond his limit once again and claimed Prophet-hood. He brought a new religion and a new book which he called Bayan. Later, as he approached the end of his life, he claimed divinity in his ‘tablet of Heikal-Al Din’.
Repentance; the eternal shame
After the incidents of Badasht, and during the succession of Naser-al Din Mirza, Bab was recalled from Chehriq. In Tabriz a meeting was organized, in which the successors’ aides, some advisors, and some clerics attended. At this meeting Bab repented and renounced his claims .They did not order his execution as Bab was considered as a mad man.
But during the succession of Amir Kabir, Bab and his followers engineered some civil disturbances and uprisings, which were dealt with decisively by Amir Kabir. Bab was tried in court and later executed in 1850. Muslims believe all of these incidents indicate Russian involvement in the rise of this national sedition in Iran.
Mirza Hussein Ali Noori Mazandarani (Bahaullah)
After Bab’s death, and according to his testament, Mirza Yahya(Mirza Hussein’s brother ) who was called Sobh-i Azal was introduced as his successor. He was 19 years old and he was an inexperienced and timid young man who could not cope with Baha’i affairs and his older brother practically took charge of Babis affairs. His name was Hussein Ali who was among the main directors of the Badasht incidents.
Hussein Ali was born in Tehran, in 1817. His father, Mirza Abbas, was a clerk in the King Mohammad Qajar court. Education was very significant to Mirza Abbas. He employed some private teachers to educate his children, and Hussein Ali learned preliminary sciences, Arabic, Poetry, and Persian literature from his father and his teachers. So he had no need to go to classic school. But later he claimed that he was uneducated prophet in spite of the fact that he has had many teachers.
Amir Kabir who was a clever premier, realized the danger posed by the Babis, and believed Hussein Ali was the main planner of the recent riots and acts of sedition. Therefore, he publically stated that Hussein Ali had inflicted great losses on the country’s treasury. Later on, he issued the order to exile Hussein Ali to Iraq.
Hussein Ali was exiled to Iraq which was under Ottoman colonial rule. But unfortunately when Amir Kabir was discharged from chancellorship, he returned to Iran and immediately with the aid of his followers, made an unsuccessful terror attempt on the life of King Nasser-Al Din.
After the failed assassination attempt, all those involved were arrested and executed except Baha’u’llah who asked for asylum at the Russian embassy.
The trust of the Russian Government
Surprisingly, the Russian government had supported Bab and they also supported Bahaullah much more publically after him.
For example, after the failed attempt on the King’s life, Bahaullah’s arrest was ordered but he claimed asylum at the Russian embassy and the ambassador, Kiniaz Dalghorki, declared that he was the trust and under the protection of the Russian government. He sent a message to the Iranian King and warned him not to bother Bahaullah threatening the King that if something happened to him, the King himself would be held responsible.
Due to the generous Russian support, the King was compelled to simply exile Bahaullah. It is worth mentioning that when Bahaullah was expelled from Iran, some people from the Russian embassy accompanied this great trust! It was due to these supererogatory services, that Bahaullah also revealed a Tablet in honor of the Russian emperor; Alexander Nikolovich the 2nd. He also granted certain privileges to the Russian ambassador in gratitude of his generous assistance in Iran. These privileges were so extensive that nobody except God could be thoroughly acquainted with them! It is noteworthy that Baha’u’llah also enjoyed the sympathies of the British government during the same period. The British Consul in Baghdad offered British citizenship to Baha’u’llah.
When Sir Arnold Kimball was honored for being received by Bahaullah, he promised to send his letters to the English court whenever he wished to correspond with Queen Victoria.
The beginning of division
In the aftermath of the failed assassination of King Naser-L Din, Mirza Yahya (Azal) fled to Iraq in disguise and was joined by Bab’s followers. They engaged in obscene behavior in the holy shrines in Karbala and Najaf. They robbed the pilgrim’s shoes, clothes and dishes. They murdered their opponents and plundered their wealth. They tried to celebrate the tenth day of Muharram (Ashura) which is a ceremonial day of mourning for Imam Hussein (a.s.) among (Shia) Muslims.
By order of the Ottoman government, Bab’s followers were exiled to Istanbul in 1280A.H. for their obscene behavior at the holy cities.
According to the Bahá’ís, at the beginning of this journey and upon earlier rumors, Hussein Ali proclaimed himself as “the one who was revealed by God”; the Promised One whose appearance had been foretold by Bab.
But immediately after Babb’s death, Mirza Hussein Ali and twenty five other people paraphrased his speech and had called themselves as the promised one. Hussein Ali had begun to spread rumors of his Prophet-hood in Baghdad in the spring of 1280 A.H. and he made these claims public in Istanbul.
Four months later, Bab’s followers were recalled from the Ottoman capital to Adriano and from then on they became divided. A group of Bab’s followers believed Sobh-i Azal to be Bab’s successor so they were called Azali. The other group considered Mirza Hussein Ali as Bab’s successor and they were called Bahá’í.
The end of Hussein Ali’s life
As the confrontation between the two brothers and their followers reached critical proportions, the Ottoman government was forced to intervene to separate them.
They sent Azal and his followers to Magusti in Cyprus and Baha and his followers to Akka castle in Palestine. Mirza Hussein Ali (Bahaullah) also died in Akka in 1309 A.H.
As mentioned earlier he made various claims such as:
Prophet-hood and being the one who had been revealed by god. However, these all ran contrary to his claim as the dying ant. Although he pretended to believe in Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) as the last prophet, he sometimes stepped beyond limits into divinity and called himself The Lord of Gods.
Abbas Effendi (nicknamed Abdul-Baha)
Abbas was Bahaullah’s son from his first wife, “Navvab”. Abbas was also called Master and Baha’s son (or Ibn-ul Baha). Mohammad Ali Effendi was his half –brother and from Baha’s second wife, Mahde ulya (The Cradle of Greats).
According to the Book of Covenant which was Baha’s testament, his succession should flow through his sons, Abbas first and thereafter Mohammad Ali, as leaders of Bahá’ís. However, after Bahaullah died, the brothers fell apart as had Bahaullah and Azal done before them.
The xenophile
Abbas Effendi was smarter than his father! He called himself “Abdul- Baha” or the servant of Baha and “Raqiq-ul Baha” or Diluted Baha! So in this case nobody would ask him any proof for his claims. Contrary to his father, he was not bound by any particular benefactors or governments. He obeyed only the governments that benefited him. First, he imitated his father and went after the goals of the Bahá’í dispensation under the protection of the Russian Emperor. Russian support extended so far as that allowed the construction of the first Baha’i temple (Mashreq-ul Azkar) in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan).
At the same time the Bahá’ís tried to gain the favors of the Ottoman government, so they began to pray for their king.
But when the Ottomans discovered that Abbas Effendi was spying for the British government, they decided to execute him .But the British Empire extended its protection over him. Furthermore, as the British occupied Palestine, they “Knighted” Abbas for services rendered to them and called him “Sir Abbas”. Hence, in gratitude for the honors bestowed upon him by the sovereign of the British Isles, Abbas also began to pray for the great King. He said:
“O’ Lord, the royal court of justice is established in this land for which I am truly grateful.
O’ Lord, succeed the great Emperor of England; George The Fifth in divine Grace and endure his life to be the governor of this holy land (meaning Palestine which was now a British colony).”
It was not long before the French colonial government realized the power of the Bahá’ís in causing divisions among colonial societies weakening the fabric of their communities creating divisions and allowing foreigners to rule. It was only natural, therefore, for the French to enlist the services of Abbas Effendi in their troubled colonies such as Algeria. He was only too eager to oblige.
Near the end of his life Abbas travelled to Europe and North America. He learned many new things during those travels, which later inspired him with new ideas that ultimately manifested in the twelve Bahá’í principles.
He died in 1921 and was buried in Haifa next to Bab’s mausoleum. A number of British representatives attended his funeral. He did not have any son and so he drafted his “will and testament” about the leadership of Bahá’ís after his death. In it he established “The Dynasty of Wilayah or Guardianship of The Cause”. He emphasized in tablets that the Guardians of The Cause would come one after another and they should appoint the next successor who would be the life-long permanent chairman of the House of Justice. According to these tablets, the first Guardian of The Cause was “Shoghi Effendi” who was Abdul-Baha’s grandson, and after him his male children would be guardians of the Bahá’ís.
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi was Abbas Effendi’s grandson. His father was Mirza Hadi Afnan. He studied at the American University of Beirut and Oxford University in England.
After Abdul- Baha’s death, he was introduced as the chairman under the protection of his mother and his aunt. But he was not accepted by some Baha’is, and this caused another division among the Baha’is. Thereafter, a number of great Baha’i teachers, such as Abd-ul Hussein Ayati (surnamed as Avare), Fazl-ullah Sobhi (writer of Abd-ul Baha), Mirza Hasan Niko, and some others desisted from the Baha’i religion and reverted back to Islam. Shoghi began to slander them and they wrote some books of rebuke such as “Kashf-ul hial” (Unfolding the Deceits), “Sobhi’s Memory” and “The Niko Philosophy”, which revealed Shoghi’s true repelling preference during his childhood and youth.
Shoghi imitated Europeans during his leadership and established national and local assemblies, and registered them as religious assemblies or commercial companies in various countries. Shoghi issued a decree that had been unprecedented up until that time. He instructed that any member of the Bahá’í community engaged in any action contrary to the wishes and desires of the Guardian of The Cause, should first be expelled from the administration (official rejection) and then from the Baha’i community (spiritual rejection).
Full support of the Zionist government of Israel
During Shoghi’s life, the Zionist government of Israel was established with the full support of the Baha’is. In fact, they helped the establishment of a heterogeneous government at the heart of the Islamic community and they were consequently officially recognized in and by Israel. Their properties were protected and they were exempted from paying tax.
Shoghi died in London in 1957, and was buried there. Contrary to Abbas Effendi’s prophecy, Shoghi was barren and left no heir and neither did he appoint a successor. The lack of succession caused yet another challenge and struggle among the Bahá’ís.
The division in the Bahá’í Community
Six years after Shoghi’s death, the Hands organized a conference in 1963, in London, in which the leaders of the Bahá’í communities from different countries gathered. At the conference the leaders appointed 9 people as members of the House of Justice, which was subsequently setup in Haifa. In fact, they paid no attention to Abdul-Baha’s testament about the Guardianship of The Cause.
On the other hand, some Baha’is gave no credit to the House of Justice in Haifa. They believed that according to Abdul-Baha’s testament the Guardian of The Cause should be the Head of the House of Justice without whom it would have no authority to govern the Bahá’ís.
The group challenging the established order was called Orthodox Bahá’í Faith “OBF” led by “Mayson Remey”. He was among the important personalities selected by Shoghi. Meanwhile, a Bahá’í young from Khorasan proclaimed himself as the promised man in the “holy book of Aqdas” in Indonesia. His name was Jamshid and he was given the title of Sama’u’llah (Sky of God).He used the same documents as others to legitimize his claims.
Nowadays, the Samais and Remeyites can be found living in different countries such as India, Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Australia, and America. There are also other Bahá’í groups such as Unitarian Baha’is, Former Baha’is, ex–Bahá’ís, Gay Baha’is, Unenrolled Bahá’ís, etc.
Bahá’í Administration
Will &Testament of Abdul-Baha
The Bahá’í activities are carried out through Bahá’í Administration which is based on Will &Testament of Abdul-Baha. This Will is proved, beyond doubt, that it is forged by Shoghi Effendi.
LSA, NSA, and UHJ
Bahá’í Administration is an espionage network consisting of a nine-member committee called as Local Assemblies (LSA) in every city of a country. They are governed by A National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of that Country, and finally these National Assemblies of every country send their reports to Universal House of Justice in Israel.
Country, which does not have diplomatic relationship with Israel, sends its reports to another country from where there are forwarded to The Bahá’í headquarter in Israel.
ITC, International Counselors, Continental Board of Counselors, and Auxiliary Board Members
This is the selected arm of Bahá’í Administration, appointed by UHJ. This is another channel of gathering information of any country. There are about 81 counselors working all over the world and reporting directly to UHJ. In this way, Mossad (Israel’s Agent) has access to information of all the countries throughout the world. Therefore, Bahá’í Administration is nothing but “a state within the state.”
Conclusions
The Conclusions are undisputable and cannot be challenged.
The most advanced and deadliest Enemy of Islam and Muslims is the Baha’i Faith, and the Muslims have little information about them.
Bahá’í Faith is not a faith or sect or a Religion; it is a Co-op Organization for Zionism and it works on its strategies. Bahá’í Faith is the newest means of Zionism, a pseudo- faith to destroy the Divine Religion of Islam. Bahá’ísm and Islam cannot co-exist.
Bahá’ísm has an aim of converting every Country to a Bahá’í State in future, and they have fixed a date for that.
“Shoghi Effendi said that the Cause of God would… become a state religion and eventually the Baha’i state it would emerge …” (Priceless Pearl, Rúhíyyih Khanum, p.440).
Bahá’í Administration is nothing but “A STATE WITHIN THE STATE.” And a network to carry out espionage activities.
It was originally created to serve the objectives of Czar Russian government. After the fall of Czar Government the Baha’ism went into the hands of British imperialism .With the Zionist occupation of Palestine its control went into the hands of International Zionism.
According to one of the ratifications of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (conference) –OIC, the Bahá’í Faith is unanimously considered as a misled non-Muslim faith, and the Bahá’ís as non- Muslim communit.