- 1897-03-26 —
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]
- 1901-05-01 —
'Aqá Jamál Burújirdí had been a member of the Islamic clergy in Burujerd and was widely known and revered across Iran as a gifted teacher of the Faith.
He was a proud and egotistical man but during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh, he received much praise and various honorary titles such as Ismu'lláh'u'l-Jamál (The Name of God Jamál) due to his many services. During his visit to 'Akká following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh he made contact with Mírzá Muhammad-Alí with the goal of securing a prominent place in the administration of the faith under his leadership, all the while feigning loyalty to 'Abdu'l-Bahá. -
In God Passes By p247-248 Shoghi Effendi says of Mírzá Muhammad-Alí and those who tried to assist him in his nefarious efforts, "Closely-knit by one common wish and purpose; indefatigable in their efforts; assured of the backing of the powerful and perfidious Jamál-i-Burújirdí and his henchmen, Ḥájí Ḥusayn-i-Káshí, Khalíl-i-Khú'í and Jalíl-i-Tabrízí who had espoused their cause; linked by a vast system of correspondence with every center and individual they could reach; seconded in their labours by emissaries whom they dispatched to Persia, 'Iráq, India and Egypt; emboldened in their designs by the attitude of officials whom they bribed or seduced, these repudiators of a divinely-established Covenant arose, as one man, to launch a campaign of abuse and vilification which compared in virulence with the infamous accusations which Mírzá Yaḥyá and Siyyid Muḥammad had jointly levelled at Bahá'u'lláh."
-
He was publically unmasked after the Covenant-breakers printed letters with falsehoods and misleading statements. believed to be about four years after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh. He became known in the Bahá'í community as "Hyena" or "Old Hyena" (pír-i-kaftár). He died in poverty and disgrace in Iran. The date of his death is not known. [M9YA6-7, 432, RoB2p118-9, 264-267, MMoB104-105, CB165-166, 209-15, Biographies of Jamal-i-Burujirdi]
- Shogi Effendi described 'Aqá Jamál Burújirdí as being "Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí's tablet lieutenant in Persia, "all trey to a fatal an loathsome disease". ]GPB319]
- He was the recipient of many tablets from both Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, one of which can be found in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh p5-9 and a more complete provisional translation of the original tablet can be found here.
- See also Tablet to Jamal-i-Burujirdi by Bahá'u'lláh translated by Khazeh Fananapazir.
- See ARG168 for mention of him relation to a refutation he received from Fádil-i-Shirází.
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