Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1845, ascending — sort newest first

date event tags firsts refs
1845 c. Jan Crowds gathered in Karbalá in response to the Báb's summons, among them was Táhirih. [BabI62; BBRSM15, 215; SBBH1:22] Báb, Life of; Tahirih; Karbala, Iraq; Iraq
1845 7 Jan The Báb departed Mecca. [The Genesis of the Bábi-Bahá'í Faiths in Shíráz and Fárs p35 by A. Rabbani] Báb, Life of; Báb, Pilgrimage of; Mecca, Saudi Arabia
1845 10 Jan The beginning of the Islamic new year. Messianic fervour grew, particularly among Shaykhís. [BBRSM15] Prophecies; Shaykhism; Islam; - Interfaith dialogue; Middle East; Iran; Iraq
1845 13 Jan The trial of Mullá `Alíy-i-Bastámí in Baghdád. A fatwá is issued in Baghdád against both Mullá `Alíy-i-Bastámí and the Báb, condemning the Báb, who is unnamed in the fatwá, to death as an unbeliever. [Bab64; BBRSM15, 215; SBBH21, 22] Trials; Mulla Ali Bastami; Fatwa; Persecution, Iraq; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Baghdad, Iraq; Iraq
1845 16 Jan The Báb arrived in Medina from Mecca.
  • DB140 says He arrived January 10, 1845.
  • He stayed for 27 days. [MS2] From there He proceeded to Jiddah where He took a boat bound for Búshihr. [Bab75]
    		• Báb, Life of; Báb, Pilgrimage of; Epistle between Two Shrines; Medina, Saudi Arabia; Mecca, Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia
    1845 12 Feb The Báb left Medina for Jiddah arriving on the 24th of February. [MS2; The Genesis of the Bábi-Bahá'í Faiths in Shíráz and Fárs p35 by A. Rabbani] Báb, Life of; Báb, Pilgrimage of; Medina, Saudi Arabia; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia
    1845 27 Feb The Báb left Jiddah. [MS2]
  • He disembarked at Muscat and remained there for two months, awaiting news of the outcome of Mullá `Alíy-i-Bastámí's trial. [MS2]
  • He sent a letter to the Imám of Muscat. [MS2]
  • SBBH23 and The Genesis of the Bábi-Bahá'í Faiths in Shíráz and Fárs p35 by A. Rabbani] say the ship with the Báb left Jiddah on the 4th of March.
    		• Báb, Life of; Báb, Pilgrimage of; Mulla Ali Bastami; Trials; * Báb, Writings of; Imam of Muscat; Court cases; Persecution, Court cases; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; Saudi Arabia; Muscat; Oman
    1845 Feb - Mar The Báb returned to Búshihr. He sent Quddús to Shíráz with a letter addressed to His uncle Hájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí who, upon receiving it, embraced his Nephew's Cause, the first, after the Letters of the Living, to do so in Shíráz. The Báb also entrusted Quddús with a treatise for him entitled Khasá'il-i-Sab`ih (`the Seven Qualifications') and promised him his impending martyrdom. Later he gave his life as one of the Seven Martyrs of Tehran, see 1850 19 or 20 Feb. [Bab77–8; DB142–3; MS2, GPB9-10]
  • To the departing Quddus He promised intense suffering in Shíráz and eventual martyrdom. [DB142-143]
  • Bab77 and GPB10 say the Báb arrived in Búshihr in February - March.
  • SSBH1p23 and BBRSM216 say 15 May, 1845.
  • Before leaving on pilgrimage the Báb had stated that He would return to Karbalá and asked His followers to congregate there. An explanation in part for the large following that had gathered there is the messianic expectation associated with the year 1261, a thousand years after the Twelfth Imám's disappearance in 260 A.H.. This gathering was perceived as a threat by the authorities. [BBRSM15, 45, 216; DB157–8; SBBH1p23, 32]
  • The Báb changed His plan to meet His followers in Karbalá and instructed them to go to Isfahán instead. A number abandon Him, regarding this as badá', `alteration of divine will'. [BBRSM16; DB158; MH125; SBBH23]
  • Some speculate that He did not go to Karbalá to avoid conflict and sedition. Many Bábís had gone to Karbalá armed in preparation for holy war, `jihád'. [BBRSM21–2; SBBH1:23]
    		•  Báb, Life of; Báb, Pilgrimage of; Báb, Family of; Báb, Uncles of; - Uncles; Quddus; Hájí Mírzá Siyyid Ali; Dhasail-i-Sabih (Seven Qualifications); Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; First believers; * Báb, Writings of; Bushihr; Iran; Shiraz, Iran first to embrace the Cause after the Letters of the Living.
    1845 c. 16 Apr Mullá `Alíy-i-Bastámí was removed from his prison cell in Baghdád and taken to Istanbul, where he was sentenced to hard labour in the imperial naval dockyard. Mulla Ali Bastami; Persecution, Iraq; Persecution, Turkey; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution; Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey; Turkey; Baghdad, Iraq; Iraq
    1845 c. Jun After expelling Mullá Husayn and Mullá Sádiq the governor of Fárs, Hasayn Khán-i-Irváni ordered that the Báb, the instigator of the commotion, be arrested and brought to Shíráz. [Bab84; BW18:380; DB148–50; GPB11]
    		- Governors; Husayn Khan; Quddus; Ismullahul-Asdaq (Mulla Sadiq Khurasani); Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution; Báb, Life of; Persecution; Bushihr; Shiraz, Iran; Iran First person to rise against the Báb was Hasayn Khán-i-Irváni, the governor of Fars
    1845 28 Jun Prince Dolgorukov was appointed Russian ambassador to Tihrán. He was previously first secretary of the Russian legation at Constantinople. He arrived in Tihrán in January 1846.
  • See Conspiracies and Forgeries: The Attack upon the Bahá'í Community in Iran by Moojan Momen where it says "Prince Dolgoruki....was Russian Minister in Tehran from 1845 to 1854".
    		•  Prince Dolgorukov; Ambassadors; History (general); Iran, General history; Istanbul (Constantinople), Turkey; Turkey; Tehran, Iran; Iran; Russia find ref
    1845 30 Jun At Dálakí, some 40 miles northeast of the Búshíhr, the Báb met the soldiers of the governor of Fárs who had been sent to arrest Him. He was escorted to Shíráz. [Bab84, 105; BBR170; BBRSM216; DB148–9; GPB11; TN6, SBBH1pxxv111; The Genesis of the Bábi-Bahá'í Faiths in Shíráz and Fárs p35-36 by A. Rabbani]
  • DB150 says the Báb travelled `free and unfettered', `before His escort'.
  • BBRSM16 implies the Báb returned to Shíráz by Himself in July and that He was placed under house arrest upon arrival.
    		• Báb, Life of; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution; Dalaki; Fars, Iran; Shiraz, Iran; Iran
    1845 c. July In Kirmán, Karím Khán, the self-appointed leading Shaykhí cleric, had a number of Bábís expelled from the city. [BBRSM17–18] Hájí Mulla Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani; Shaykhism; Kirman, Iran; Iran
    1845 c. July Karím Khán wrote a number of refutations of the Báb. The first, Isháqu'l-Bátil (The Crushing of Falsehood) was published in July. This caused some Bábís to dissociate themselves from Shaykhism. [BBRSM17–18] Hájí Mulla Muhammad Karim Khan Kirmani; Shaykhism; Kirman, Iran; Iran
    1845 c. 7 Jul The Báb arrived in Shíráz.
  • Note: Other estimates for the time of His arrival in Shíráz are from about the 8th to 16th of August based on the fact that Husayn Khán ordered His arrest after the beating of Mullá Sádiq and Quddús. "According to A. L. M. Nicolas' "Siyyid 'Alí-Muhammad dit le Báb" (footnote 175, p. 225), this meeting took place on August 6, 1845 A.D." [DB146n2]
  • Bab105 says it must have taken the Báb another week at least to reach Shíráz;
  • SBBH1:24 says He arrived in Shíráz in early July.
  • Upon arrival in Shíráz the Báb was taken to the governor who publicly interrogated Him, rebuked Him and ordered his attendant to strike Him across the face. He was struck such a violent blow that His turban fell to the ground. Due to the intervention of Shay Abú-Turáb, the head ímam of the region He was released into the custody of His maternal uncle Hájí Mírzá Siyyid `Alí. [Bab85–9; BBRSM216; DB150–1; GPB11]
  • Note: DB155 states that after He was released and "regained His home" He was able to celebrate Naw-Rúz that fell on 10 Rabí'u'l-Avval, 1261 (19 March, 1945). This is an error. GPB11 says He was able to "celebrate the Naw-Rúz of that and the succeeding year in an atmosphere of relative tranquillity in the company of His mother, His wife and His uncle.'' This too appears to be in error. If He left Shíráz in September of 1846 He would not have been present In March of 1847.
  • Three of the divines of Shíráz passed a verdict of death upon The Báb. But for the intercession of Zahrá Bagum, the sister of the wife of The Báb, Khadíjih-Bagum, the mother of The Báb, Fátimih Bagum, with Shay Abú-Turáb, the Imám-Jum'ih of Shíráz, the Báb would have been executed. [LTDT12]
    		•  Báb, Life of; Báb, Family of; Báb, Uncles of; - Uncles; Hájí Mírzá Siyyid Ali; Báb, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shiraz, Iran; Iran
    1845 July and months following In Karbalá Táhirih revived the remnant of the Bábí community. She was considered a part of the radical element of Shaykhí Bábís because she believed that the Shaykhí tradition had been abrogated by the new Revelation. The new Bábí movement caused the Shaykhí leaders to unite in their opposition to the Báb and to redefine the nature of the school, toning down its more controversial teachings and moving back towards mainstream Shí`ísm. [BBRSM16–18] Tahirih; Shaykhism; Karbala, Iraq; Iraq
    1845 Jul (and months following) The Báb was released to the custody of His uncle, Hájí Mírzá Siyyid 'Alí. [DB151, LTDT13]
  • Báb was asked by Mírzá Abu'l-Qásim to attend a Friday gathering at the Mosque of Vakíl to appease the hostility and the curiosity of some of the residents of Shíráz and to clarify His position. The exact date of His attendance is unknown. He made a public pronouncement that He was neither the representative of the Hidden Imám nor the gate to him, that is, His station was higher. Many of those who witnessed His address became partisans. [Bab94–8; DB153–157]
  • see DB152 for pictures of the above mosque.
  • This time has been described by Shoghi Effendi as the `most fecund period' of the Báb's ministry. It marks the birth of the Bábí community. [Bab89–90]
  • During this time He was asked to speak in mosques and in colleges and He addressed gatherings in His home. The clergy sent their most able mullas to refute and humiliate Him without success. He never attacked the government or Islam but rather called out the corrupt clergy and the abuses of all classes of society. His fame and acceptance among the population grew. [DB157note1]
  • A considerable number of the Báb's followers had congregated in Isfahan at His instruction when He informed them He would not go to Karbilá when He returned from Mecca as He had previously stated. Upon hearing the news of the confinement of the Báb, Mullá Husayn and his companions, his brother and nephew, left Isfahán where they have been awaiting further instructions. They travelled to Shíráz in disguise. Mullá Husayn was able to meet secretly with the Báb several times in the house of His uncle. The Báb sent word to the remainder of His followers in Isfahán to leave and to travel to Shíráz in small, inconspicuous numbers. Among those gathered were some who were jealous of Múllá Husayn and the attention he received from the Báb. They threw their lot in with the detractors and were eventually expelled from the city for the unrest they caused. [DB160-162; Bab102–3; MH128–9]
  • After a time the presence of Mullá Husayn in Shíráz threatened to cause civil unrest. The Báb instructed him to go to Khurásán via Yazd and Kirmán and told the rest of the companions to return to Isfahán. He retained Mullá 'Abdu'l-Karím to transcribe His Writings. [Bab90, 102–3; DB170; MH130]
  • The Sháh sent one of the most learned men in Persia, Siyyid Yahyáy-i-Dárábí, (a town near Nayriz) surnamed Vahíd, (the peerless one) to investigate the claims of the Báb. He became an adherent of the Cause of the Báb. To him He revealed some 2,000 verses at one sitting of five hours and among the the Surih of Kawthar. Vahíd and 'Abdu'l-Karím spent three days and three nights transcribing this Tablet. Siyyid Yahyáy-i-Dárábí wrote to the Sháh and resigned his post. On the instructions of the Báb he journeyed home to acquaint his father with the new Message. As a result of his conversion most of the inhabitants of the town of Nayríz later became Bábís. [Bab90–4; BBD216; BBRSM41; CH21; DB171–7; GPB11–12; TN7–8; DB171-172note 2; Tablet of Patience (Surih Íabr): Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh and Selected Topics by Foad Seddigh p370; RoB1p325-331] iiiii
    • See as well Light of Faith: A collection of stories by Paris Sadeghzadeh and Behnam Golmohammadi p34-37.
  • Another learned scholar, Muhammad-`Alíy-i-Zanjání, surnamed Hujjat, became a believer after reading only one page of the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'. Several thousand of his fellow townspeople in Zanján became Bábís. [Bab100–2; BBD111; BBRSM16; GPB12; DB177-179]
  • Mírzá Ahmad-i-Azghandí, yet another learned man, who had compiled traditions and prophecies concerning the expected Revelation, became a believer as well. [GPB12–13]
    		• Báb, Life of; Vakil Mosque; Mosques; Mulla Husayn; Báb, Family of; Muhammad Sháh; - Shahs; Vahid (Siyyid Yahyay-i-Darabi); Hujjat; Qayyumul-Asma (book); Mírzá Ahmad-i-Azghandi; Tahirih; Mírzá Ahmad-i-Azghandi; `Abdu'l-Karim; Shiraz, Iran; Isfahan; Khurasan, Iran; Yazd, Iran; Kirman, Iran; Nayriz, Iran; Iran; Karbala, Iraq; Iraq
    1845 1 Nov The Times of London carried an item on the arrest and torture of Quddús, Mullá Sádiq-i-Khurásání, Mullá `Alí-Akbar-i-Ardistání and Mullá Abú-Tálib in Shíráz in June. This was the first known printed reference to the Revelation in the Western press. A similar article was reprinted on 19 November. [First newspaper story of the events of the Bábí Faith compiled by Steven Kolins; B76–7; BBR4, 69]
  • See In was in the news.... In this blog by SMK, he has provided an extensive list of English newspaper articles on the persecution of the Báb and the Bábís in 1845 and 1846.
    		• Quddus; Ismullahul-Asdaq (Mulla Sadiq Khurasani); Mullá `Alí-Akbar-i-Ardistání; Mulla Abu-Talib; Times (newspaper); Newspaper articles; Firsts, other; Mentions; First mentions; Bábísm, Early Western Accounts of; Shiraz, Iran; Iran; London, England; United Kingdom First known published reference to The Báb. First newspaper story of the events of the Bábí Faith
    1845 30 Dec The Báb's birthday fell on the first day of the mourning observance for the Imám Husayn. Táhirih, who was in Karbalá with the widow of Siyyid Kázim-i-Rashtí, instructed her relatives and the Bábís to dress in bright clothing and joyously celebrate the Báb's birth. This caused a considerable disturbance, even among the Bábís. Táhirih was arrested and expelled from the city. [RR305, SA217] Tahirih; Persecution, Iraq; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution; Karbala, Iraq; Iraq

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