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 during the time of
Baháʼu'lláh, and one of the nineteen
Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh
The Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh were nineteen prominent early followers of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The apostles were designated as such by Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion in the earlier half of the 20th century, an ...
. He is most famous for authoring ''
The Dawn-Breakers
''The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative of the Early Days of the Baháʼí Revelation'' (''Maṭāle al-anwār'') or ''Nabíl's Narrative'' (''Táríkh-i-Nabíl'') is an account of the early Bábí and Baháʼí Faiths written in Persian by Nab ...
'', which stands out as one of the most important and extensive accounts of 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 ...
.
He learned about the
Bábí Faith at the age of sixteen and met Baháʼu'lláh in 1851. He made several journeys on behalf of Baháʼu'lláh, was imprisoned in Egypt and is the only person known to have made the two pilgrimages to the
House of the Báb in Shíráz and the
House of Baháʼu'lláh in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
in accordance with the rites set out by Baháʼu'lláh. After the passing of Baháʼu'lláh, and at the request of
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; 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 canonized as the ...
, he arranged a Tablet of Visitation from Baháʼu'lláh's writings which is now used in the
Holy Shrines. Shortly afterwards, overcome with grief, love and longing for Baháʼu'lláh, he drowned himself into the sea.
Background
Nabíl was born in Zarand, Iran on 29 July 1831. He was a shepherd but strove to overcome his meagre education. He would often go with his father to
Qom and listen to religious discourses, and he learned to read the
Qurʼan
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sin ...
. In 1847, Nabíl, while in the village of Rubat-Karim, overheard a conversation about 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 immediately interested. Later, when he was more fully informed of the
religion of the Báb through Siyyid Husayn-i-Zavari'i, he became a believer in the new movement. He tried to join the Bábís at
Shaykh Tabarsi
Abu Ali Fadhl ibn Hasan Tabresi ( Persian/Arabic:ابو على فضل بن حسن طبرسى) known as Shaykh Tabarsi, was a 12th-century Persian Shia scholar who died in 548 AH (1153 CE).
Life
Tabresi was born in the year 1073 AD in Tabarista ...
but the siege began before he could get there. He took up residence in
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
in the same
madrisih as the transcriber of the Báb's writings; there he also met many Bábís who lived in or were travelling through the town, including
Baháʼu'lláh.
In 1852 there was an attempt on the life of
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar
Naser al-Din Shah Qajar ( fa, ناصرالدینشاه قاجار; 16 July 1831 – 1 May 1896) was the fourth Shah of Qajar Iran from 5 September 1848 to 1 May 1896 when he was assassinated. He was the son of Mohammad Shah Qajar and Mal ...
, which was followed by the persecution of the Bábí community. During this time, Nabíl put forward a claim to leadership of the Bábí community stating that he had received divine inspiration. Later, when he visited Baghdad and instead recognized Baháʼu'lláh's claim, he withdrew his own.
Travels
From
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
and
Adrianople, Baháʼu'lláh sent Nabíl on numerous journeys to the Bábís of Iran. During 1867/8 his major task was to inform the
Bábís of Baháʼu'lláh's claim to be
He whom God shall make manifest
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
. On one journey, he performed the pilgrimage to the house of the Báb in
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
and the house of Baháʼu'lláh in
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
, making him the first to perform the pilgrimage according to Baháʼu'lláh's laws.
In 1868 Nabíl was sent by Baháʼu'lláh to Egypt where he was imprisoned. When he was freed, Nabíl journeyed to
ʻAkká, but after being recognized by the followers of
Azal who had stationed themselves near the gate of the city, he was removed from the city. He travelled around the area including living on
Mount Carmel and in
Nazareth until he was able to enter ʻAkká.
On his second attempt to enter the prison city he was able to stay 81 days, meeting Mírzá Áqá Ján and then Baháʼu'lláh.
After this, he was sent by Baháʼu'lláh again to Iran to confirm the belief of many of the Baháʼís.
In 1888 he began writing ''The Dawn-Breakers'' with the personal assistance of
Mírzá Músá, the brother of Baháʼu'lláh. It was finished in about a year and a half, and parts of the manuscript were reviewed and approved, some by Baháʼu'lláh, and others by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
Death
After his return from Iran, he lived in ʻAkká until Baháʼu'lláh's death in 1892. Overwhelmed with Baháʼu'lláh's death, he drowned himself in the sea and his dead body was found washed ashore near the city of ʻAkká.
Besides writing a lengthy history of the Baháʼí Faith, he wrote poetry about the historical events of the religion, which he would send to the Baháʼís of Iran.
His poetry, however, has not been published.
tabletby Baháʼu'lláh addresses him by name, describing him as "numbered with My favoured ones whose names the Finger of God hath inscribed."
Notes
References
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External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nabil i Azam
Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh
Iranian Bahá'ís
Bahá'í poets
Suicides by drowning
1831 births
1892 deaths
19th-century Bahá'ís