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Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1889, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1889 19 Nov
188-
Birth of General Shu`á`u'lláh `Alá'í, Hand of the Cause of God, in Tihrán. Shuaullah Alai; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Tehran, Iran; Iran
1889 8 Sep
188-
Hájí Muhammad Ridáy-i-Isfahání was martyred in `Ishqábád. He had been on of the most prominent Bahá'ís and acted as the agent for the Afnan family Ishqabad. The murder had been orchestrated by the clergy who had brought ruffians from Khurasan for this purpose. They were bold, thinking that they were acting with impunity because the victim was a Bahá'í but the authorities intervened and arrested nine of the perpetrators. Some 70 fled to Iran. The plan had been to incite a general attack on the Bahá'í community. [BBRXXIX, 296–7; GPB202; The Baha'i Community Of Ashkhabad; Its Social Basis And Importance In Baha'i History by Mojan Momen p283; The Memoirs of Shamsi Sedaghat p27]

"In the city of 'Ishqábád the newly established Shí'ah community, envious of the rising prestige of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh who were living in their midst, instigated two ruffians to assault the seventy-year old Hájí Muhammad-Ridáy-i-Isfáhání, whom, in broad day and in the midst of the bazaar, they stabbed in no less than thirty-two places, exposing his liver, lacerating his stomach and tearing open his breast. A military court dispatched by the Czar to 'Ishqábád established, after prolonged investigation, the guilt of the Shí'ahs, sentencing two to death and banishing six others - a sentence which neither Násir'd-Dín Sháh, nor the 'ulamás of Tihrán, of Mashad and of Tabríz, who were appealed to, could mitigate, but which the representatives of the aggrieved community, through their magnanimous intercession which greatly surprised the Russian authorities, succeeded in having commuted to a lighter punishment." [GPB202-203]

  • Pior to this time the Shi'i and the Bahá'í had lived side by side more or less peacefully. After this incident they were more segregated.
  • Czar Alexander III sent a military commission from St Petersburg to conduct the trial of those accused of the murder. [AB109; GPB202]
  • Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl served as chief Bahá'í spokesman at the trial that took place in November 1890[AB109]
  • Two were found guilty and sentenced to death, six others were ordered to be transported to Siberia. [AB109; BBR297; GPB203]
  • Bahá'u'lláh attached importance to the action as being the first time Shí'ís received judicial punishment for an attack on Bahá'ís. [BBRSM91]
  • The Bahá'í community interceded on behalf of the culprits and had the death sentences commuted to transportation to Siberia. [AB109; BBR297; GPB203]
  • For Western accounts of the episode see BBR296–300.
  • See as well The Martyrdom of Haji Muhammad-Rida by Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani, translated by Ahang Rabbani.
  • Hájí Muhammad Riday-i-Isfahani; Czar Alexander III; Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani; Firsts, other; Persecution, Turkmenistan; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution, Court cases; Court cases; - Persecution; Human rights; Ashgabat; Turkmenistan First time Shí'ís received judicial punishment for attack on Bahá'ís
    1889 19 Aug
    188-
    Baron Julius de Reuter, a British-German financier with a history of financial agreements in Persia, secured a concession from the Persian government. This concession allowed him to establish the Imperial Bank of Persia. The bank was the first modern bank in Iran and introduced European banking ideas to a country in which they were previously unknown. The concession gave him exclusive rights to issue banknotes, manage the state's revenues, and establish branches in various Iranian cities. The bank was given the authority to handle customs duties and foreign trade, which were significant sources of revenue for the Persian government. The bank was also responsible for managing the government's foreign debts and helping Iran to raise capital in international markets.

    As usury was forbidden under Islam, the traditional money lenders in Iran were the Jewish sarrafs, who continued to dominate the field after the establishment of the Imperial Bank due to greater loan flexibility and cultural ties. At the time the only form of money in circulation was gold and silver coins.

    In 1890 a similar Russian bank known as the Loan and Discount Bank of Persia was founded. The Anglo-Russian Convention of 1907 split Iran into a Russian and British sphere of influence. It assigned to the Russian Loan and Discount Bank the revenues from the amortization of Persian debts in northern Iran, and the same for the British Imperial Bank in southern Iran.

    Bank Melli, an Iranian-controlled central bank, was established in 1928. [Colonialism, Nationalism and Jewish Immigration to Palestine: Abdu'l-Baha's Viewpoints Regarding the Middle East by Kamran Ekbal p3; Wikipedia]

    Colonialism and imperialism; History (general); Iran, General history; Iran
    1889 Aug
    188-
    Bahá'ís of Sidih and Najafábád, after having received no help or protection, went to Tihrán to petition the Sháh. [BW18:383] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Petitions; Tehran, Iran; Sidih, Iran; Najaf, Iranabad, Iran; Iran
    1889 18 Jul
    188-
    The Bahá'ís were persuaded to leave the Telegraph Office in Isfahán after being assured that they would receive protection in their villages. [BW18:383] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Isfahan, Iran; Iran
    1889 17 Jul
    188-
    Upheaval in Najafábád: Áqá Najafí, the `Son of the Wolf', drove over a hundred Bahá'ís out of Sidih and Najafábád. They took sanctuary in the Telegraph Office and in the stables of the governor of Isfahán.
  • See BBR280–4 for Western reporting of the episode.
  • What follows is the account from BW18p383 by Moojan Momen:
    • 17 July; Isfahan, Sidih and Najafabad: Aqá Najafi, the 'Son of the Wolf, having initiated a campaign against the Bahá'ís in June, on this day, drove over one hundred Bahá'ís out of Sidih and Najafábád: they took sanctuary in the Telegraph Office and in the stables Of the Governor in Iṣfahán.
    • 18 July: They were persuaded to leave the Telegraph Office after being assured that they would receive protection in their villages.
    • August: Bahá'ís of Sidih and Najafábád, having received no help, went to Ṭihrán to petition the Sháh.
    • 25 February 1890: On their return from Ṭihrán with the Shah's decree permitting their return home, seven were killed as they tried to return to Sidih.
  • Aqa Najafi (Son of the Wolf); Najafabad upheaval; - Upheavals; Najaf, Iranabad, Iran; Sidih, Iran; Isfahan, Iran; Iran
    1889 Jun
    188-
    Áqá Najafí, the `Son of the Wolf', initiated a campaign against the Bahá'ís in Isfahán, Sidih and Najafábád. [BW18:383] Aqa Najafi (Son of the Wolf); Isfahan, Iran; Sidih, Iran; Najaf, Iranabad, Iran; Iran
    1889 Jun
    188-
    E. G. Browne gave a paper on the Bahá'í Faith (`Bábism') at the Royal Asiatic Society, London. E. G. Browne; Royal Asiatic Society; London, England; United Kingdom
    1889 (In the year)
    188-
    The publication of La religion de Bab, réformateur persan du XIXe siècle by M Clément Huart in Paris The book can be downloaded at no charge from here. M Clément Huart; Paris, France; France; * Publications
    1889 (In the year)
    188-
    The passing of Hand of the Cause Mullá Sádiq Maqaddas Khurásáni also known by the designation Jináb-i-Ismu'lláhu'l-Asdaq. [MoF5-8; LoF32-41; EB7-23]

    Note that The Bahá'í Encyclopedia Project dates his passing 1874-1875.

    - In Memoriam; Ismullahul-Asdaq (Mulla Sadiq Khurasani); * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, referred to as such by `Abdu'l-Bahá; Hamadán, Iran; Iran
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