Badíʻ (18521869) was an eminent early follower of

Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...

, founder of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

, and considered one of his chief apostles. At the age of 17 he delivered a letter from Baháʼu'lláh to Náṣiri'd-Dín S͟háh, for which he was tortured and killed.

Background

Badíʻ was from Nís͟hábúr, in the province of Khurásán. His given name was Buzurg, and the title Badíʻ' ( ar, ﺑﺪﻳﻊ meaning "wonderful") was given to him by

after his martyrdom. His name sometimes appears as Mírzá or Áqá Buzurg-i-Nís͟hábúrí (or Nís͟hápúrí) or Khurásání. Although his father, Haji ʻAbdu'l-Majíd, was a Baháʼí, at first Badíʻ was not drawn to the new religion. He was an unruly and rebellious youth, and for this reason, his father had originally described him as the "despair of the family". The father of Badíʻ had embraced the

during the ministry of the

Báb The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed ...

, and was later addressed by Baháʼu'lláh as Aba Badíʻ ("Father of Badíʻ"). Haji ʻAbdu'l-Majíd was a dealer in shawls and a noted merchant who had survived the Battle of Fort Tabarsi (1848 -1849). In 1877, at age 85, Badíʻs father was executed at a public square in

Mashhad Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...

because he repeatedly refused to recant his faith.

Travels

It was upon a meeting with

Nabíl-i-Aʻzam Mullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí (29 July 1831 – 1892), more commonly known as Nabíl-i-Aẓam ( fa, نبيل أعظم "the Great Nabíl") or Nabíl-i-Zarandí ( fa, نبيل زرندي "Nabíl of Zarand"), was an eminent Baháʼí historian ...

that Badíʻ heard a poem by Baháʼu'lláh and began weeping. After finishing his studies, he gave away his possessions and set out on foot for Bag͟hdád, where a significant number of Baháʼís were under persecution. Finally he set out on foot from Múṣul through Bag͟hdád to the prison city of ʻAkká. As guards protected against Baháʼís entering ʻAkka, Badíʻ dressed as a water-carrier and slipped by the guards, and then proceeded to a mosque, where he recognized

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...

and gave him a note. Badíʻ received two interviews with Baháʼu'lláh, who requested that he deliver the Lawh-i-Sulṭán, Baháʼu'lláh's tablet to Náṣiri'd-Dín S͟háh. Badíʻ received the tablet in

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

to avoid being caught by Ottoman officials. From there he travelled for four months on foot to Ṭihrán. Along the way he was reported to "be full of joy, laughter, gratitude and forbearance, walking around one hundred paces then leaving the road and turning to face ʻAkká. He would then prostrate himself and say: 'O God, that which you have bestowed upon me through Your bounty, do not take back through Your justice; rather grant me strength to safeguard it'".

Execution

After three days of fasting, Badíʻ went to the Shah's summer camp, and the Shah came upon him while hunting in the woods. Badíʻ approached the monarch with respect and calmly said: "O King! I have come to thee from Sheba with a weighty message". Badíʻ was arrested, branded for three successive days, his head beaten to a pulp with the butt of a rifle, after which his body was thrown into a pit and earth and stones heaped upon it.
particularly famous picture of Badíʻ
exists, taken at the Shah's request, where he is in chains during his torture, showing no emotion.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Badi 1852 births 1870 deaths Iranian Bahá'ís Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh Bahá'í martyrs Politicians from Nishapur 19th-century Bahá'ís