The Declaration of the Bab

THE DECLARATION OF THE BAB

A History of the Baha’i Faith for Young Readers
Volume 1

By Melanie Andersen

One of the purposes of life is to know God. But God is so great that we cannot know Him directly. So He sends us Messengers who teach us about God and about how we should live our lives. God promises that He will never leave us without His teachings. This is the Covenant of God. Messengers from God come at different times to different people.

A man named Shaykh Ahmad prayed to understand the Words of God written in the Qur’an. He studied very hard and became aware that a new Messenger of God would soon appear. Shaykh Ahmad left his home and travelled to many cities to teach people about the coming of the Promised One. His students became known as Shaykhi’s.

When Shaykh Ahmad died in 1826, his best student Siyyid Kazim became the teacher of the Shaykhi’s. Siyyid Kazim knew that the Promised One was already here on earth. He told the Shaykhi’s to travel and search for this new Messenger of God. When Siyyid Kazim died in 1843, his best student Mulla Husayn enthusiastically went out in search of the Promised One.

Mulla Husayn prayed very hard for God to guide him. On the night of May 22, 1844, he arrived in a city called Shiraz and was met by a Young Man in a green turban who showed him great love and kindness and who invited him to His home. The Young Man asked Mulla Husayn about his search and the signs by which he would recognize the Promised One. He then said in a vibrant voice “Behold! All these signs are manifest in Me.” It was the first time that the Báb had told anyone Who He was.

Mulla Husayn was at first reluctant to believe that this Young Man was the Promised One. But as the Báb continued talking, Mulla Husayn became spellbound and knew that he had found His Lord. The Báb began revealing the Words of God, He wrote them very quickly as He sang them in the most beautiful voice.

“O peoples of the earth! Give ear unto God’s holy Voice proclaimed by this Arabian Youth Whom the Almighty hath graciously chosen for His Own Self. He is indeed none other than the True One, Whom God hath entrusted with this Mission from the midst of the Burning Bush.”

“ The Lord hath, in truth, inspired Me: Verily, verily, I am God, He besides Whom there is none other God.”

Before Mulla Husayn left, the Báb told him that he was the first to believe in Him. He told Mulla Husayn not to tell anyone that he had found the Promised One until eighteen other people had searched for and recognize Him on their own.

This new Revelation overwhelmed Mulla Husayn with happiness and excitement. He wanted to shout in the streets “Follow me, let me show you, a new Messenger from God has come!” But he was obedient to the Báb’s instructions and did not tell anyone that he had found the Promised One. He joined his fellow Shaykhi’s at the local mosque and continued to pray and teach.

That first evening when Mulla Husayn recognized the Báb as a Messenger from God is now celebrated as a Holy Day called “The Declaration of the Báb ”. Every year, in the evening of May 22, Bahá’is come together to remember that special event.