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Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 189-, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1899 3 Dec
189-
Charles Mason Remey became a Bahá'í in Paris through May Bolles. [BFA2:151–2] Charles Mason Remey; May Maxwell (Bolles); Paris, France; France
1899 19 Nov
189-
Birth of Yan Kee Leong, the first believer in Malaya, in Selangor, Malaysia. Yan Kee Leong; Births and deaths; Selangor, Malaysia; Malaysia; British Malaya First believer in Malaya
1899 (Fall)
189-
Edward Getsinger appointed five men as a "Board of Counsel" for the Baha'is of northern New Jersey. Isabella Brittingham was made the honorary corresponding secretary, but was not a member of the body. [The Service of Women on the Institutions of the Baha'i Faith] Edward Getsinger; Board of Council; New Jersey, USA; United States (USA)
1899 Oct - Nov
189-
Stoyan Vatralsky, a Harvard educated, Bulgarian Christian, attacked the Bahá'ís, `Truth-knowers', in a series of talks in a church in Kenosha, Wisconsin. [BFA1:XXIX, 114–15; SBBH2:111 SBBH1p232; SBBH1p232-238]
  • By this time two per cent of the population of Kenosha were Bahá'ís. [BFA1:114]
  • See also WOB83 for others who wrote polemics against the Bahá'í Faith.
  • Opposition; Statistics; Kenosha, WI; Wisconsin, USA; United States (USA)
    1899 Summer
    189-
    Ethel Jenner Rosenberg accepted the Bahá'í Faith, the first English woman to become a Bahá'í in her native land. [AB73–4; ER39; GPB260; SBR20, 33; SEBW55-64, SCU17]
  • For her biography see Rob Weinberg's, Ethel Jenner Rosenberg.
  • She visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá several times in the first decade of the century. [SCU17]
  • Ethel Rosenberg; First Bahá'ís by country or area; United Kingdom First English woman to become a Bahá'í in her native land
    1899 18 May – 28 Jul
    189-
    At the suggestion of Czar Nicholas II of Russia, the First International Peace Conference was held in The Hague. 26 nations attended. Although the conference failed to achieve its primary objective, the limitation on armaments, it did adopt conventions defining the state of belligerency and adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes thus creating the Permanent Court of Arbitration. [Encyclopaedia Britannica]
  • This was the second attempt by a sovereign to call for some sort of international peace conference. The first such effort was made by Napoleon III in the 1860s. [Modernity and Millennium by Juan Cole p131-135]
  • - International peace conferences; Czar Nicholas II; Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes; Permanent Court of Arbitration; Peace; Central Organization for a Durable Peace; The Hague, Netherlands; Netherlands
    1899 c. 1 May (and period following)
    189-
    Kheiralla returned to the United States from `Akká. [BFA1:xxix, 158] (After his departure from Palestine he was abandoned by his British-American wife.) [SBBH1p239]
  • His ambitions to lead the Bahá'í Faith caused a crisis in the American Bahá'í community. [BFA1:158–84; CB247–9, GPB259–260; 319; SBBH194, 239; AY119; WOB82-83]
  • In the following months `Abdu'l-Bahá dispatched successive teachers to heal the rift:
    • Hájí `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Tihrání, who had taught Kheiralla the Faith, from c. 26 Apr to 5 Aug 1900. [BFA1:173–6; BFA2:17–29]
        See Addressess by Abdel Karim Effendi Tehrani Delivered before the New York & Chicago Assemblies translated by Anton Haddad.

        After négociations with Kheiralla failed and Kheiralla had left the community, Abdu'l-Karím stayed to explain the teachings but because of his own poor understanding of the Writings or his ability to grasp the American situation, he was unable to teach the American community very little. His talks stressed the statements about Àbdu'l-Bahá's authority and high spiritual station and he stressed the concept of the Bahá'í covenant but he spoke very little about the other teachings. When he left the American community was still confused about which of the teaching of Kheiralla were actually true.

        He did however, provide one significant contribution in the reorganization of the Chicago community. They had elected a ten-member Board of Council of men in March 1900, he encouraged them to replace it with a 19-member board of men and women which was elected in May or June of 1900. [TC157-158]

    • Hájí Hasan-i-Khurásání, from 29 Nov 1900 to Aug 1901. [BFA2:35, 389]
    • Mírzá Asadu'lláh-i-Isfahání, from 29 Nov 1900 to 12 May 1902. [BFA2:VI, 35–43ff]
    • Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl, accompanied by the young poet and diplomat, Ali-Kuli Khan, from Aug 1901 to Dec 1904. [BFA2:XV-XVI, 80–7; BW9:855–60]
  • "...four chosen messengers of 'Abdu'l-Bahá who, in rapid succession, were dispatched by Him to pacify and reinvigorate that troubled community. ...were commissioned to undertake, the beginnings of that vast Administration, the corner-stone of which these messengers were instructed to lay... [WOB83-84; AY119]
  • See BFA1:177–8 for lists of believers who sided with Kheiralla, left the Faith or remained loyal to `Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • See SBBH1:98–101 for Kheiralla's teachings.
    • Note: GPB259 says that Kheiralla had returned from the Holy Land in December of 1899 but in fact it was in the month of May. [BFA1pxxix] iiiii
  • Ibrahim George Kheiralla; Covenant-breaking; Hájí `Abdu'l-Karim-i-Tihrani; Hájí Hasan-i-Khurasani; Mírzá Asadullah-i-Isfahani; Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani; `Alí Kulí Khán; United States (USA); Akka, Israel
    1899 May
    189-
    A council board of seven officers, a forerunner of the Local Spiritual Assembly, was established in Kenosha. [BFA1:112; GPB260]
  • Those elected were not so much members of a council but rather "community officers" who carried out the decisions made at a community meeting. [BFA1p112] iiiii
  • Board of Council; Spiritual Assemblies; LSA; Kenosha, WI; Wisconsin, USA; United States (USA)
    1899 9 Apr
    189-
    Upheaval at Najafábád. [BBRXXX, 426; BW18:384–5]
  • Mírzá Báqir-i-Há'í was arrested, several Bahá'ís were beaten and Bahá'í homes were looted in Najafábád. [BBR426; BW18:384–5]
  • Some 300 Bahá'ís occupied the British telegraph office hoping that the Sháh would intervene on behalf of the Bahá'ís. [BBR427–8]
  • For Western accounts of the episode see BBR426–30.
  • Najafabad upheaval; - Upheavals; Najaf, Iranabad, Iran; Iran
    1899 Spring
    189-
    After May Bolles returned from pilgrimage in 1899 she was the lone Bahá'í in Paris but soon established the first Bahá'í group on the European continent. The list of those who enrolled in the Faith before 1902 include: Edith MacKaye (the first to believe), and by the New Year of 1900, Charles Mason Remey and Herbert Hopper were next to follow. Then came Marie Squires (Hopper), Helen Ellis Cole, Laura Barney, Mme. Jackson, Agnes Alexander, Thomas Breakwell, Edith Sanderson, and Hippolyte Dreyfus, the first French Bahá'í. Emogene Hoagg and Mrs. Conner had come to Paris in 1900 from America, Sigurd Russell at fifteen years old returned from 'Akká a believer, and in 1901, the group was further reinforced by Juliet Thompson, Lillian James, and "the frequent passing through Paris of pilgrims from America going to the Master . . . and then again returning from the Holy Land." These are but a few, for "in 1901 and 1902 the Paris group of Bahá'ís numbered between twenty-five and thirty people with May Bolles as spiritual guide and teacher. [BW8p634; BFA2:151–2, 154–5; GBP259-26/a>; AB159; BBRSM106; SBBH1:93] May Maxwell (Bolles); Thomas Breakwell; Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney; Laura Clifford Barney; Charles Mason Remey; Herbert Hopper; Marie Squires (Hopper); Helen Ellis Cole; Mme. Jackson; Agnes Alexander; Edith Sanderson; Emogene Hoagg; Mrs Conner; Sigurd Russell; Juliet Thompson; Lillian James; Paris, France; France First Bahá'í group on European continent. First Frenchman to embrace the Faith.
    1899 23 Mar
    189-
    Edward and Lua Getsinger departed Akká and arrived in New York City on the 20th of May. [LGHC30]
  • Prior to her leaving 'Abdu'l-Bahá took a piece of bread, put some honey on it and told her to eat it, saying as He did so, "let all of your words be as sweetly flavoured by kindness to al people as this bread is flavoured by honey". She wrote that at that moment she felt as she swallowed that bread as if she had received a great spiritual blessing. LGHC25]
  • For His parting address to them see [LGHC27-28]
  • They brought with them a photograph of 'Abdu'l-Bahá as young man, a copy of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas in Arabic, a calligraphic rendering of the Greatest Name and a phonographic recording of the Master's voice. They left the record player in Akká for the Holy Family. [LGHC30]
  • Edward Getsinger; Lua Getsinger; Pilgrimage; First pilgrims; Pilgrims; Greatest Name; `Abdu'l-Bahá, Voice recordings of; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Gifts; Akka, Israel; New York, USA; United States (USA)
    1899 13 Mar
    189-
    Near the end of the first Western pilgrims to Akka (8 December 1898 to 23 March 1899), government officials in Akka received word from Istanbul that they were to prevent all foreigner from visiting 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Only 5 of the group of Western pilgrims remained by this time but a group of Persian pilgrims were required to leave almost immediately after the start of their pilgrimage. [LWS150-151]

    One possible trigger was the conspicuous arrival of two American women and their retinue. One of these women, Margaret Bloodgood Peeke, had altered their travel plans by adding Akka so that she could meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [LWS151]

    Pilgrimage; First pilgrims; Pilgrims; Margaret Bloodgood Peeke; Akka, Israel
    1899 12 Mar
    189-
    Margaret Peeke (b. 8 April 1838, d. 2 November 1908) and an unknown companion visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Akka. They had two interviews of two and three hours each. Mrs Peeke was a presenter at Green Acre and wrote several books on the Rosicrucians, the occult and psychic phenomena.. [SoW Vol 2 No 14 November 23, 1911 p16; LWS152-158]
  • See My Visit to Abbas-Effendi in 1899.
  • Robert H. Stockman wrote in his book The Baha'i Faith in America, that while Margaret B. Peeke had been raised as a strong Protestant church member, her interests changed, and she became a Martinist. Martinism is a form of mystical Christianity. Margaret was the author of Born of Flame, Numbers and Letters: or The Thirty-Two Paths of Wisdom, and Zenia the Vestal (online here). [BFA2p156-157]
  • Find a grave.
  • Photo.
  • See a story about a tribute paid to her at her gravesite.
  • Pilgrimage; First pilgrims; Pilgrims; Margaret Peeke; Occultism; Akka, Israel
    1899 16 Feb
    189-
    Birth of Hermann Grossmann, Hand of the Cause of God, in Rosario de Santa Fé, Argentina, into a family of German background. [Bahaipedia] Hermann Grossmann; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Rosario, Argentina; Argentina
    1899 16 Feb
    189-
    The third group of Western pilgrims arrived in the Holy Land after completing their six-week cruise on the Nile.
  • The group consisted of Anne Apperson, Julia Pearson and Robert Turner.
  • As the pilgrims prepared to depart May Bolles and Maryam Thornburgh-Cropper, Mrs Thornburgh's daughter, arrived in Port Said from Marseilles. The two women proceeded directly to Haifa. [BFA1:145]
  • See EP12-13 for May Maxwell's reaction to meeting 'Abdu'l-Bahá for the first time.
  • Pilgrimage; Pilgrims; First pilgrims; Anne Apperson; Julia Pearson; Robert Turner; May Maxwell (Bolles); Maryam Thornburgh-Cropper; Haifa, Israel; Akka, Israel
    1899 c. Feb - Mar
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá, accompanied by Kheiralla, laid the foundation stone for the Shrine of the Báb. [BFA1:XXVIII, 142; BBD209; GPB275; SBBH2:112; LWS148]
  • In spite of the honours 'Abdu'l-Bahá had heaped upon him, Kheiralla joined forces with the Covenant-breakers while in 'Akká and started to make false claims causing discord and distress among the Bahá'ís as soon as he returned to America. [LDNW]
  • * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Báb, Shrine of; Foundation stones and groundbreaking; Ibrahim George Kheiralla; Haifa, Israel
    1899 Feb
    189-
    The first Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá arrived in America. [BFA1:143]
  • See BFA1:143 for the recipients.
  • * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Writings and talks of; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Firsts, other; United States (USA) First Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá arrive in America
    1899 31 Jan
    189-
    The Remains of the Báb arrived in the Holy Land. [BBD209; DH66; GPB274; LWS147]
  • They were stored in the room of the Greatest Holy Leaf in the house of `Abdu'lláh Páshá until the Shrine of the Báb was completed. [DH66]
  • In the days before His confinement to Akka was re-imposed, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had rented a house, probably just north of the German Colony on the same street facing the sea. He used this as a base when He came to Haifa a few days each week to supervise the excavation work for the foundation of the Shrine of the Báb. When Ali Kuli Khan came to the Holy Land in 1899-1900 the house was used as an office for the construction as well as a place where 'Abdu'l-Bahá could receive pilgrims. Khan was assigned to this house to do his translation work. The room he used contained the sarcophagus sent by the Bahá'ís of Rangoon and a wooden crate. Years later he was told that the sarcophagus contained the Remains of the Báb. [SUR110-111, 285 (PDF]
  • Báb, Remains of; Bahiyyih Khanum (Greatest Holy Leaf); Báb, Shrine of; House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá; Akka, Israel
    1899 mid Jan
    189-
    By mid-January Marion Kheiralla arrived in Akka. [BFA1p145] Pilgrimage; First pilgrims; Pilgrims; Marion Miller Kheiralla; Akka, Israel; Haifa, Israel
    1899 (In the year)
    189-
    Siyyid Mustafá Rúmí and others transported a marble casket to the Holy Land made by the Bahá'ís of Mandalay to accommodate the remains of the Báb. [BW10:517]

    Photograph of the sarcophagus in its transport crate after it reached Haifa. [Bahá'í Media Bank]

    Siyyid Mustafa Rumi; Báb, Shrine of; Báb, Sarcophagus for; Sarcophagus; Haifa, Israel; Mandalay, Myanmar
    1899 (In the year)
    189-
    A local spiritual assembly called "The Consulting Assembly of Tihrán", a forerunner of the National Spiritual Assembly was established. [EB175–6; 26 November, 2007]
  • Four Hands of the Cause were permanent members; nine others were elected by special electors appointed by the Hands. [EB175–6]
  • National Spiritual Assembly, formation; LSA; * Hands of the Cause; Appointments; Elections; Tehran, Iran; Iran first National Assembly of Iran
    1899 (In the year)
    189-
    The Serpent by Thornton Chase, an 18-page pamphlet on the image of the serpent in the Bible, was published in Chicago. This was probably the first published essay written by an American Bahá'í. [BFA2:26] Thornton Chase; - First publications; * Publications; Chicago, IL; United States (USA) First published essay written by American Bahá'í
    1899 (In the year)
    189-
    Miss Olive Jackson of Manhattan became the first black American woman Bahá'í. [BFA1:126–7] Race; Firsts, other; Olive Jackson; Manhattan, NY; New York, USA; United States (USA) First black American woman Bahá'í
    c. 1899
    189-
    It is believed that the first Bahá'ís, a couple, were in Italy in 1899. [BN #43 Aug 1930 p8]
  • A Bahá'í group was established in Italy. [BBRSM:106]
  • Italy First Bahá'í group in Italy. First group in Italy.
    1898 21 Dec
    189-
    Birth of Dorothy Beecher Baker, Hand of the Cause of God. Dorothy Baker; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths
    1898 c. 20 Dec
    189-
    The second group of Western pilgrims arrived in `Akká, and stayed three days before returning to Cairo to resume their plan for a six-week trip up the Nile which began soon after New Year's Day. [BFA1:145]
  • Included in this group were Phoebe Hearst, Amalie Bachrodt, Mrs Thornburg and possibly Robert Turner. The Hearst group arrived incognito and in the dark to protect her reputation and that of her son . In spite of these precautions the authorities became aware that visitors had come to see the Prisoner of Akka and limitations upon Him were increased. [BFA1:145]
  • This group remained for three days and were back in Cairo for Christmas. [BFA1p145]
  • Pilgrimage; First pilgrims; Pilgrims; Phoebe Hearst; Amalie Bachrodt; Thornburg, Mrs; Robert Turner; Akka, Israel
    1898 10 Dec
    189-
    The first Western pilgrims arrived in `Akká. [AB68; BBD13; BBRXXX; DH214; GPB257; SCU13; Bahá'í Teachings]
  • See MBBA146-152 for a description of how arrangements were made to accommodate the Western visitors in a relatively new city with no hotels and few houses. The city was built to accommodate the construction of the Suez Canal which had been completed in 1869. Other sources indicate that the pilgrims were accommodated in Cairo.
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá expressed His appreciation to Mírzá Áqá Nuri'd-Din for his service in accommodating the Western pilgrims. His Tablet seems to indicate that he was kept in place for that purpose. [MBBA152]
  • They divided themselves into three parties, using Cairo as a staging post. [AB68; BFA1:143; SBBH1:93]
  • See AB68–72; BFA2:9; DH61; GPB257, 259 for those included in the pilgrimage group.
  • Included were Mrs Hearst's nieces, a few American friends and, joining in London, Mrs Mary Thornburgh-Cropper and her mother. [SCU13. CH234-236; LDNW15]
  • In Paris the group was joined by two nieces of Mrs Hearst, Mrs Thornburgh, her daughter Miriam Thornburgh-Cropper and May Bolles. [AB68]
  • LDNW15 says that Ella Goodall and Nell Hillyer and May Bolles joined the party in Paris.
  • There were further additions in Egypt. [AB68]
  • See BFA1:143–4 for those included in the first group.
  • Among the group was Robert Turner, the first member of the Black race to become a Bahá'í. For 35 years, Turner faithfully served as butler to Phoebe Apperson Hearst and Senator George Hearst, parents of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. [AB72; BBD227; BFA1:139; GPB259]
  • `Abdu'l-Bahá received the pilgrims in the House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá. [BBD13, 108; DH61]
  • See AB68–71; BW16:104–5; CH235–6 and GPB257–9 for the pilgrims' responses to the pilgrimage.
  • Edward Getsinger made a recording of `Abdu'l-Bahá chanting a prayer. [BFA1:160]
  • Getsinger also took photographs that he later tinted and published as an album. [LDNW16]
  • On the 18th of January, 1899, Lua received her first Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in fact, it was the first Tablet addressed to a North American believer. [LGHC23]
  • See TF31-52 for details of Lua Getsinger's pilgrim experience and TF44-46 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's parting remarks to the pilgrims.
  • The Getsingers returned from the pilgrimage with an Arabic copy of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas which was later translated by Anton Haddad. They departed on the 23rd of March, 1899. [BFA2:11; LGHC30]
  • See Star of the West, vol. VII, No. 4 or "Lua Getsinger - Herald of the Covenant" By Amine DeMille for a description of how 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave Lua the power to speak eloquently. [LDNW15] iiiii
  • Pilgrims; Pilgrimage; First pilgrims; Mary Virginia Thornburgh-Cropper; Robert Turner; First believers by background; Edward Getsinger; Lua Getsinger; Anton Haddad; Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book); House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá; `Abdu'l-Bahá, Voice recordings of; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Akka, Israel; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt First Western pilgrims; first group of first Western pilgrims; the first Tablet addressed to a North American believer; first member of black race to become Bahá'í
    1898 13 Nov
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá commemorated Kheiralla's arrival by ending the period of mourning for Bahá'u'lláh and by opening His Tomb to pilgrims for the first time. [BFA1:142–3; SBBH2:112] Ibrahim George Kheiralla; Firsts, other; Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; Bahá'u'lláh, Ascension of; Pilgrimage; Pilgrims; Bahji, Israel First time Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh opened to pilgrims
    1898 11 Nov
    189-
    Kheiralla arrived in `Akká. [BFA1:XXVIII, 141]
  • He had left the party of pilgrims in France and departed for Egypt in early October where he had children. His wife went to England to invite her Bahá'í aunt to accompany them to Akka. [BFA141]
  • During his stay he tried to get approval for his manuscript entitled Behá'U'lláh from 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The manuscript had many of his personal beliefs, such as the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá being that of the return of Christ and his concept of reincarnation. [BFA1p230; 161; LWS149]
    • See BFA1p32-33 for a discussion of how the issue of reincarnation affected the American Bahá'í community.
  • During his visit `Abdu'l-Bahá conferred titles on him: `Bahá'ís Peter', the `Second Columbus' and `Conqueror of America'. [BFA1:142; GPB275; SBBH2:112]
  • Dr. Kheiralla, his wife and daughters, Nabiba an Labiba departed Haifa for Port Said on the 21th of March, 1899. Kheiralla arrived in New York on the 10th of May. [LGHC24; 30; BFA1p160;]
  • Ibrahim George Kheiralla; Pilgrimage; First pilgrims; Pilgrims; Akka, Israel
    1898 (Before 10 Dec)
    189-
    During this period, `Abdu'l-Bahá issued instructions that, under no circumstances, was the Cause of God to be proclaimed or propagated in Egypt. The pilgrims who came through Port Said on a monthly basis were told when they arrived not to teach the Cause and, if they were asked about the Faith, not to offer a response. Ibrahim Effendi, who served in the Egyptian Custom Office as an inspector, noticed the coming and going of pilgrims from Persia and pressed for an explanation. One of the pilgrims, a renowned Bahá'í teacher from a Zoroastrian background named Jinab-i-Nush, unaware of the injunction, began to teach him. Mirza Áqá reported the incident to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and He welcomed the new believer with a Tablet. Ibrahim Effendi became an intrepid teacher of the Faith. Jinab-i-Nush; Ibrahim Effendi; Port Said, Egypt; Egypt first first native believer of Port Said.
    1898 Oct
    189-
    Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany visited Haifa where the Templer colony numbered about 700 souls. His ship docked at what is now Ben Gurion Avenue. (The modern port built during the British Mandate period reclaimed much land altering the shoreline of Haifa beyond recognition and depriving the German colony of direct access to the sea. The Kaiser's visit was the apex of the history of the colony and would be commemorated with a stone marker that today sits just above the entrance at the top of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Báb.) He, however, chose not to go to Akka where 'Abdu'l-Bahá lived and He did not go to see the Kaiser because he "was proud He was the embodiment of pride." [VAB8; LWS10, 288n20] Templer Society (German Templer colony); Kaiser Wilhelm II; Haifa, Israel
    1898 22 Sep
    189-
    The first Western pilgrims departed for `Akká, travelling via New York and Paris. [BFA1:XXVIII, 140–1, 230]
  • It was arranged by Phoebe Hearst, who had already planned a journey to Egypt for the autumn. [BFA1:140, AY60]
  • There were 15 pilgrims in all. Among them was Ibáhím Kheiralla and his family. [AB68; AY111]
  • Pilgrimage; First pilgrims; Pilgrims; Phoebe Hearst; Lua Getsinger; Edward Getsinger; Robert Turner; Ibrahim George Kheiralla; New York, USA; United States (USA) First Western pilgrims
    1898 (Autumn)
    189-
    Eighteen people became Bahá'ís in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the visit of Kheiralla in the autumn of 1897. [BFA1:XXVIII]
  • This marked the establishment of the third Bahá'í community in North America. [BFA1:110]
  • Ibrahim George Kheiralla; Kenosha, WI; Wisconsin, USA
    1898 20 Aug
    189-
    Jamál Effendi passed away in `Akká. [EB128; Momen-Jamal Effendi]

    Note: Balyuzi gives the date of August 20th with giving a source. Momen says that Jamál Effendi lived out the last days in Akka. He died on 9 November 1898. He was buried in the Akka cemetery near the grave of Mírzá Músá, the brother of Bahá'u'lláh. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a tablet of visitation for him and instructed that on his grave be written the following words:

    Verily, Jamál ad-Dín, a traveller famous in every clime, the spreader of the fragrance of the love of God, has now become a traveller in those realms of God which are hidden from the eyes of the people of realm of veils. 1316 AH

    Jamal Effendi; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Akka, Israel
    1898 Jul or Aug
    189-
    Phoebe Hearst became a Bahá'í in California through the efforts of Lua and Edward Getsinger. [BFA1:XXVIII 139; LDNW14-15]
  • SBBH1:93 says this was July, based on Kheiralla's autobiography; BFA1 is based on a letter from Phoebe Hearst.
  • Phoebe Hearst; Lua Getsinger; Edward Getsinger; California, USA; United States (USA)
    1898 1 Jun
    189-
    Áqá Ghulám-Husayn-i-Banádakí was killed by a mob in Yazd after refusing to deny his faith. [BW18:384] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Mobs; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Yazd, Iran; Iran
    1898 Jun
    189-
    In New York City, 141 people became Bahá'ís in the five months since Kheiralla's arrival. [BFA1:XXVIII, 125] Ibrahim George Kheiralla; New York, USA; United States (USA)
    1898 Apr
    189-
    Nine Bahá'ís attending a Ridván meeting were arrested, beaten and imprisoned in Hamadán. [BW18:384] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Hamadán, Iran; Iran
    1898 9 Feb
    189-
    Hájí Muhammad-i-Turk was shot, beaten and then burned to death in a main street in Mashhad by four religious students. [BBRXXX, 406; BW18:384]
  • For Western accounts of the episode see BBR406–17.
  • Hájí Muhammad-i-Turk; Mashhad, Iran
    1898 Feb
    189-
    Kheiralla arrived in New York and began classes on the Bahá'í Faith. [BFA1:XXVIII, 116] Ibrahim George Kheiralla; New York, USA
    1898 (In the year)
    189-
    Several Bahá'ís were arrested and imprisoned in Qazvín. [BW18:384]

    Hájí Muhammad was set upon and killed in Hisár, Khurásán. BW18:384]

    Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Qazvin, Iran; Hisar, Iran; Khurásán, Iran; Iran
    1898 (In the year)
    189-
    The Tarbíyat School for boys was established in Tihrán by the Bahá'ís. [BBD221] Tarbiyat School, Tihran; - Bahá'í inspired schools; Social and economic development; Tehran, Iran; Iran Founding of the first Tarbíyat School for boys
    1898 (In the year)
    189-
    The first anti-Bahá'í polemical tracts were published by Christian missionaries in Iran. [SBB111:69] Criticism and apologetics; Firsts, other; Iran First anti-Bahá'í polemics by missionaries in Iran
    1898 (In the year)
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá instructed that the remains of the Báb be brought from their hiding place in Tihrán to the Holy Land. [BBD209]

    In the 48 years since His martyrdom the Remains of the Báb had been secreted from a silk factory in Tabriz to Ṭihrán, Iṣfáhán, Kirmansháh, Baghdád, Damascus, Beirut and finally to 'Akká and then to the Mountain of God. [CoF54]

    He insisted that the utmost secrecy be observed. "The dangers inherent in conserving such s precious Trust were enhanced tenfold with the defection of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's brothers….Spies in the employ of these disloyal members of Bahá'u'lláh's own family could be found in the telegraph offices and ports throughout the region." [LWS147]

  • Picture of the shipping crate.
  • Báb, Remains of; Báb, Shrine of; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1896-1897
    189-
    In a gathering in Akka, 'Abdu'l-Bahá informed the friends of the threats of Siyyid Jamalud-Din-i-Afghani, a sometimes collaborator with Sultán 'Abdu'l-Maníd and an inveterate enemy of the Faith. He had vision of a pan-Islamic Ottoman state with the Sultan as the head of all Muslims. A short time after `Abdu'l-Bahá had spoken about him, a small growth appeared on the Siyyid's tongue. The Sultan's special physician was sent to attend him. In a number of operations, his tongue was cut several times until none was left and, soon after, he died. This was the end of a person whose tongue had spoken presumptuously towards the Cause of God and had committed such slander and calumny against the Faith. He has been called the "Protagonist of Pan-Islamism".
  • MBBA158 says his death occurred in 1901 or a short time after. In fact he died in March 1897. Two Azalis who had been associated with him, Shaykh Ahmad and Mírzá Áqá Khan, were caught up in his intrigues to rid Persia of its monarchy and were executed in Tabriz on the 15th of July, 1896 by the then Crown Prince Muhammad-'Alí Mirzá. [EGB23-28]
  • Jamalud-Din-i-Afghani; Covenant-breaking; Muhammad-`Alí Sháh; Akka, Israel; Tabríz, Iran; Iran
    1897 30 May
    189-
    The Covenant-breakers living at Bahji, realized that Mírzá Àqá Ján would be useful to them in their plot to undermine the authority of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. They sent a letter to him purportedly from the Bahá'ís in Iran requesting that he assume leadership. Mírzá Àqá Ján arranged for a feast to be held at the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh on the fifth anniversary of His passing when he planned to announce his intention to the assembled followers. The Covenant-breakers, anticipating that his announcement would cause a disturbance, bribed a local official to have men on hand to take charge of the scene and to discredit 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the process. They had hope that He would be banished and they would be left in complete control of the Shrine. The disturbance did not happen as planned; the the result was that Mírzá Àqá Ján had openly thrown in his lot with the Covenant-breakers. They arranged for him to live in the Shrine until his death in 1901. During this time 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the faithful followers did not enter the Shrine but rather observed their devotions outside. [CoB184-189; MBBA84-90] Mírzá Aqa Jan (Khadimu'lláh); Mírzá Muhammad Ali; Covenant-breaking; Bahji, Israel
    1897 21 May
    189-
    Lua Getsinger became a Bahá'í in Chicago. She had been called Khayru'lláh's best pupil. [BFA1:XXVII, AY59] Lua Getsinger; Ibrahim George Kheiralla; Chicago, IL; United States (USA)
    1897 Spring
    189-
    Finding the situation in `Akka intolerable, `Abdu'l-Bahá had moved to Haifa's Retreat of Elijah on Mount Carmel for two months. [MBBA69] * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Covenant-breaking; Cave of Elijah; Elijah (Prophet); Akka, Israel; Haifa, Israel; Mount Carmel
    1897 26 Mar
    189-
    From the time of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, Abdu'l-Bahá endured significant family opposition to His authority and position as the Centre of the Covenant. For several years He had worked to contain the news of these defections and to prevent any word of them from reaching other Bahá'í communities. By 1896-7 the Bahá'ís of Egypt had heard enough of the details that when Mirza Habibu'llah Afnan was going on a pilgrimage, they asked him to learn as much as he could. To his great shock, the Afnan soon apprised that indeed Abdu'l-Bahá's brothers and the majority of his family had arisen against him in rebellion. They accused Him of claiming to be a manifestation Himself and for the mistreatment of the break-away part of the family. As instructed by 'Abdul-Bahá, he, on his return to Egypt, informed the Bahá'í community of the situation. Mirza Abu'l-Fadl found this hard to accept in view of Bahá'u'lláh instructions regarding the treatment of the Holy Family after His passing. Therefore, he wrote to Abdu'l-Bahá to confirm the truth of this news and received in response a lengthy tablet that has been called The First Thousand-Verse Tablet. ['Abdu'l-Baha's First Thousand-Verse Tablet: History and Provisional Translation by Ahang Rabbani and Khazeh Fananapazir]

    In the Tablet He described how He had suffered from the activities of both "the waverers and the rebellious" from among the family and associates. They had deployed others to undermine the authority of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Persia (where Jamál-i- Burújirdí was foremost among the Covenant-breakers.) and in other lands and even used the name of steadfast believers to disseminate their messages to undermine His authority. Up until this time 'Abdu'l-Bahá had spent considerable effort in trying to contain the news of their activities and had amassed considerable debt in trying to appease their demands.

    To compound 'Abdu'l-Bahá's woes and difficulties, in addition to opposition from within the Faith, the Azalis were active, particularly in Persia. Opposition also came from the Ottoman government in Istanbul, the local authorities and from the Islam and possibly the Christian communities in Akka. iiiii

  • Sometime later, in 1315 AH (which commenced on 2 June 1897), a similar tablet of the same name was composed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá for Mirza Jalíl Khu'í, a coppersmith who lived in the province of Adhirbayjan. He had been influenced by Jamál-i- Burújirdí and had been appointed as his agent in that country. Khu'í had also received correspondence from Muhammad-'Alí. The tablet was read to Khu'i but a copy not given to him at 'Abdu'l-Bahá's instruction. Scholars have labelled this as the Second Thousand-Verse Tablet. [Tablet of Splendors (Lawh-i-Ishráqát): Tablet study outline; CoBp148-9, 157, 158, 229]
  • See how this Tablet became the source of the undoing of Mírzá Muhammad-Ali and Majdu'd-Dín in their plot to deceive the governor of Syria in Damascus, Názim Páshá, into believing that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was planning an insurrection. [CoB226-230]
  • Covenant-breaking; * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Writings and talks of; Thousand-Verse Tablet; Khalil-i-Khui; Jamal-i-Burujirdi; Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani; Mírzá Muhammad Ali; Akka, Israel; Iran; Azerbaijan; Egypt; Cairo, Egypt
    1897 1 Mar
    189-
    The birth of Shoghi Effendi, in the house of `Abdu'lláh Páshá. [BBD208; BKG359; DH60, 214; GBF2]
  • He was descended from both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh: his mother was the eldest daughter of `Abdu'l-Bahá; his father was an Afnán, a grandson of Hájí Mírzá `Abu'l-Qásim, a cousin of the mother of the Báb and a brother of His wife. [CB280; GBF2]
  • He was the Ghusn-i-Mumtáz, the Chosen Branch. [BBD87]
  • `Shoghi' means `one who longs'. [CB281]
  • `Abdu'l-Bahá commanded everyone, even Shoghi Effendi's father, to add the title `Effendi' after his name. [CB281; GBF2]
  • `Abdu'l-Bahá gave him the surname Rabbání in the early years of his study in Haifa so that he will not be confused with his cousins, who were all called Afnán or Shahíd. The family name "Rabbání" was also used by Shoghi Effendi's brothers and sister. [BBD191–2; DH60–1; PG4]
  • As a young boy the Master sent him with a nurse named Hájar Khátún to live in Haifa where he was registered in the French Jesuit school, Collège des Frères. By the age of nine or ten his mother had gotten rid of this nurse. He was unhappy at school in Haifa so the Master sent him to a Catholic boarding school in Beirut where he was equally unhappy. He even sent an attendant to rent a house and provide care so he could attend as a day student but still he was not happy so arrangements were made for him to enter the preparatory school associated with the Syrian Protestant College. [PG4; PP15-17]
  • See also Rabbani, The Priceless Pearl; Rabbani, The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith; Giachery, Shoghi Effendi: Recollections.
  • In a letter from the Universal House of Justice dated 1 October 1973 to Elias Zohoori, included on page 83 of his book, Names and Numbers: A Bahá'í History Reference Guide it says:
      ...we write to advise you that it has not been possible to establish with absolute accuracy the date of the beloved Guardian's birth. Shoghi Effendi's passport gives 3rd March 1896…A note in the Guardian's handwriting indicates 1st March 1897…A further and different date has been noted by Shoghi Effendi's father. Unless further research is able to clarify the matter, it is not possible to make a categorical statement of the Guardian's birth date.
    • Shoghi Effendi's registration form for the Syrian Protestant College shows his year of birth as 1899. [PGp14-15]
    • The inscription on the column erected at Shoghi Effendi's resting place shows "4 November 1896".
  • * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá; Bahá'u'lláh, Family of; `Abdu'l-Bahá, Family of; Afnan; Aghsan; Hájí Mírzá Abu'l-Qasim; Rabbani (name); Names and titles; - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; Akka, Israel
    1897 24 Feb
    189-
    Birth of Jalal Khazeh (Jalál Khádih), Hand of the Cause of God, in Tihrán. Jalal Khazeh; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1897 Feb
    189-
    Six Bahá'ís were arrested in Mamaqán, Ádharbáyján. Three were bastinadoed and three were imprisoned in Tabríz. [BW18:384] Persecution, Adharbayjan; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Mamaqan, Iran; Azerbaijan; Tabríz, Iran; Iran
    1897 (In the year)
    189-
    Fifteen Bahá'ís were arrested in Saysán, Ádharbáyján. They were taken to Tabríz, imprisoned and fined. [BW18:384]
  • Three Bahá'ís were arrested in Nayríz on the orders of Áqá Najafí, the `Son of the Wolf'. [BW18:384]
  • The homes of several Bahá'ís in Hamadán were looted and ransacked after complaints by Jews of the town against Bahá'ís of Jewish background. [BW18:384]
  • Aqa Najafi (Son of the Wolf); Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Saysan, Iran; Azerbaijan; Tabríz, Iran; Nayriz, Iran; Hamadán, Iran; Iran
    1897 (In the year)
    189-
    The Hands of the Cause appointed by Bahá'u'lláh were instructed by `Abdu'l-Bahá to gather to begin the consultations regarding the future organization of the Bahá'í community in Tihrán.
  • This gathering led to the formation of the Central Spiritual Assembly of Tihrán in 1899. [BBD98, 114, 115; EB268; BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]
  • Hands appointed by Bahá'u'lláh; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Spiritual Assemblies; LSA; * Administrative Order; Tehran, Iran; Iran; Central Assembly of Tehran
    1897 (In the year)
    189-
    Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí, the first Bahá'í to have settled China, died in Bombay on his way back to Shíráz. [PH24]
  • He lived in China from 1962 until 1868. He moved to Hong Kong in 1970 and was joined by his brother Haji Mirza Muhammad Husayn (Haji Mirza Buzurg) where they established a trading company. The brothers stayed in Hong Kong until 1897. [Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 2min56sec]
  • Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí Afnán; Afnan; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; China; Mumbai, India; India First Bahá'í to have settled in China
    1897 (In the year)
    189-
    The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Shaykh Muhammad-Ridáy-i-Yazdí (Mullá Ridá) while incarcerated in the Síyáh-Cháh. [RoB2p84-91; Bahaipedia; Wikipedia]
  • He was born in Muhammad-Ábád in the province of Yazd into a well-known family in about 1814. He was provided a good education and he became a divine known for his piety, eloquence and courage.
  • Mullá Ridá became a follower of the Báb in the early days of the Revelation. He recognized Bahá'u'lláh as the Promised One of the Bayan some time after 1855 upon reading Qasídiy-i-Varqá'íyyih, "Ode of the Dove". (Bahá'u'lláh had composed this ode while still in Sulaymáníyyih.)
  • He was a fearless teacher who was outspoken and often suffered imprisonment and torture. "Other than seventeen-year-old Badí, no one has surpassed Mullá Ridá's unusual power of endurance. The rare combination of endurance, eloquence, courage and humour made him that unique hero who illuminated the pages of the history of the Bahá'í Faith." [Extract from a Persian book called Masabih-i-Hidayat, Volume I by Azizu'llah-i-Sulaymani]
  • In one story of his courage in teaching and his endurance in withstanding abuse, he was found to be picking his teeth while being bastinadoed and, in another, while a elderly man he withstood a brutal flogging on his bare back in the prison yard. A witness to this flogging, Ghulám-Ridá Khán, a notable of Tehran who happened to be imprisoned at the same time, became a believer upon seeing his steadfastness under the lashing. [RoB1p84-91, EB89-111, LoF21-27]
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá referred to a few of the believers posthumously as being Hands of the Cause (see MF5 and BW14p446) Adib Taherzadeh points out that "since there are one or two others by the same name (Shaykh-Ridáy-i-Yazdí) it is not possible to identify him. However, some believe strongly that he is Mullá Muhammad-i-Ridáy-i-Muhammmad-Ábádí. [RoB4p186n]
  • Mulla Rida (Shaykh Muhammad-Riday-i-Yazdi); In Memoriam; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Siyah Chal (Black Pit); * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; Hands of the Cause, referred to as such by `Abdu'l-Bahá; Shaykh Muhammad-Riday-i-Yazdi; Mulla Muhammad-i-Riday-i-Muhammmad-Ábadi; Hands of the Cause, referred to as such by `Abdu'l-Bahá; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Persecution, Iran; Azizullah Sulaymani; Muhammad-Ábád, Iran; Yazd, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1897 or 1900
    189-
    Tablets, Communes and Holy Utterances, a collection of writings by Bahá'u'lláh, was published in Chicago. 23p. [BFA2:26]
  • It was the first prayer book and first compilation of Bahá'í writings published in the West. Most of the selections are from Bahá'u'lláh except for pages 18 to 21 which are from 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [BFA2:26]
  • It was probably translated by Anton Haddad and published by the Behais Supply and Publishing Board. [BFA2:26]
  • Collins gives the date as 1897. [BEL4.277]
  • - Compilations; * Prayer texts; Anton Haddad; * Publications; - Publishing Trusts; - First publications; Chicago, IL; United States (USA) First prayer book and first compilation of Bahá'í writings published in West
    1896 (In the year)
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá was forced to withdraw from `Akká to Tiberias owing to the accusations levelled against Him by Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí. [SBBH1:77] Mírzá Muhammad Ali; Covenant-breaking; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Tiberias, Israel; Akka, Israel
    1896 Nov
    189-
    Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí sent letters with misleading statements and calumnies against `Abdu'l-Bahá, thus making widely known his Covenant-breaking activities. `Abdu'l-Bahá could no longer conceal his unfaithfulness. [CB151, 178 SDH128-129; MBBA77] Mírzá Muhammad Ali; Covenant-breaking; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Akka, Israel
    1896 c. Oct
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá rented the former Governorate of `Abdu'lláh Páshá in the northwest corner of the city of `Akká at the inner moat. [BBD13, 108; DH60]
  • He established it as His residence and as the home for His daughters, their husbands and families. [DH60-4, BW16:104]
  • See also BW16:104–6, DH60–4.
  • `Abdu'lláh Páshá; House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); `Abdu'l-Bahá, Family of; Akka, Israel
    1896 24 Jul
    189-
    Four Bahá'ís were executed in Turbat-i-Haydarí on the order of the mujtahid. [BW18:384; BBR405]
  • BBRXXIX says the four Bahá'ís were martyred in August.
  • These four together with Hájí Muhammad Sádiq are known as the Shuhadáy-i-Khamsih (Five Martyrs). [GPB296]
  • Their martyrdom was the result of the assassination of the Sháh, for which the Bahá'ís were erroneously blamed. [GPB296]
  • For Western accounts of the episode see BBR405–6.
  • Hájí Muhammad Sadiq; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Assassinations; Nasirid-Din Sháh; Turbat-i-Haydari, Iran; Iran
    1896 21 Jul
    189-
    Hájí Muhammad Sádiq was stabbed to death in Turbat-i-Haydarí. [BW18:384] Hájí Muhammad Sadiq; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Turbat-i-Haydari, Iran; Iran
    1896 Jun - Jul
    189-
    Several Bahá'ís were beaten and four were imprisoned in Turbat-i-Haydarí when two mujtahids stirred up the townspeople against them. [BW18:384] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Turbat-i-Haydari, Iran; Iran
    1896 13 May
    189-
    Birth of Dr Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause of God, in Palermo, Sicily. [Wikipedia] Ugo Giachery; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Palermo, Italy; Sicily, Italy
    1896 1 May
    189-
    The martyrdom of Hand of the Cause of God Varqa ('Dove'), Mírzá 'Ali-Muhammad. (b.1856 in Yazd, d. in Tehran) He and his young son, Ruhu'lláh, were killed by, Hajib'ud-Dawleh, one of the Qajar courtiers, in fact, the Chief Steward, in the aftermath of the assassination of Nasir'd-Din Shah. Varqá was slashed to death before the eyes of his twelve-year-old son who, still refusing to recant, was strangled. [GPB296; BBRXXIX; SUR77; BW18p384; Bahá'í Encyclopedia Project]
  • For the story of their lives see MRHK405–22 and World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p29-44 as well as LoF42-49.
  • For a Western account of the episode see BBR361–2.
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá named him posthumously as a Hand of the Cause and Shoghi Effendi designated him as one of the Apostles of Bahá-u-lláh. [EB75-97 LoF42-49, BBR361-362, SoBSNBp225-229]
  • See Varqá and Son: The Heavenly Doves by Darius Shahrokh.
  • See also Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • See SoW Vol 12 No 4 (17 May 1921 (Volume 7 pg93) for a photo of Varqá, Ruhu'lláh and their two companions.
  • Varqa; Varqá, Mírzá `Alí-Muhammad; Varqa, Ruhullah; In Memoriam; - Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, referred to as such by `Abdu'l-Bahá; Hands of the Cause, Appointments; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Yazd, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1896 1 May
    189-
    Muzaffari'd-Dín became the shah of Persia. He was the son of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh. He had been sent as governor to the province of Azerbaijan in 1861 and, as the crown prince, had spent 35 years in the pursuit of pleasure. When he ascended to the throne he was unprepared for the office. In addition, the country had huge debts to both Britain and Russia.
  • It was now the turn of the "Turks", called such because Turkish was the language of Ádhirbáyján. The new shah's relatives and friends were awarded ministries and other positions while only a few of the incumbents retained their positions. [SUR78]
  • He inherited a country marked by social unrest and discontent, and an ailing economy burdened with foreign loans. Unlike his father, Muzaffar al-Din Shah suffered from ill health, and had a weaker character yet a kinder heart. The circumstances in which Iran found itself under his rule were also different from those of his father's time. Foreign involvement and influence were growing considerably, as were social and political discontent, along with demands for reform. The appointment in August 1897 of the reform-minded Mirza 'Ali Khan Amin al-Daulih as the new prime minister was, partly at least, an attempt to meet some of these demands. [ The Forgotten Schools; The Bahá'ís and Modern Education in Iran, 1899–1934p51]
  • Muzaffarid-Dín Sháh; - Shahs; - Throne changes; History (general); Iran, General history; Iran
    1896 (In the year)
    189-
    ʻIshqábád was one of the first places (possibly the first) in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave instructions for the setting up of an elected Bahá'í assembly. This was done in 1313 A.H. (1895-6) and was called at first the Spiritual Board of Counsel (Mahfil-i Shawra Rawhani) and later the Spiritual Assembly (Mahfil-i Rawhani). THE BAHA'I COMMUNITY OF ASHKHABAD; ITS SOCIAL BASIS AND IMPORTANCE IN BAHA'I HISTORY by Moojan Momen pg287; Note 11] Local Spiritual Assembly, formation; Ashgabat; Turkmenistan first local assembly
    1896 19 Apr
    189-
    Násiri'd-Dín Sháh was assassinated on the eve of the celebration of his jubilee. He had ascended to the throne in 1848 and by the Islamic lunar calendar it marked the 50th year of his reign. [BKG455]
  • BBRXXIX and BBRSM219 say it was 1 May.
  • His assassin, Mírzá Ridá-yi-Kirmáni, a Pan-Islamic terrorist, was a follower of Jamálu'd-Dín-i-Afghání, one of the originators of the Constitutional movement in Iran and an enemy of the Faith however some newspaper accounts held that the assassin was a Bábí. [BBRSM87; GBP296; MCS540]
  • For an account of his assassination see PDC67–8.
  • See BKG430–55 for a history of his reign.
  • He was succeeded by his son Muzaffari'd-Dín. [GPB296]
  • See also CBM54-56.
  • See AY214-216. iiiii
  • Nasirid-Din Sháh; - Shahs; - Throne changes; Qajar dynasty; History (general); Iran, General history; Births and deaths; Jamalud-Din-i-Afghani; Assassinations; Rayy, Iran; Iran
    1896 15 Feb
    189-
    Birth of Leroy C. Ioas, Hand of the Cause of God, in Wilmington, Illinois. His parents, Charles and Maria had become Bahá'ís in 1898 taught by Paul Dealy who was teaching Kheiralla's classes in Chicago. [Wikipedia; The Bahá'í Faith: Beginning in North America by Robert Stockman, World Order Vol 18 Issue 4 p24] Leroy Ioas; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Wilmington, IL; Illinois, USA
    1896 (In the year)
    189-
    Mullá Hasan Khazá'í was arrested in Khúzistán. [BW18:384] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Khuzistan, Iran; Iran
    1896 (In the year)
    189-
    Áqá Siyyid Mihdíy-i-Yazdí was martyred in Tabríz. [BW18:384] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Tabríz, Iran; Iran
    1896 (In the year)
    189-
    Bahá'ís in Hisár, Khurásán were persecuted and imprisoned. [BW18:384] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Hisar, Iran; Khurásán, Iran; Iran
    1896 (In the year)
    189-
    Díyá'íyyih Khánum, the eldest daughter of `Abdu'l-Bahá, married Mírzá Hádí Afnán of Shíráz. [BW4:234 (GENEALOGY); DH59–60]
  • These are the parents of Shoghi Effendi.
  • For a picture of Díyá'íyyih Khánum see MA105.
  • Diyaiyyih Khanum; Mírzá Hadi Afnan; Afnan; `Abdu'l-Bahá, Family of; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Shoghi Effendi, Family of; Akka, Israel
    1895 23 Jun
    189-
    Birth of Leonora Stirling Holsapple (later Armstrong) in Hudson, New York. She was the first pioneer to Brazil and is regarded as the Mother of South America. [Wikipedia] Leonora Holsapple Armstrong; Names and titles; Births and deaths; Hudson, NY; New York, USA; United States (USA) first Baha'i in Brazil
    1895 c. summer
    189-
    Miss Marion Brown became a Bahá'í in London, the first European to accept the Bahá'í Faith. [BFA1:37] Marion Brown; First Bahá'ís by country or area; London, England; United Kingdom First European to become a Bahá'í
    1895 (In the year)
    189-
    Mrs Kate C. Ives of Orleans, Cape Cod, Massachusetts became a Bahá'í, making her the first Western woman to have accepted the Bahá'í Faith. [BFA1:37] First Bahá'ís by country or area; Orleans, MA; Cape Cod, Massachusetts; Massachusetts, USA; United States (USA) First Western woman to become a Bahá'í
    1894 5 Jun
    189-
    Thornton Chase became a Bahá'í in Chicago. [BBD53; BFA1:35–6]
  • For some time before he heard of the Bahá'í Faith, he had been a follower of the noble and mystical teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg. [SEBW3]
  • He was designated by `Abdu'l-Bahá as the first American believer. [BBD53; GPB257]
  • See BFA1:35 for his own account of how he became a Bahá'í.
  • See BFA1:33–7 for other Americans who became Bahá'ís around the same time.
  • He was given the name Thábit (Steadfast) by `Abdu'l-Bahá. [BBD53; GPB257]
  • He had been invited to join the Hearst pilgrimage in 1898 but was unable to go to the Holy Land until 1907. [AY61]
  • Thornton Chase; First Bahá'ís by country or area; Names and titles; Emanuel Swedenborg; Chicago, IL; United States (USA) First American Bahá'í
    1894 Feb
    189-
    Ibrahim George Kheiralla settled in Chicago. [BFA1:XXVII, AB65]
  • Owing to his work, the first Bahá'í community in North America was soon formed in Chicago with other groups soon forming in Philadelphia, New York City, Kenosha, Wisconsin and Ithaca, New York. [BBRSM:100; BW10:179; LDNW12]
  • See AY59-60 for a description of the teaching method used by Haddad and Kheiralla.
  • See Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion by E.G. Browne, Chapter 2, Ibrahim George Khayru'lláh and the Bahá'í Propaganda in America for an appreciation of what Kheiralla believed and taught.
  • Ibrahim George Kheiralla; Anton Haddad; Teaching; Firsts, other; Chicago, IL; New York, USA; Philadelphia, PA; Kenosha, WI; Ithaca, NY; United States (USA) First Bahá'í community in North America formed in Chicago
    1894 (In the year)
    189-
    From the day of Bahá'u'lláh's ascension Bahiyyih Khánum had grown so thin and feeble and was in such a weakened condition from the anguish of her mourning that she was close to breakdown. `Abdu'l-Bahá sent her to Egypt in the care of Hasan-i-Khúrásání. She returned not long after the assassination of the Shah in April 1896. [Memories of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Memoirs of Mírzá Habíbu'lláh Afnán edited and translated by Ahang Rabbani. p61]
  • See BKC14-15 for the Tablet He revealed for her on that occasion.
  • Bahiyyih Khanum (Greatest Holy Leaf); Hasan-i-Khurasani; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt
    1894 (In the year)
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá sent Mírzá Abú'l-Fadl to Cairo. The Master instructed the prominent Bahá'ís not to associate openly with him so that he would not attract undue attention and notice. He moved to an apartment with two furnished rooms, situated above the business of an Afnan in Saray-i-Jawahiri. He began teaching philosophy and logic at Al-Azhar University and meeting and associating with the learned and accomplished men of his time. He organized and taught classes in various branches of knowledge and philosophy. He was "outed" as a Bahá'í went he arose to defend the community in the aftermath of the assassination of the Shah in April of 1896. [Memories of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá By Mírzá Habíbu'lláh Afnán p58-59; 65]
  • He published the first series of Bahá'í books in Egypt, including the first compilation of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets, which the Master entitled Makatib-i-`Abdu'l- Bahá.
  • See as well'Abdu'l-Baha's First Thousand-Verse Tablet: History and Provisional Translation by Ahang Rabbani Khazeh Fananapazir pg 107-108.
  • Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt
    1894 (In the year)
    189-
    Two Bahá'ís were arrested and bastinadoed in Níshápúr. One died seven days later, the other two years later. [BW18:384]
  • Hájí Yárí, a Bahá'í of Jewish background, was arrested and imprisoned in Hamadán. [BW18:384]
  • A Bahá'í in Dastjirdán, Khurásán, Áqá `Abdu'l-Vahháb Mukhtárí, was beaten and expelled from the village. [BW18:384]
  • Bahá'ís in Fárán, Khurásán, were beaten and Bahá'í homes were looted. [BW18:384]
  • Persecution, Iran; Nishapur, Iran; Hamadán, Iran; Dastjirdan, Iran; Faran, Iran; Iran
    1894 (In the year)
    189-
    Green Acre was founded by Sarah J. Farmer in the aftermath of the World Parliament of Religions. [BBRSM:104; BFA2:142–7; BW5:29; GPB261; SBBH1:125] - Bahá'í schools (conference centres); Sarah Farmer; Green Acre, Eliot, ME; Parliament of the World's Religions; Eliot, ME; Maine, USA; United States (USA)
    1893 23 Sep
    189-
    First public reference in North America to the Bahá'í Faith. [SBBH1p76]
  • Reference was made to it in a paper entitled The Religious Mission of the English Speaking Nations by Rev. Henry H. Jessup, a retired missionary from north Syria, read by Rev George A. Ford at the World Parliament of Religions in Chicago. [AB63–4; BBD2412; BBR57; BFA1:323; BW2:230; GPB256; SBBH1:76, 88, 202]
  • See AB63–4, BW2:169 for text.
  • Historians have observed that, before this Parliament, "religion" was classified by many Americans into ethnic religion and universal religion. They considered there being only one universal religion: Christianity. In this view, all previous faiths were ethnic religions, and their purpose was to prepare the people for Christianity. Ethnic religions may have had portions of the truth, but only Christianity had all truth. This 1893 Parliament was a pivotal moment in the abolition of such classification, as representatives of "eastern" religions such as Swami Vivekananda and Anagarika Dharmapala promoted a new religious tolerance. [Paraphrased quote from Robert Stockman]
  • World Parliament of Religions 1893, a talk by Mr. Rothwell "Bud" Polk.
  • See Chicago 1893.
  • Parliament of the World's Religions; Interfaith dialogue; First mentions; Mentions; Henry Jessup; Christian missionaries; Bahá'í Faith, Early Western Accounts of; Chicago, IL; United States (USA) First public reference in North America to Bahá'í Faith
    1893 17 Jun
    189-
    Áqá Muhammad-Ridáy-i-Muhammadábádí was killed by three men on the orders of two of the `ulamá of Yazd. [BW18:384; GPB296]
  • He was the first to suffer martyrdom in the ministry of `Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • See GPB296 for details of his martyrdom.
  • Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Firsts, other; Yazd, Iran; Iran First to suffer martyrdom in ministry of `Abdu'l-Bahá
    1893 28 May
    189-
    Mírzá Áqá Ján, Bahá'u'lláh's amanuensis for almost 40 years, threw in his lot with Mírzá Muhammad`Alí and became a Covenant-breaker. [CB181, RoB1p315-319]
  • For the story of his downfall see CB181-182.
  • Mírzá Aqa Jan (Khadimu'lláh); Mírzá Muhammad Ali; Covenant-breaking; Bahji, Israel
    1893 c.
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote Risáliy-i-Siyásiyyih (variously translated as "Treatise on Politics", "A Treatise on Statesmanship" and "Treatise on Leadership"). [ABMM] He wrote it in response to the crisis in Persia known as the Tobacco Revolt which was an insurrection against the Shah for having granted the tobacco monopoly to British interests at the expense of Persian farmers and businessmen.

    The Treatise was the first policy statement of `Abdu'l-Bahá upon taking the reins of the leadership of the Bahá'í community. It shows His alarm at the increasing involvement of religious leaders and communities in this populist movement against the civil Iranian state and cites the way past such religious populist movements have led to foreign intervention or increased absolutism (e.g. the `Urabi Revolt in Egypt and the 1876 Constitutional Revolution in Istanbul). `Abdu'l-Bahá argues forcefully for a separation of religion and state as a basis for Bahá'í non-involvement in such anti-state violence.

  • See Treatise on Leadership by 'Abdu'l-Bahá as translated by Juan Cole.
  • It was published in Bombay in Farsi in 1893. No English translation has been published to date, apart from the provisional translation referred to above. [CEBF273]
  • Hand of the Cause Ibn-i-Asdaq was the messenger that delivered 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablet to the Shah and other notables in Iran. [EB176]
  • Risaliy-i-Siyasiyyih (Treatise on Leadership); * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Writings and talks of; Politics; Tobacco Revolt; * Publications; * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Church and state; Akka, Israel; Bahji, Israel; Iran
    1892 20 Dec
    189-
    Ibrahim Kheiralla arrived in New York. [AB65; BBD129; BFA1:26; SSBH1:88; AY111]
  • See BFA1p13-84 for Kheiralla's life, work for the Bahá'í Faith and defection.
  • Ibrahim George Kheiralla; New York, USA; United States (USA)
    1892 19 Dec
    189-
    Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani, at the request of Alexander Tumansky, wrote a treatise for him, Risáliy-i Iskandaríyyh. It was a major work which provided a brief summary of the life of Bahá'u'lláh, as well as unique information on the controversial Bábí histories Táríkh-i Jadíd and Naqtatu'l-Káf. There was the courageous defense of the Bahá'í Faith that Abú'l Fadl was able to publish in the Egyptian press, the first article of its kind. It has been published in Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl; Letters and Essays 1886-1913 translated by Juan Ricardo Cole. Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl; Alexander Tumansky; Taríkh-i-Jadíd (New History)
    1892 29 Sep
    189-
    Russian Orientalist, Baron Viktor Romanovich Rosen (1849–1908), at a meeting of the Oriental Section of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society in St. Petersburg, read a paper written by a junior colleague and former student, Aleksandr Grigor'evich Tumanski (1861–1920). He was a Russian soldier and orientalist who took a close interest in the Bahá'ís and spent some time in the Bahá'í community in Ashkhabad. He published the text and a translation of the Kitab-i-Aqdas as well as a number of papers.
  • In 1893 the author published this document in the original Persian, with Russian translation, together with a eulogy composed by the celebrated Bahá'í poet, Mírzá 'Alí-Ashraf-i Laehíjání, known by his sobriquet, Andalíb ('Nightingale'; d. 1920). Since 'Andalíb was an eyewitness to the events he describes, his eulogy may be treated as a historical source. Tumanski's scholarly publication of the Kitáb-i 'Ahdí in the Proceedings of the Oriental Department of the Imperial Russian Archaeological Society. [The 1893 Russian Publication of Baha'u'llah's Last Will and Testament: An Academic Attestation of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Successorship by Christopher Buck and Youli A. Ioannesyan; Baha'i Studies Review 19 (cover date, 2013; publication date, 2017)] iiiii
  • Baron Rosen; Alexander Tumansky; Andalib (poet); St. Petersburg, Russia; Russia
    1892 3 Sep
    189-
    Nabíl, inconsolable at the death of Bahá'u'lláh, committed suicide by drowning himself in the sea. [AB56; BBD167; BKG265-268, , 427–8; MF32-37; DH81; EB268-270; GPB222; Rob1p201-206]
  • He left a note paying homage to `Abdu'l-Bahá, writing the date of his death in the single Arabic word `Gharíq' (drowned), the numerical value of which is AH 1310 (AD 1892–3). [MF35; RB1:205]
  • See OPOP86 for "Pilgrim's Note" concerning what Jináb-i-Fádil said that 'Abdu'l-Bahá said about Nabil's suicide.
  • See DH81 for his own epitaph.
  • He was buried in the Muslim Cemetery near `Akká. [DH81]
  • He was one of 19 Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh designated by Shoghi Effendi in recognition of distinguished services that those nineteen loyal and devoted Persian Bahá'ís have rendered to their faith. [BW3p80-81]
  • Nabíl was born in the village of Zarand on the 29th of July, 1831. He had become a Bábí around 1847 after over-hearing a conversation between two men about the Báb. He accepted the faith of Bahá'u'lláh in 1858. During his years as a Bábí, Nabil traveled to Lorestan, Kermanshah, Tehran, and Khorasan; he met with the Bábís and Bábí leaders in those provinces to foster the Bábí ideology and inspire the believers to arise, consolidate, and expand the new Bábí communities. He also transcribed and distributed Bábí literature among the rank and file of the society to promote the Bábí faith. He was jailed in Sāva for four months because of his pro-Bábí activities. In September 1854, he set out for Baghdad and Karbala, where he stayed until October 1856. During late 1856 to July 1858, he traveled to Hamadan, his hometown Zarand, and many major Babi communities in the capital province and returned to Baghdad on 19 July 1858.
    Nabil's life as a Bahá'í is summed up in his extensive travels throughout Iran, Iraq, Turkey, the Caucasus, Egypt, and Palestine. In his early travels as a Bahá'í, he met with the Bábí communities to invite them to the Bahá'í faith; he attracted the Bábi leaders to the recognition of Bahá'u'lláh as the fulfillment of the Báb's prophecies concerning the promised messianic figure and helped reinforce the belief of the new Bahá'ís in the teachings and principles that were being advanced by Bahá'u'lláh. Through these activities, Nabíl became an outstanding teacher, defender, and promulgator of the Bahá'í faith. [Dawn over Mount Hira, "The Poet Laureate" p19-104, or p85-98, "Nabil-e aʿzam Zaranadi, Mollā Mohammad," by Vahid Rafati, Encyclopædia Iranica, DB434-435]
  • Although known primarily as an historian in the West he was a gifted and prolific poet who devoted most of his poetry to the historical events in the Bábí and Bahá'í faiths. His most famous poem in couplet form about the history of the Bahá'í faith was published as Maṯnawi-e Nabil Zarandi in Cairo in 1924 in 65 pages and reprinted in Langenhain in 1995. In this poem he describes major historical events from the early days of the Bábí movement to the year 1869. His second poem, in 666 verses, deals with Bahá'u'lláh's banishment from Edirne to Akka. Other historical poetry of Nabil consists of his poem titled "Maṯnawi-e weṣāl wa hejr" in 175 verses (pub. in Rafati, 2014, Chap. 6; Ḏokāʾi, p. 416) and his poem on the life of Āqā Moḥammad Nabil Akbar Qāʾeni in 303 verses (Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 13, pp. 108-16). In addition to those poems, Nabil left behind a great collection of poetry in different forms, only a fraction of which has been published.
    His other works in prose included a treatise on the Bábí-Bahá'í calendar, a treatise on Bahá'í inheritance laws (Fāżel Māzandarāni, IV pp. 1, 214), and his account on the event of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh (Nabil Zarandi, Maṯnawi-e Nabil Zarandi, Langenhain, 1995, pp. 67-108). But Nabil's most celebrated work is Maṭāleʿ al-anwār, an extensive historical narrative of the Bábí faith, written in Akka in 1888-90, which was edited and translated into English by Shoghi Effendi as The Dawn-Breakers. The work was first published in the United States in 1932. ["Nabil-e aʿzam Zaranadi, Mollā Mohammad," by Vahid Rafati, Encyclopædia Iranica; DB434-435]
  • Nabil-i-Azam; Suicide; - Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh; Births and deaths; Cemeteries and graves; In Memoriam; Akka, Israel; Zarand, Iran; Sava, Iran; Baghdad, Iraq; Karbala, Iraq; Cairo, Egypt; Edirne, Turkey; Turkey
    1892 5 Jul
    189-
    The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Nabil-i-Akbar Áqá Muhammed-i-Qá'iní. He was born in Naw-Firist, Persia (Iran) on 29 March 1829. [Bahá'í Encyclopedia Project; MoFp1]
  • "It has been claimed that no one within the enclave of the Bahá'í Faith has ever surpassed the profundity of his erudition." Bahá'u'lláh addressed the Lawh-i-Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom) in his honour. [EB115]
  • He was imprisoned a number of times in Iran for his Bahá'í activities and eventually moved to Ashkhabad ('Ishqábád, Turkmenistan). He died in Bukhárá, Uzbekistan. 'Abdu'l-Bahá designated him a Hand of the Cause of God. [LoF28-31]
  • For details of his life see EB112–15 and LoF28-31.
  • He was named as one of the Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh.
  • For a brief biography see "Nabil-e aʿzam Zaranadi, Mollā Mohammad," by Vahid Rafati, Encyclopædia Iranica
  • Nabil-i-Akbar (Aqa Muhammed-i-Qaini); In Memoriam; * Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; Hands of the Cause, Activities; Lawh-i-Hikmat (Tablet of Wisdom); * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; - Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh; Hands of the Cause, referred to as such by `Abdu'l-Bahá; Bukhara, Uzbekistan; Uzbekistan; Naw-Firist, Iran; Iran
    1892 Summer
    189-
    Áqá Murtadá of Sarvistán, who had been in prison for five years, was executed in Shíráz. [BW18:384] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; Aqa Murtada; Sarvestan, Iran; Shíráz, Iran; Iran
    1892 (Summer)
    189-
    Anton Haddad arrived in New York from Cairo via Alexandria. He, with Ibrahim Kheiralla, had planned to market Kheiralla's patented invention, a ticket with space for advertising, in time for the World's Columbian Exposition. Kheiralla would following him after an unsuccessful attempt to sell another invention in Russia and then in Germany.

    Anton Haddad was the first Bahá'í to arrive in the New World. [BFA1p26]

    Anton Haddad; New York City, NY the first Bahá'í to arrive in the New World.
    1892 summer
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá went to Haifa and Mount Carmel and isolated Himself in a small apartment in the stone building west of the lower cave of Elijah. [DH59, 188] * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Cave of Elijah; Elijah (Prophet); Mount Carmel; Haifa, Israel
    1892 (In the year)
    189-
    Soon after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh the Covenant-breakers led by Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí, on the pretext that he had been unfaithful to Bahá'u'áh, plotted to murder Mírzá 'Aqá Ján. Their real motive however, was to gain control of his property. Mírzá 'Aqá Ján, upon hearing of the plot, went to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, begged for forgiveness for his misdeeds and took refuge in His house. [CoB184] Mírzá Aqa Jan (Khadimu'lláh); Mírzá Muhammad Ali; Covenant-breaking; Akka, Israel
    1892 19 Jun
    189-
    Anton Haddad departed Cairo en route to the United States. [An Outline of the Bahá'í Movement in the United States: A sketch of its promulgator [Ibrahim Kheiralla] and why afterwards denied his Master, Abbas Effendi by Anton Haddad]
  • He was probably the first Bahá'í to reach American soil. [BFA1:26]
  • He produced some of the earliest Bahá'í material to be published in English, including translations of the Writings including the Kitáb-i-Aqdas which was unpublished. He reportedly did not remain a member of the Bahá'í community but returned to Lebanon and became a Protestant minister. He passed away in 'Ayn-Zhalta in 1924. [Bahaipedia]
  • Anton Haddad; Ibrahim George Kheiralla; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt; United States (USA); North America; Ayn-Zhalta, Lebanon; Lebanon first Baha'i to reach North America
    1892 16 Jun
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá sent a message to the Bahá'ís of the world calling for steadfastness. [AB48–9; DH113]
  • This was `Abdu'l-Bahá's first message to the Bahá'í world. [AB48–9; CH110]
  • For the text of the message see AB48–9, CH110–11, DH113 and SWAB17–18.
  • * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Writings and talks of; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Bahá'u'lláh, Ascension of; * Bahá'í World Centre First message of `Abdu'l-Bahá
    1892 7 Jun
    189-
    On the ninth day after Bahá'u'lláh's passing the Will and Testament of Bahá'u'lláh, the Kitáb-i-`Ahd (The Crimson Book) was read at Bahjí before a large assembly in His Most Holy Tomb. [AB51–2; BBD132; CB150; DH113; GPB238; RB4:419–20, BKG420-425]
  • In it Bahá'u'lláh explicitly appointed `Abdu'l-Bahá His successor, the Centre of the Covenant and the Expounder of the revealed word. [BKG420; GPB239]
  • The Kitab-i-'Ahd (The Book of the Covenant), was only document that explicitly announced 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh and the one to whom all must turn after His ascension. It was published among the believers only after Bahá'u'lláh's passing. This historic document was probably written at least one year before His ascension, for it is alluded to in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf as the 'Crimson Book'. Bahá'u'lláh kept His Will and Testament secret, retained it in His own possession and did not share its contents with anyone during His lifetime. But there is evidence to suggest that He had intimated its contents to 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [CoCp29]
  • See CB150, 164 for the effect this had on the believers.
  • Kitáb-i-Ahd (Book of the Covenant); Bahá'u'lláh, Will and Testament of; * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of; Bahá'u'lláh, Ascension of; - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Basic timeline; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Covenant; Crimson Book; Crimson; Bahji, Israel
    1892 (In the year)
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá rented the house now known as the Pilgrim House (or the "Tea House") at Bahjí from its Christian owner Iskandar Hawwá', the husband of `Údí Khammár's daughter Haní. [DH114, 226] * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Pilgrim Houses; Pilgrim house, Bahji; Tea House; Udi Khammar; - Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; * Bahá'í World Centre; Bahji, Israel
    1892 (After the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh)
    189-
    `Abdu'l-Bahá asked Nabíl-i-Azam to choose a number of passages from the writings of Bahá'u'lláh to be used as a tablet of visitation. Nabil selected four passages and composed the text which is known as the Ziārat-nāma. This Tablet is also used at observances commemorating the Martyrdom of the Báb. [BBD234; BKG427; GPB222; RB4:419, "Nabil-e aʿzam Zaranadi, Mollā Mohammad," by Vahid Rafati, Encyclopædia Iranica]
  • For an analysis of this Tablet, see SA121–2.
  • Nabil-i-Azam; Tablets of Visitation; Bahji, Israel
    1892 29 May
    189-
    At the time of His passing Bahá'u'lláh left approximately 50,000 believers scattered in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries (ʿAbd-al-Bahāʾ, Majmūʿa-ye makātīb, Tehran, 1975, no. 13, photocopied ms., p. 3)". [BAHAISM v. The Bahai Community in Iran by V. Rafati]
  • From 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "...at the time of Bahá'u'lláh's ascension, more than two hundred thousand souls had taken shelter beneath His blessed shadow and had attained the station of certitude." Twelve table talks given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká in the selection entitled (Christ and Bahá'u'lláh).
  • The Faith had spread to 15 countries. [MBW61]
    • These countries were: Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Burma, Egypt, Georgia, India, Israel (Palestine), Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. [Patheos website]
  • Statistics; Azerbaijan
    1892 29 May
    189-
    Shoghi Effendi in his book God Passes By describes Bahà'u'lláh's life in terms of four phases.

      Part 1: Bahà'u'lláh's childhood and youth which spanned the year 1817 through 1844, a twenty-seven year period "Characterized by the carefree enjoyment of all the advantages conferred by high birth and riches, and by an unfailing solicitude for the interests of the poor, the sick and the downtrodden."
      Part 2: From 1844 to 1853, a period "of active and exemplary discipleship" in the service of the Báb.
      Part 3: The four month period of Bahà'u'lláh's imprisonment in the Síyáh Chál in 1853 "overshadowed throughout by mortal peril, embittered by agonizing sorrows, and immortalized, as it drew to a close, by the sudden eruption of the forces released by an overpowering, soul-revolutionizing Revelation."
      Part 4: Bahà'u'lláh's thirty-year ministry from 1853 through to 1892, during which, as He endured three exiles, His afflictions intensified as the orb of His revelation rose to its zenith. He withstood the opposition of potentates, clergy, the corruption of officials, the cowardice and betrayal of His brother and others. All the while this contrasted sharply to the dignity, the courage and the uprightness that characterized His conduct. [GBP107]
    * Bahaullah (chronology); - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline
    1892 29 May
    189-
    The Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh  

    Bahá'u'lláh passed away at Bahjí in His seventy–fifth year. [AB47; BBRXXIX, 233; BKG420; CB148; GPB221; RB4:411]

    "The news of His ascension was instantly communicated to Sultán 'Abdu'l-Hamíd by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in a telegram which began with the words "the Sun of Bahá has set". [GPB222; AB47; BKG420]

  • He cited these last words, two verses from the Kitáb-i-Aqdas:

    "Say: Let not your hearts be perturbed, O people, when the glory of My Presence is withdrawn, and the ocean of My utterance is stilled. In My presence amongst you there is a wisdom, and in My absence there is yet another, inscrutable to all but God, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing. Verily, We behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid whosoever will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Concourse on high and a company of Our favoured angels."

    "Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day-star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. We are truly almighty. Whoso hath recognized Me will arise and serve Me with such determination that the powers of earth and heaven shall be unable to defeat his purpose." [GWB137]

  • For an account by Túbá Khánum see CH105–9.
  • Bahá'u'lláh had spent 23 years, 8 months and 29 (or 30) days in the Holy Land. [DH12]
  • He passed away eight hours after sunset. [GPB221; UD170]
  • Shortly after sunset, on the very day of His passing, Bahá'u'lláh was buried beneath the floor of the northermost room in the house adjacent to the mansion of Bahjí, the house which had served as a dwelling-place for His son-in-law, Háji Siyyid 'Ali Afnán. This became the Qiblih of the Bahá'í Faith. [AB47; BBD211; BKG427; GPB222]
  • See CB149 and RB4:149 for the effect of Bahá'u'lláh's ascension on`Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • See ARG71-72 for `Abdu'l-Bahá's account of His attempt to convince Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí to be faithful to the Covenant.
  • See CoC132-134; AB52–3, CB148–9, 152-153 and RB4:148–9 for the theft of Bahá'u'lláh's cases containing His seals, papers and other items. See as well An Epistle to the Bahá'í World by Mirza Badi'u'llah, page 13, written during his short-life period of confession/redemption.
    • One of the documents in these cases was the original Long Obligatory Prayer that had been mentioned in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. Bahá'u'lláh had revealed the text but did not release it in order to avoid provoking conflict with Muslims. [Prayer and Worship by John Walbridge]
    • The box also contained a valuable ring and a rosary. "The ring was sold by Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí in the course of his journey in India and spent as travel money. And Mírzá Badi`u'llah wasted the rosary." [MBBA214
  • See AB52–61, CB148–51 and RB4:148–54 for the Covenant-breaking activities of Bahá'u'lláh's family immediately following His death.
  • For 'Abdu'l-Bahá's description of His Father see BWF220-224.
  • See GPB222–3 for the mourning following the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh.
  • See BBR234–6 for a list of Europeans who had met Bahá'u'lláh.
  • Bahá'u'lláh, Ascension of; * Bahaullah (chronology); Holy days; Sultán `Abdu'l-Hamid; Covenant-breaking; Covenant; Qiblih; - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Basic timeline; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Boxes containing Writings; Boxes; Seals; Obligatory prayer; - Missing, lost or destroyed Writings; Bahji, Israel
    1877 - 1892
    189-
    See Bibliography for the Tablets of Baha'u'llah: List of citations and resources for Tablets revealed 1877-1892 compiled by Jonah Winters.
  • See also Notes and Commentary on the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh: Wilmette Institute study materials by Jonah Winters.
  • * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of
    1892 c. 24 May
    189-
    Bahá'u'lláh called all the believers and many pilgrims to His bedside for their last audience with Him. [GPB222] House of Bahá'u'lláh (Bahji); Bahá'u'lláh, Ascension of; Pilgrims; Bahji, Israel
    1892 8 May
    189-
    Bahá'u'lláh contracted a slight fever. [GPB221]
  • See RB4:414–17 for the progress of this illness.
  • House of Bahá'u'lláh (Bahji); * Bahaullah (chronology); Bahá'u'lláh, Ascension of; Bahji, Israel
    1892 Prior to the passing of Bahá'u´lláh
    189-
    During the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh Muhammad Ali made two trips to India for seditious purposes. With the help of Nazir, he plotted to prepare the way to become the leader of the Cause after the departure of Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'u'lláh was well aware of these plans as is testified by many Tablets especially by the Revelation of the Book of His Covenant prior to His ascension. In this book, He clearly appointed 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the One to whom all, including the Branches, were to turn for light and guidance. [SUR247] Mírzá Muhammad Ali; Covenant-breaking; Nazir; Akka, Israel
    1892 (About 2 mos before 29 May)
    189-
    Close to the end of His life Bahá'u'lláh became displeased with Mírzá Àqá Ján and dismissed him from His service. He had served as His servant, with the title of Khádim (Servant) and later Khádimu'lláh (Servant of God) as well as His amanuensis and companion for almost forty years [CoB182; MBBA71] Mírzá Aqa Jan (Khadimu'lláh); Covenant-breaking; Akka, Israel
    1892 (In the year)
    189-
    Mu'tuminu's-Saltanih was poisoned in Tihrán on the orders of Násiri'd-Dín Sháh. [BW18:384] Mutuminus-Saltanih; Nasirid-Din Sháh; Assassinations; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1891 3 Oct
    189-
    Mullá Muhammad-`Alíy-i-Dihábádí was martyred, one of the Seven Martyrs of Yazd who were killed at the hands of Jalálu'd-Dawlih and Zillu's-Sultan. [BW18:384] Mullá Muhammad-`Alíy-i-Dihabadi; Jalalud-Dawlih; Zillus-Sultan; Seven martyrs of Yazd; Seven martyrs of Hurmuzak; Yazd upheaval; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Yazd, Iran; Iran
    1891 Jul-Aug
    189-
    Members of the Afnán family met Bahá'u'lláh in Haifa during His visit. [BKG374, 406]
  • For details of this visit see BKG406–13.
  • Also see Memories of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá by Mírzá Habíbu'lláh Afnán, (Ahang Rabbani trans.) pages 26-31>.
  • Afnan; * Bahaullah (chronology); Haifa, Israel
    1891 27 Jun
    189-
    Bahá'u'lláh visited Haifa for the fourth time. [BKG374; DH109; GPB194; RB4:351]
  • He stayed three months. [BBD94; BKG374; DH109; GPB194; RB4:351]
  • He lived in the house of Ilyás Abyad near the Templar colony, His tent pitched nearby on the foot of Mount Carmel on HaGefen Street. This house was subsequently a boarding school and then became office space for the Mercantile Bank. [BKG374; DH186]
  • Bahá'u'lláh instructed to the Master to arrange the transportation of the remains of the Báb from Persia to the Holy Land and their internment in a mausoleum below the clump of cypress trees at a spot which He indicated with His hand. It is stated that there were 15 tiny cypress trees at that time, each one the size of a finger. See Rob4p363 for a photo of the site indicated. [AB45; BKG374; DH134–5; GPB194]
  • For a story of the difficulties in obtaining land for access to the site of the Shrine of the Báb see SES79-80.
  • One day He pitched His tent a few hundred yards east of the Carmelite monastery and visited the monastery. His tent was also close to the Templar building with the inscription "Der Herr ist nahe" over the door. The spot is now marked by a circle of cypress trees. While there He fell ill and was invited in the Templar home and was seen by a Templar doctor, probably Dr J. Schmidt in the room at the north-west corner of the ground floor [DH186]
  • Bahá'u'lláh visited the cave of Elijah. [BKG375; DH174; RB4:3512]
  • He revealed the Lawh-i-Karmil (Tablet of Carmel), the `Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centres of the Faith' near the site of the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. [BBD1 18–19; BKG375; DH109, 174; MBW63; RB4:352]
  • For the text of this Tablet see BKG376–7, G14–17 and TB3–5.
  • For an analysis of the text see RB4:353–67.
  • See the article "Carmel: The Mountain of God and the Tablet of Carmel" by Zikrullah Khadem, ZK279-300.
  • See PG102-103 for a recounting of a commemoration of Bahá'lláh's visit on the 21st of October 1919. At that time 'Abdu'l-Bahá entertained guests from India, Persia, Kurdistan, Egypt, and England in a tent which had been erected on the same spot where His tent had been pitched.
  • Zikrullah Khadem; Báb, Shrine of; Carmelite monastery, Israel; Cave of Elijah; Elijah (Prophet); Lawh-i-Karmil (Tablet of Carmel); Charters of the Bahá'í Faith; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Haifa; House of Ilyas Abyad; Templer Society (German Templer colony); - Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; * Bahá'í World Centre; * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; * Bahaullah (chronology); * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; * Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel; Mount Carmel
    1891 Apr c.
    189-
    Two believers were arrested during the same period of intense persecution. Hájí Amín was sent to the prison of Qazvín, and Hand of the Cause Ibn-i-Abhar was consigned for four years in Tíhran, in which he bore the same chains as Bahá'u'lláh did, during the Latter's imprisonment in 1852. [Essay by Mehdi Wolf] Hájí Amin (Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikani); Ibn-i-Abhar (Mulla Muhammad Taqi); * Hands of the Cause; Chains; Imprisonments; Qazvin, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1891 after 19 May
    189-
    Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Lawh-i-Times, Tablet to the Times in which He recounted the circumstances of the martyrdoms in Yazd. [RB4:348–50, BW18p976-7] Bahji, Israel; Times (newspaper); Newspapers; Press (media); Media (communication); Lawh-i-Times (Tablet to the Times); * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; * Bahaullah (chronology); Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Seven martyrs of Yazd; Seven martyrs of Hurmuzak; Yazd upheaval; * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Akka, Israel; London, England; United Kingdom; Yazd, Iran; Iran
    1891 19 May
    189-
    The execution of the Seven Martyrs of Yazd. [BBRXXIX, BW18:384]

    Seven Bahá'ís were executed on the order of the governor of Yazd, Husain Mírzá, Jalálu'd-Dín-Dawlih (the grandson of the shah and the son of Zillu's-Sultán) and at the instigation of the mujtahid, Shaykh Hasan-i-Sabzivárí. [BW18p384]

  • For their names see BW18:384.
  • For details of the executions see GBP201–2.
  • For Western reports of the episode see BBR301–5.
  • Bahá'u'lláh stated that a representative of Zillu's-Sultán. Hájí Sayyáh, visited Him in 'Akká in the hope of persuading Him to support his plot to usurp the throne. He was promised freedom to practice the Faith should He support him. Hájí Sayyáh was arrested in Tehran in April of 1891 and Zillu's-Sultán, afraid that he would be implicated in the plot to overthrow the king, inaugurated vigorous persecution of the Bahá'ís in Yazd in order to draw attention from himself and prove his loyalty to the crown and to Islam. Had Bahá'u'lláh reported this incident to the Shah, Zillu's-Sultán would have paid dearly for his disloyalty. [BBR357-358]
  • See also RB3:194–6 and SBBH2:77.
  • See Persecutions of Babis in 1888-1891 at Isfahan and Yazd by various witnesses and translated by E G Browne.
  • "The tyrant of the land of Yá (Yazd) committed that which has caused the Concourse on High to shed tears of blood." from the Lawḥ-i-Dunyá (Tablet of the World) Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 85
  • Jalalud-Din-Dawlih; Shaykh Hasan-i-Sabzivari; Seven martyrs of Yazd; Seven martyrs of Hurmuzak; Yazd upheaval; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Zillus-Sultan; Hájí Sayyah; - Sháh; Lawh-i-Dunya (Tablet of the World); Yazd, Iran; Iran
    1891 15 Feb
    189-
    First public lecture in the West on the Bahá'í Faith was given by E. G. Browne at the Southplace Institute, London.
  • He spoke to the Pembroke College Literary Society in England (Martletts), at which the Faith was discussed at length.
  • E. G. Browne; Southplace Institute, London; Firsts, other; London, England; United Kingdom First public lecture in West on Bahá'í Faith
    1891 (In the year)
    189-
    Mirzá Adu'l-Fadl-i-Gulpáygání visited Kashgar during his trip to Central Asia. [Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 2min56sec] China; Kashgar, China
    1891 (In the year)
    189-
    Bishárát (Glad-Tidings) is considered one of the major writings of Bahá'u'lláh. [Bahá'u'lláh's Bishárát (Glad-Tidings): A Proclamation to Scholars and Statesmen by Christopher Buck and Youli A. Ioannesyan]

      The Tablet of Glad-Tidings is a selective compendium of Bahaullah's laws and principles, sequentially presented in a series of 15 Glad-Tidings. As the Arabic term Bisharat suggests, these Glad-Tidings were a public announcement of some of the essential teachings of the new Bahá'í religion. The Glad-Tidings is the most extensive of several tablets by Bahá'u'lláh that present key teachings in a numbered structure. The Glad-Tidings may, in part, be regarded as serially articulated world reforms intermixed with religious reforms emanating from Bahá'u'lláh in his professed role as World Reformer. The Glad-Tidings also functioned analogously (albeit anachronistically) to a press release, serving not only as a public proclamation but to rectify the inaccuracies and gross misrepresentations that had previously circulated in print. Intended for widespread translation and publication, the Glad-Tidings was sent to scholars notably Russian orientalist, Baron Viktor Rosen (1849-1908) and Cambridge orientalist, Edward Granville Browne (1862-1926) and possibly pre-revolutionary Russian statesmen as well. As a Proclamatory Aqdas, the Tablet of Glad-Tidings was part of a much broader proclamation by Bahaullah, who proclaimed his mission to the political and religious leaders of the world.
  • buck_ioannesyan_bisharat_proclamation.pdf.
  • Bishárát from Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh p21-29.
  • See "Faculty Notes" by Robert Stockman.
  • See GPB216 and BBS158.
  • * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; Bisharat; Glad Tidings; Baron Rosen; E. G. Browne
    1891 (In the year)
    189-
    Tablet of Visitation for Imám Husayn was revealed by Bahá'u'lláh. It was originally revealed as "Lawh-i-Zíyárat-Namih-i-Imám Husayn".
  • For a translation by Khazeh Fananapazir with a commentary edited by Mehdi Wolf see Tablet of Visitation for Imám Husayn.
  • Lawh-i-Ziyarat-Namih-i-Imam Husayn (Tablet of Visitation for Imam Husayn)
    1891 (In the year)
    189-
    A Traveller's Narrative was published in two volumes by the Cambridge University Press. [BBD226; EGB55]

    It is an historical account written by 'Abdu'l-Bahá around 1886 and first published anonymously in Persian in 1890. This English translation was prepared by Professor Edward G. Browne.

    Travelers Narrative (book); * Publications; - First publications; Cambridge, England; United Kingdom
    1891 (In the year)
    189-
    Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Kitáb-i-`Ahd. [BBD32; CB142; GPB236–40, BKG420–5; RB4:419–20]
  • It was probably written at least one year before His Ascension. CB142]
  • In it Bahá'u'lláh alluded to Epistle to the Son of the Wolf as the `Crimson Book'. [DG16; ESW32; GPB238]
  • In Kitáb-i-`Ahd Bahá'u'lláh explicitly appointed `Abdu'l-Bahá His successor, the Centre of the Covenant and the Expounder of the revealed word. [BKG420; GPB239]
  • Kitáb-i-Ahd (Book of the Covenant); Bahá'u'lláh, Will and Testament of; Crimson Book; Covenant; * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; * Bahaullah (chronology); * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Bahji, Israel; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Akka, Israel
    1891 (In the first half of the year)
    189-
    Bahá'u'lláh revealed Epistle to the Son of the Wolf addressed to Shaykh Muhammad-Taqíy-i-Najafí (Shaykh Najafí), a powerful Shi'a-Muslim priest of Isfahan, the son of Shaykh Muhammad-Báqir. [BBD78, 164; BKG382; RB4:368]

      "Lawḥ-i-Burhán" (Tablet of the Proof) in which the acts perpetrated by Shaykh Muḥammad-Báqir, surnamed " Dhi'b" (Wolf), and Mír Muḥammad-Ḥusayn, the Imám-Jum'ih of Iṣfahán, surnamed "Raqshá" (She-Serpent), are severely condemned; or to the Lawḥ-i-Karmil (Tablet of Carmel) in which the Author significantly makes mention of "the City of God that hath descended from heaven," and prophesies that "erelong will God sail His Ark" upon that mountain, and "will manifest the people of Bahá." Finally, mention must be made of His Epistle to Shaykh Muḥammad-Taqí, surnamed "Ibn-i-Dhi'b" (Son of the Wolf), the last outstanding Tablet revealed by the pen of Bahá'u'lláh, in which He calls upon that rapacious priest to repent of his acts, quotes some of the most characteristic and celebrated passages of His own writings, and adduces proofs establishing the validity of His Cause." [GPB219]
  • It was revealed about a year before the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh. [GPB220]
  • It was Bahá'u'lláh's `last outstanding Tablet'. [BBD78; BKG382; GPB219]
  • For an analysis of its content, themes and circumstances of its revelation, see RB34:368–412.
  • For a study guide to the Tablet see RB4:433–40.
  • Lawh-i-Ibn-i-Dhib (Epistle to the Son of the Wolf); Aqa Najafi (Son of the Wolf); Shaykh Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Najafi (Shaykh Najafi); Lawh-i-Times (Tablet to the Times); * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; * Bahaullah (chronology); * Bahá'u'lláh, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Bahji, Israel; Yazd, Iran; Iran
    1891 (In the year)
    189-
    In Bombay, on the instructions of Bahá'u'lláh, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas was published for the first time. [SA250]
  • It was published in Arabic. [SA250]
  • Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book); - Publishing; * Publications; - First publications; * Bahá'u'lláh, Writings of; * Bahaullah (chronology); Mumbai, India; India First publication of The Kitáb-i-Aqdas in Bombay
    1890 Nov
    189-
    Nabíl presented his chronicle, The Dawn-Breakers, to Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá for approval. [DBXXXVII] Nabil-i-Azam; Dawn-Breakers (book); Akka, Israel
    1890 Aug-Sep
    189-
    Mullá Hasan and his two brothers were arrested and beaten in Sarcháh, Bírjand. [BW18:383] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Bírjand, Iran; Iran
    1890 15–20 Apr
    189-
    E. G. Browne was granted four successive interviews with Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí. [BBD43; BBR225; BKG371; GPB193]
  • See BBR225–32 for Browne's own account of the visit.
  • See BBR229–31, BKG371–3 and DH110 for Browne's pen portrait of Bahá'u'lláh.
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave Browne the manuscript of A Traveller's Narrative: the Episode of the Báb in the handwriting of Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín for him to translate. [EGB54, BW11p510]
  • BFA1:445; Balyuzi, Edward Granville Browne and The Bahá'í Faith and Momen, Selections From the Writings of E. G. Browne.
  • E.G. Browne was also in the presence of Bahá'u'lláh in the Junayn Garden (occurred some time during his five day visit to Bahjí from April 15th to April 20th in 1890). [Reflections on the Bahá'í Writings.]
  • E. G. Browne; * Bahaullah (chronology); Bahá'u'lláh, Pen portraits of; Pen portraits; Portraits; Travelers Narrative (book); Zaynul-Muqarrabin (Mulla Zaynul-Abidin); Bahji, Israel; Junayn gardens; Akka, Israel
    1890 1 Apr
    189-
    Bahá'u'lláh visited Haifa for a third time. He spent about two weeks there on this visit. [BBD94; BPP173; DH109; GPB194; RB4:351]
  • He first stayed near Bayt-i-Zahlán, near the town. [BKG374]
  • He then moved to Oliphant House in the German colony. His tent was pitched on a piece of land opposite (currently on Ben Gurion 6). The plot upon which the tent of Bahá'u'lláh was pitched, is now a centre for soldiers named General Pierre Koenig Soldier Centre. [BKG374; BPP173]
  • A photo of the Oliphant House as it stands today.
  • Templer Society (German Templer colony); * Bahaullah (chronology); Oliphant House; Bayt-i-Zahlan; Tents; Haifa, Israel
    1890 Mar
    189-
    Násiri'd-Dín Sháh entered into contract of 50 years duration with British interests that would provide him with an annual payment plus 25% of the profits for the production and sale of tobacco. Prior to this, in the 1870s and 1880s the country's telegraph and mail systems, its fisheries, and many of its mines were sold to Western, mostly British, interests.
  • Opposition, fomented by Britain's rival Russia, came from merchants and shopkeepers who anticipated higher prices and feared being marginalized if the tobacco trade were to pass into the hands of foreigners. Many of the ulama supported the resistance, in part from fear of foreign influence and some because they owned land, either privately of on religious property, that grew tobacco. Articulated as a struggle in defense of Islam against foreign intrusion, the movement quickly became a popular one. At that time about one third of the population of 8 million used tobacco.
  • The movement first flared up in Shiraz, the centre of Iran's main tobacco-growing region and then Tabriz in the north of the country that was under heavy Russian influence. Isfahan and Mashhad soon followed in popular clergy-led agitation. The protest movement culminated when the ulama declared tobacco itself unclean and smoking religiously impermissible. Ordinary Iranians, frustrated at the mismanagement and misery prevalent in the country, massively heeded the call. People throughout the country gave up smoking.
  • In January 1892 the Shah rescinded the concession and was forced to compensate the tobacco company for its losses. The Qajar government had to take out a £500,000 loan to cover the cost.
  • The Tobacco Revolt is considered a landmark event in Iran's modern history. It is often seen as the first episode in which common people showed an awareness of a collective identity and were successful in mobilizing disparate groups around a common cause. [Encyclopedia] [Wikipedia]
  • See 'Abdu'l-Bahá's comments on the insurrection that saw the clergy's involvement in the affairs of state in His Treatise on Politics.
  • Tobacco Revolt; Nasirid-Din Sháh; Iran, General history; History (general); Smoking (tobacco); Risaliy-i-Siyasiyyih (Treatise on Leadership); Colonialism and imperialism; Iran
    1890 25 Feb
    189-
    Seven Bahá'ís from Sidih who had gone to Tihrán to petition the Sháh for protection, secured a decree from him permitting them to return home. When they try to enter Sidih they were killed. [BBRXXIX, 285–9; BW18:383] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Petitions; Sidih, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1890 (In the year)
    189-
    A number of people of the Jewish, Zoroastrian and Buddhist Faiths became Bahá'ís. [BBR248–9; GPB195] - Judaism; Jews; - Zoroastrianism; - Buddhism; Conversion; Interfaith dialogue
    1890 c.
    189-
    E. G. Browne was in `Akká. Bahá'u'lláh was staying in the Templer colony in Haifa when he arrived. [BBR253] E. G. Browne; Templer Society (German Templer colony); * Bahaullah (chronology); Akka, Israel; Haifa, Israel
    1890 c.
    189-
    Ibrahim George Kheiralla (Khayru'lláh) became a Bahá'í in Cairo under the tutelage of `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Tihrání. [BFA1:19]
  • It was probable that he was the first Bahá'í from Syrian Christian background. [BFA19]
  • See BFA1:175 for pictures.
  • Ibrahim George Kheiralla; First believers by background; - Christianity; Conversion; Interfaith dialogue; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt first Bahá'í from Syrian Christian background
    1890 (In the year)
    189-
    Hájí Ákhúnd, Hájí Amín and Ibn-i-Abhar were arrested. Hájí Ákhúnd was imprisoned in Tihrán for two years; Hájí Amín was imprisoned in Qazvín for two years; and Ibn-i-Abhar was imprisoned in Tihrán for four years. [BW18:383–4]

    Mírzá Mahmúd-i-Furúghí was arrested in Furúghí and sent to Mashhad. From there he was sent to Kalát-i-Nadírí where he was imprisoned for two years. [BW18:384]

    In Mashhad a mob set out to kill Mírzá Husayn-i-Bajistání, but failing to find him they looted his shop. [BW18:384]

    Hájí Ákhúnd (Mullá `Alí-Akbar-i-Shahmírzádí); Hájí Amin (Abu'l-Hasan-i-Ardikani); Ibn-i-Abhar (Mulla Muhammad Taqi); Mírzá Mahmud-i-Furughi; Mírzá Husayn-i-Bajistani; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Mobs; - Persecution; Tehran, Iran; Qazvin, Iran; Kalat-i-Nadiri, Iran; Mashhad, Iran; Iran
    1890 (In the year)
    189-
    By 1890 about a thousand Bahá'ís had settled in `Ishqábád. [BBRSM91, SDOH99] Statistics; Ashgabat; Turkmenistan
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