Chronology: Date 1903

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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date	event	tags	firsts
1903 (In the year) 190-	The passing of Mullá Zaynu'l-'Ábidín, surnamed Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín (the Ornament of the Near Ones) in 'Akká. He is sometimes referred to as Jináb-i-Zayn (The Excellent Zayn), or Harfu'z-Zá (the Letter Z). He was born in the month of Rajab, in one of the villages of Najafábád near Isfahán to a family of Muslim clerics in May 1818. He had first heard of the Báb's claim while on pilgrimage in Karbilá in 1844 and became a believer in 1851. He met Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád after His return from Kurdistán in 1856. He was among the believers who were exiled from Baghdád in July of 1868 and under his leadership and guidance the believers in Mosul became a model community. He was invited by Bahá'u'lláh to come to 'Akká in Sep-Oct 1885 and shortly after that Baha'u'lláh asked that the community in Mosul be abandoned. [EB274-276; MoF150-154; TN412-425] Jináb-i-Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín was well versed in Islamic jurisprudence. After the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, he was authorized to submit questions concerning the laws. The treatise, titled Questions and Answers, an appendix to the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, is a compilation he made of Bahá'u'lláh's answers to questions concerning the laws of the Most Holy Book. It took more than two decades for "Questions and Answers" to be published in Persian and much longer to be published in English and other languages. [KA9] See Some Answered Questions" and Its Compiler by Baharieh Rouhani Ma'ani published in Lights of Irfan, 18, pages 425-452. In this paper the author compares the similarities and differences of Questions and Answers and Some Answered Questions. For an image Zaynu'l-Muqarrabín see Picture Gallery (miniature by Ethel Rosenberg). This image can also been found in RoB1p78 He was named as one of the Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh.	Zaynul-Muqarrabin (Mulla Zaynul-Abidin); Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book); Laws; Questions and answers; Su'al va Javab (Questions and Answers, Kitáb-i-Aqdas); Ethel Rosenberg; - In Memoriam; - Births and deaths; - Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh; Najaf, Iranabad, Iran; Iran; Mosul, Iraq; Iraq
1903 (In the year) 190-	The Danish-American Bahá'í, Emily Olsen, translated The Hidden Words from English into Danish, the English translation having been done by Anton Haddad. It was probably the first Bahá'í text published in Danish. [SRRB15p237]	Kalimat-i-Maknunih (Hidden Words); Anton Haddad; Emily Olsen; * Translation; Denmark	the first Bahá'í text published in Danish.
1903 Feb 190-	Mírzá Badí'u'lláh, the fourth surviving son of Bahá'u'lláh, wrote to the Bahá'ís announcing his break with Muhammad-`Alí and giving his loyalty to `Abdu'l-Bahá. [AB102; GPB264] His letter gave details of the plots of Muhammad-`Alí against `Abdu'l-Bahá. [GPB264] With him came Covenant-breaker Siyyid 'Alí Afnan. His letter entitled An Epistle to the Bahá'í World was translated by Ameen Fareed and published in Chicago by the Bahá'í Publishing Society in 1907. [Collins7.106] The document is important because reference was made to it in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament. "What deviation can be greater than breaking the Covenant of God! What deviation can be greater than interpolating and falsifying the words and verses of the Sacred Text, even as testified and declared by Badi'u'llah!" "...Ye know well what the hands of the Center of Sedition, Mirza Muhammad `Ali, and his associates have wrought. Among his doings, one of them is the corruption of the Sacred Text whereof ye are all aware, the Lord be praised, and know that it is evident, proven and confirmed by the testimony of his brother, Mirza Badi'u'llah, whose confession is written in his own handwriting, beareth his seal, is printed and spread abroad..." This reconciliation was short-lived. Badi'u'llah continued to plot unrepentantly against Abdu'l-Bahá and later, against Shoghi Effendi until his death in Israel 1950. [AB102] Again from the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá... "Gracious God! After Mirza Badi'u'llah had declared in his own handwriting that this man (Muhammad `Ali) had broken the Covenant and had proclaimed his falsification of the Holy Text, he realized that to return to the True Faith and pay allegiance to the Covenant and Testament would in no wise promote his selfish desires. He thus repented and regretted the thing he had done and attempted privily to gather in his printed confessions, plotted darkly with the Center of Sedition against me and informed him daily of all the happenings within my household. He has even taken a leading part in the mischievous deeds that have of late been committed. Praise be to God affairs recovered their former stability and the loved ones obtained peace. but ever since the day he entered again into our midst, he began afresh to sow the seeds of sore sedition. Some of his machinations and intrigues will be recorded in a separate leaflet."	Mírzá Badiullah; Mírzá Muhammad Ali; Covenant-breaking; Forgery and interpolation; Akka, Israel
1903 9 Feb 190-	Lua Getsinger made an attempt to take a message from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Eugénie, former Empress of France but she refused to meet her just as her husband, Napoleon III, had rejected two messages from Bahá'u'lláh. [LGHC80-81]	Lua Getsinger; Eugenie de Montijo; Napoleon III; Travel Teaching; Paris, France; France
1903 Mar 190-	Myron H. Phelps completed his work, Life and Teachings of Abbas Effendi, when in Cairo in March 1903. The book was published by The Knickerbocker Press in New York in 1903 and in London by G.P. Putnam's Sons in 1912. A review says: "Phelps spent a lengthy period with 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akká in 1902 and left this full account of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and His family. Inaccurate in many particulars but valuable for its contemporary atmosphere. [Collins7.2118-7.2119]	Myron Phelps; * Publications; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt
1903 7 Mar 190-	Inspired by the news of the `Ishqábád Temple project, the Chicago House of Spirituality asked `Abdu'l-Bahá for permission to construct a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. Two days later Mirza Asadu'lláh drafted a petition to be sent to 'Abdu'l-Bahá. His reply was received in late May and three other letters were received over the next several weeks containing statements about the Temple. [BFA2:XVI, 118; BW10:179; GPB348; DH4-5]	* Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; Petitions; Spiritual Assemblies; Ashgabat; Turkmenistan; Wilmette, IL; Chicago, IL; United States (USA)
1903 21 Mar 190-	The passing of Gabriel Sacy, (b. Alexandria c. 1860) a Syrian Christian who had become a Bahá'í after contacting Mírzá Ábu'l-Faḍl and others in Cairo. He was the author of Du Règne de Lieu et de l'Agneau conn sour le nom de Babysme: se trove chez l'Auteur au Caire. It was printed privately in Cairo and dated June 12, 1902. [Materials for the Study of the Bábí Religion compiled by E G Browne p185; ABF135] Also written by him was a booklet called Proofs that was published in Arabic in Cairo in 1902. It is believed to be the first book published in Arabic about the Faith although unpublished manuscript written in Arabic were circulated in Russia and the UK prior to this time. [A posting by Rowshan Mustapha 17 February 2024 on the tk list] L'implantation de la foi baha'ie en France et impact de la venue de Abdu'l Baha à Paris au début du XXème siècle Mémoire D.E.S. de Natalia Behnam includes him among the first Bahá'ís in France. iiiii Àbdu'l-Bahá is reported to have said of him: His value will be known in the future. He enkindled for you a lamp which shall never be extinguished. He laid for you a foundation which shall not be destroyed throughout centuries and cycles. He planted for you a tree whose root is firm in the ground, whose branches have ascended to heaven and its fruits are shared by all throughout all the seasons. Mr De Sacy was in reality a divine man. In Syria there was no one like him. He was like a torch. He was the essence of sanctity. Whenever a person looked into his face, if he was unhappy, he wold be made happy. [ABF355-356]	Ramleh, Egypt; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt
1903 May 190-	Russian poet Isabella Grinevskaya wrote the play "Báb" which was performed in St. Petersburg in 1904 and again in 1914 and once again in 1917. It was translated into French and Tatar (and later into German by Friedrich Fiedler) and lauded by Leo Tolstoy and other reviewers at the time. It is reported to have been Tolstoy's first knowledge of the Faith. In 1910-11 she spent two weeks in Ramleh as a guest of `Abdu'l-Bahá and after she returned to Russia she had several letters and Tablets from Him. Immediately upon her return from Egypt in January of 1911 she began work on the book "A Journey in the Countries of the Sun", an account of her visit with 'Abdu'l-Bahá. This work was not completed until 1914 because in the summer of 1912 she made a trip to Paris to work with the French translator of "Báb", Madame Halperin, and when she returned to Leningrad she began work on the drama entitled Bahá'u'lláh. It was published in Leningrad in 1912 but was never performed. "Journey", a book of some 550 pages did not get published because of the disruption caused by the advent of the war. See BW6p707-712 for the article "Russia's Cultural Contribution to the Bahá'i Faith" by Martha Root. For a photo see BW6p709 or here. Also see Notes on the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions in Russia and its territories by Graham Hassall. Isabella Grinevskaya (the pen name of Beyle (Berta) Friedberg), born in Grodno in 1864, died in Istanbul in 1944. [Revolvy] In His message to Isabella Grinevskaya, 'Abdu'l-Bahá praised her efforts to stage theatrical performances about the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh but cautioned her that people's attention at that moment was focused on "war and revolution." However, He added, "the time for staging it will come" and it will "have a considerable impact" in Europe. Ms. Grinevskaya's play about the Báb was first staged in St. Petersburg in January 1904. Mr. Tolstoy read the play and wrote Ms. Grinevskaya to praise her and share his sympathy with the Baha'í teachings, according to an article by Martha Root in the 1934-1936 edition of The Bahá'í World.	Isabella Grinevskaya; Leo Tolstoy (author); * Publications; - Drama; - Plays; * Arts and crafts; St. Petersburg, Russia; Ramleh, Egypt; Alexandria, Egypt; Egypt; Istanbul, Turkey; Turkey; Grodno, Belarus; Russia
1903 03 May 190-	Upheaval at Rasht. [BBRXXX, 373] See BW18p385 for a chronicle of events. 3 May: Agitation against Bahá'í's following publication of photograph of the Bahá'í community; several Bahá'ís beaten. May: Mob disrupted a Bahá'í funeral, exhumed body and burned it. May: Renewed uproar in the town following the placing of a forged placard at the door of the local mujtahid, Haji Khumami. 17 May: Two leading Bahá'ís, Ibtihaju'l-Mulk and Mudabbiru'l-Mamalik, expelled from the town. The Bahá'ís take sanctuary at the Russian Consulate. [BBR376] For Western accounts of the episode see BBR377–385]	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution; Rasht upheaval; Isfahan upheaval; - Upheavals; Russian consulate; Rasht, Iran; Isfahan, Iran; Iran
1903 23 - 28 May 190-	Upheaval in Isfahan: Muhammad-Javad-i-Sarraf seized was by students of Aqa Najafi and beaten severely; this caused a large number of Bahá'ís to take sanctuary in the Russian Consulate. 28 May: Large mob gathered outside Russian Consulate and beat Bahá'ís as they left; Sayyid Abu'l-Qasim-i-Mamani, aged 90, died as a result of the injuries he received. [BW18p385]	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Russian consulate; - Persecution, Mobs; Russian consulate; Isfahan, Iran; Iran
1903 30 May 190-	A letter from `Abdu'l-Bahá was received by the Chicago House of Spirituality giving His approval for the building of a Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in North America. [BFA2:119]	Spiritual Assemblies; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Petitions; Wilmette, IL; Chicago, IL; United States (USA)	First Tablet approving building Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in North America
1903 7 Jun 190-	Eight days after `Abdu'l-Bahá's first Tablet arrived, a second Tablet arrived from Him approving the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár project. [BW10:179; CT41; GPB262, 349; MBW142]	Spiritual Assemblies; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Petitions; Wilmette, IL; Chicago, IL; United States (USA)
1903 8 Jun 190-	Bahá'ís in Maláyir, Hamadán, are attacked, beaten and imprisoned. Two are killed. [BW18:385]	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Maláyir, Iran; Hamadán, Iran; Iran
1903 Jun-Jul 190-	The Yazd Upheaval and in surrounding villages. [BBRXXX] See BW18p385 for a chronicle of events by Moojan Momen: 14 June: Yazd: Sayyid Muhammad-Ibrahim, the new Imam-Jum'ih, preached against the Bahá'ís; rabble took to the streets; shop of Aqé Muhammad-Husayni-Attar and several other Bahá'ís looted. 15 June: Yazd: Hajl' Mirzay-i-Halabf—Saz attacked with an axe and died later the same day. 22 June: Taft: Rabble attacked Bahá'ís' houses killing six Bahá'ís. 24 June: Ardikan: Rabble attacked Bahá'í houses killing four Bahá'í's. 26 June: Yazd: Nine Bahá'ís killed and many houses pillaged. Farashah: Haji' Sayyid Javad-i-Muhammadabédi' beaten to death. 27 June; Yazd: Rabble killed six Bahá'ís; Citadel besieged in the belief that Mulla 'Abdu'l-Ghiani was there. Manshad: Rabble killed six Bahá'ís. Ardikan: Rabble set out for home of Sadru's-Sultan but were turned back. 28 June; Yazd: On orders of the Governor, Jalalu'd—Dawlih, two Bahá'ís brought before him; one was blown from a cannon and another had his throat cut. Taft: Mulla Muhammad-Husayn killed. Manshad: Three Bahá'ís killed. Ardikén: Sadru's-Sultan, his brothers, Nizamu'sh-Shiari'ih and Mu'tamadu'sh-Shari'ih, his nephew, Diya'u'sh~Shari'ih, and four others killed. Hanza: Fatimih Bigum killed. 29 June; Taft: Aqá Muhammad shot to death on decree of Shaykh Husayn-Daréz.gum; Aqa Muhammad-Háshim-Dalall killed as he fled Yazd. 'Izzábéd: Hájí Ahmad-i-Muqani-Bashi' killed. Hanzá: Mirzá Ahmad-i-Arzim beaten to death. 30 June; Taft: Hájí Muhammad-Isma'il killed. Manshád: Sayyid Husayn beaten to death. 1 July; Manshád: Three Bahá'ís killed. 2 July; Manshad: Mirzái Husayn stabbed to death. 3 July; Manshad: Aqá 'Ali Muhammad shot to death. Banádak: Aqá Mirzá Muhammad-Huda and Aqá Muhammad-Husayn Of Yazd killed. 4 July; Manshád: Aqá Muhammad shot to death. 'Abbásábád: Háji Muhammad-Husayn killed. 5 July; Manshád: Aqá 'Alf-Akbar beaten then shot to death. 'Abbásábéd: Hájí Ahmad-i-Kaffash beaten to death. 6 July; Manshad: Khadijih Sultzán Khanum thrown from top of a building and killed. Abbásábéd: Aqá 'Ali-Akbar-i-Qassab beaten to death. 8 July; Manshad: Aqá Muhammad beaten and burned to death. 9 July: Manshad: Aqá Muhammad-'Ali strangled to death. 10 July; Manshad: Shatir Husayn, Khabbz'i-i-Yazdi and Mirzá Muhammad-Ibráhim, Tabib-i-Khuramshéhi beaten to death. 11 July; Manshád Aqa Ghulám-Ridá shot and beaten to death. 12 July; Manshad: Three Bahá'ís killed, 13 July:Ibrihimabad;: Aqá Asadu'lláih killed and his head taken back 10 Manshad. Gavafshad: Ustéd Ridá shot to death. Banzadak: Aqa Ghulám-Ridá shot to death. Hanzá: Sayyid Muhammad-'Ali and Mirzá Javád-i-Sabbagh shot to death. 14 July; Hadafl: AqéTAbdu'r-Rasfil shot and his body burned. 15 July: Manshéd: Aqé Mullá Bahá'í' burned alive then shot. 19 July; Qavámzábéd: Aqá 'Ali-Ridáy-i-Sha'r-báf killed. This is said to be one of the bloodiest events to take place during the ministry of `Abdu'l-Bahá. For Western responses see BBR385–98 and SBBH1:67. For details of the martyrdom of Hájí Mírzáy-i-Halabí-Sáz during the upheaval see RB2:358–66. For the effect on Bahá'ís of Zoroastrian background see SBBH2:80.	Yazd upheaval; - Upheavals; * Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; - Zoroastrianism; Yazd, Iran; Iran
1903 20 Jul 190-	`Abdu'l-Bahá commissioned the second restoration of the House of the Báb in Shíráz under the supervision of Áqá Mírzá Áqá, an Afnán and a nephew of `Abdu'l-Bahá. He had closed his business affairs in Egypt and moved his entire family to Shiraz to handle the project. Having been raised in the House Áqá Mírzá Áqá was the only living person who remembered the details of the house as it had been before the first major renovation. [AB108; EB236; GPB300; MBBA154, 176-177] Mi`mar-Bashi began the renovation project. They demolished the whole structure. The ground under the building was excavated until the original foundation of the House was uncovered. The workers began to raise the walls and rebuild the House on the same foundation and following the original design. Each day, in this small area, over 30 construction crew laboured devotedly. Within two months, as `Abdu'l-Bahá had commanded, the structural walls were completed in exactly the same design as that of the time of the Báb. Soon the rooms were finished and the doors and windows added. Starting on the 23rd of October 1903 Áqá Mírzá Áqá fell ill and, day by day, his condition grew worse. However, until a week before his passing, he would come each day to the site of the construction and, although suffering from illness, spend the day supervising all the work. He passed away on the 15th of November 1903 after completing the task entrusted to him by `Abdu'l-Bahá. It was then that the wisdom of the Master's statement "delay will cause a colossal catastrophe" became clear, as Áqá Mírzá Áqá was the only one of all the kindred who knew the original design of the House. After his passing, the rest of the work, consisting of painting and decoration, was completed. [MBBA177] Also see MBBA219-222 for a "back-story". See MBBA177-185 for the story of how the Bahá'ís helped to renovate the mosque of Masjid-i-Shamshirgarha on the adjacent property. The House of the Báb was located on Shamshirgarha Street. [MBBA161]	Báb, House of (Shiraz); - Restoration and renovation; * `Abdu'l-Bahá (chronology); Aqa Mírzá Aqay-i-Afnan (Nurud-Din); Afnan; Shíráz, Iran; Iran
1903 Sep 190-	At the request of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Hájí Mírzá Hadar-'Alí wrote Bahá'í Martyrdoms in Persia in the Year 1903 AD.	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Hájí Mírzá Haydar-`Alí (Angel of Carmel); * `Abdu'l-Bahá, Writings and talks of; Yazd upheaval; Yazd, Iran; Isfahan, Iran; Iran
1903 Dec 190-	Lua Getsinger made a second petition to the Sháh. It was presented through usual official channels. For several year following the presentation of these petitions there was a remarkable cessation of persecutions. [LGHC64-67] See article by Mariam Haney entitled In Behalf of the Oppressed. [SoW Vol 15 No 8 November, 1924 p230]	* Persecution, Iran; Lua Getsinger; Muzaffarid-Dín Sháh; - Shahs; Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney; Petitions; Mariam Haney; Tehran, Iran; Iran


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