The Bahai'i holiday of the Birth of the Báb takes place on October 20.
The Birth of the Báb is a holiday on which Baha’i’s do not work which for some would include missing classes. The holiday is often observed by visits to the Temple and by the recitation of the Prayer of the Tablet of the Visitation.
Iranian Revolutionary Guards destroying the Birthplace of the Báb in |
The Báb was born on October 20, 1844 as Siyyid Ali-Muhammed in Shiraz , Iran (at that time Persia ). The building of the Birthplace of the Báb in Shiraz , Iran was also a point of pilgrimage until it (along with all other Baha’i holy sites) were destroyed in the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
The title “The Báb” means “the Gate” as he foretold the coming of “He whom God shall make manifest” (that is, the Bahá'u'lláh, the religion’s founder). The Báb is also called “The Herald” by Baha’i’s, who sometimes make the comparison of the role of the Bab in Baha’iism to that of John the Baptist in Christianity. As Dale E. Lehman explains on the website Planet Baha’i:
Unlike John, however, He founded an independent religion and claimed equal station with Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. Bahá'ís view the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh both as "Manifestations of God" even though by the Báb's own testimony His mission was subordinate to Bahá'u'lláh's.
In addition to parallels with Christianity, Baha’i’s emphasize that the Báb was a direct descendant of the Moslem Prophet Mohammed on both his mother’s and father’s side.
Fromer site of the Declaration of the the Báb before its destruction by Iranian Revolutionary Guards in 1979 |
The Shrine of the Báb Haifa, Israel |
After attracting tens of thousands of followers, the Báb was considered a threat to the government leaders and clerics of Persia ’s Qajar dynasty. After being imprisoned and brutally beaten, the Báb was put to death by firing squad for heresy in 1850 in Tabriz (in what is now Iran but was then Persia).
After his martyrdom, thousands of his followers – called Bábís – were persecuted and approximately 20,000 were killed. During this period, the Báb’s remains were smuggled out of Persia to the Baha’i holy city of Haifa , Israel .
The Shrine of the Báb in Haifa houses the remains of the Báb. In 2008, the Shrine of the Báb was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. Today, the Shrine of the Báb is the location of a major Bahai'i pilgrimage, especially on the Birthday of the Báb.
Further Reading
Bahai'i Topics, "The Báb," http://info.bahai.org/the-bab.html
Opening Bahai'i star clip art: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Bahai_star.svg&page=1
Iranian Revolutionary Guards destroying the Birthplace of the Báb in
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