Introduction
One of the important historical sources of Babiah is Mirza Jani Kashani’s book Noghtatul al-Kaf, which Edward Brown, with the help of Mohammad Qazvini, made an introduction to it and published it. This book is for the biases that Mirza Yahya Sobh Azal made against Mirza Hossein Ali were not accepted by Baha’is and Abdu’l-Bahá ordered that a refutation be written on them.
The motivations for writing and compiling the book Kashf al-Ghita an Hiyal al- a’da were created when Edward Brown, a historian, published the old history of Babiah with a detailed introduction in a book titled Noghtatul al-Kaf.
In this book, he pointed to the special position of Mirza Yahya, Sobh Azal, and presented a list of differences between him and Mirza Hossein Ali, the brothers of Baha’u’llah; The differences that occurred between the departure of these two from Iran until they arrived in Acre and Cyprus.
This caused the minds of Eastern researchers and Western readers to lose color in the eyes of the readers regarding the conflict between the two brothers of Nouri Family, and the claim of the Lordship and divinity of Bab and Baha.
The incident led to Abdu’l-Bahá’s anger, so that he immediately ordered to collect the existing manuscripts of Brown’s book from Iran and send them to Acre to deal with the printed version.
In the next step, Abdu’l-Bahá suggested to his followers and friends to take action in an organized way towards this Brown’s research work, and a part of this activity.
Finally, Abdu’l-Bahá commissioned the great Baha’i missionary Mirza Abu’l-Fadl Gulpaygani who lived in Cairo to write the book Kashf al-Ghita based on the introduction of Brown and Qazvini and publish it in Ashkhabad, Russia.
Why should Golpaygani write?!
“…and it was decided by the Abha Covenant Center that answers and solutions to doubts should be written on them, and what was written was written by Agha Mirza Abulfazl Golpaygani, which was completed by his nephew Agha Seyed Mihdi and with the assistance of another person in Turkestan. Russia has become natural.” [1]
Up to page 132 of the book is written by Mirza Abu’l-Fadl Gulpaygani, who is the greatest scientific figure of the Baha’i Faith, and Abdu’l-Bahá says about him: “He is the essence of my soul”. (Secrets of works under the word Abulfazl)
From page 132 to the end of the book (450 pages), although some of its parts are written by Abu’l-Fadl himself (including the story of Bab’s repentance), but mainly the contents and notes of Abu’l-Fadl were written by his great niece, Mirza Mihdi Golpaygani.
From important approval to censorship blade!
The important issue is that the book is completely approved and acceoted by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who is the second leader of the Bahá’ís. Pay attention to his words addressed to Mirza Mihdi Golpaygani on page 274 of Makatib volume three:
“Even though you have been working hard for several months and you have not rested, you have tried and worked day and night until this mustatab valuable book, which is the last work of Hazrat Abulfazael collected because this work was very important, every effort in paying it was a mercy and every hardship was easy. It is certain that it will have great results and because may it be promoted, and may the end of server and habour be achieved for you.”
In this book, in order to undermine the issue of succession of Sobh Azal and prepare for Mirza Hussain Ali in front of his very high position, they unconsciously had to make Bab’s position and character look small and make him appear to be an uneducated and cowardly person, and to prove this lack of endurance should lead to the inclusion of Bob’s letter of repentance on page 204 and 205, quoted by Edward Brown.
The book Kashf al-Ghita contains the documents of repentance of Mirza Ali Muhammad Bab. There are also some articles in the condemnation of English Edward Brown and the English. Although, after the fall of the Russian tsarist government, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had to turn to the British.
The Baha’is gradually hide and destroyed the copies of Kashf al-Ghita, so that its controversial content, especially the text of the repentance of the Bab in Tabriz, would not come to the knowledge of the Baha’is, and the British would be worried about the anti-British and English Edward Brown content in that book.
The last step that the Baha’is wanted to take regarding the discovery of Al-Ghitah was to remove the sensitive parts of the book and publish the rest of it, which fortunately met with complete failure.
Those interested to get the full text of the book Kashf al-Ghita on Hyal al-Ada at the following address:
https://www.h-net.org/~bahai/areprint/kashf/kag.htm
Note:
- The book Asrarul Asrar, Secrets of works, under the word of Edward Brown