Jináb-i-Quddús ()(c.1820–1849), is the
title
A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
of Mullá Muḥammad ʻAlí-i-Bárfurúshi, who was the most prominent disciple of the
Báb
The Báb (born ʻAlí-Muḥammad; ; ; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850) was an Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbai ...
. He was the eighteenth and final
Letter of the Living.
Biography
Early life and education
Quddús was born and raised in a village on the outskirts of the city of
Babol
Babol (; Mazandarani: ), famously known as the City of Orange Blossoms and the Global City of Wetlands, is the capital city of Babol County. This city, which was the center of Mazandaran during the Zand dynasty era, now serves as the telec ...
(called Bárfurúsh at the time) in
Mazandaran province
Mazandaran Province (; ) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Sari. Located along the southern coast of the Caspian Sea and in the adjacent Central Alborz mountain range and Hyrcanian forests, it is bordered clockw ...
. Different sources offer slightly different years for his birth, between 1815 and 1822.
Nabíl-i-Zarandí's hagiographic history
The Dawn-Breakers
''The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative of the Early Days of the Baháʼí Revelation'' (''Maṭāleʿ al-anwār'') or ''Nabíl's Narrative'' (''Táríkh-i-Nabíl'') is an account of the early Bábí and Baháʼí Faiths written in Persian by N ...
states that he was born in 1822, and this date is often reproduced by Bahá'í sources, while
Abbas Amanat concludes that 1819 is the most likely date, based on the evidence of Quddús' own writings and statements made by other primary sources about his age at the time of his death in 1849.
His father, Aqa Muhammad Salih, was a small-scale, illiterate rice farmer; his mother—whose name is not recorded—was a descendant of
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
through his grandson
Hasan
Hassan, Hasan, Hassane, Haasana, Hassaan, Asan, Hassun, Hasun, Hassen, Hasson or Hasani may refer to:
People
*Hassan (given name), Arabic given name and a list of people with that given name
*Hassan (surname), Arabic, Jewish, Irish, and Scotti ...
, the second
Imam
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
of Shia Islam. His mother died when Quddús was still an infant. His father later remarried, and Quddús had a close relationship with his stepmother and his half-brothers by her. Neither his father or stepmother ever converted to Bábism or the Bahá'í Faith, but they received negative attention from local leaders because of their children's religious activities, and his stepmother developed close relationships with Baha'is in
Qaem Shahr
Qaem Shahr (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qaem Shahr County, Mazandaran province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Originally known as Ŝâhi was used until the Iranian Revolution in 1979 when the city ...
towards the end of her life. Quddús had two half-brothers—Mírzá Haydar and Aqa Muhammad-Sádiq and a sister—Maryam. All of his siblings converted to Bábism, and at least Muhammad-Sádiq later became a Bahá'í. His parents and Muhammad-Sádiq outlived him, while Haydar was executed during the battle of
Shaykh Tabarsi
Shaykh Ahmad ibn Abi Talib Tabarsi known as Shaykh Tabarsi ( Persian/Arabic: ), was a 12th-century Persian Shia scholar who died in 548 AH (1153 CE).
Life
Tabarsi was born in the year 1073 AD in Tabaristan province or some scholars said in ...
, and Maryam died shortly after Quddús and Haydar.
During his lifetime, Babol was one of many Iranian cities where the resident of neighborhoods and villages were segregated according to each households allegiance to one of two
moieties, known as the
Haydaris and Ne'matis. Quddus' household and relatives were aligned with the Ne'mati faction. While the divide between Ne'matis and Haydaris was not fundamentally a religious divide, many Ne'mati's in Babol at the time were adherents of the nascent Shia school of
Shaykhism
Shaykhism () is a term used by Shia Muslims for the followers of Shaykh Ahmad in early 19th-century Qajar Iran. While grounded in traditional Twelver Shiʻi doctrine, Shaykhism diverged from the Usuli school in its interpretation of key ideas s ...
, while the Haydaris largely remained aligned with the dominant
Usuli school. The family of Quddús were supporters of the local Shayki cleric Mullá Muhammad-Hamza Sharíʻat-madár, who employed Quddús as an attendant in his youth and likely arranged for him to receive a basic education from other members of the cleric's retinue.
Clerical education
After receiving a basic education in the house of Sharíʻat-madár, Quddús was sent to the town of
Sárí for a
madrassa
Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning. ...
education. After a few years in Sárí, he was sent to another madrassa in
Mashad
Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. In the Central District of Mashhad ...
, where he became a member of a small group of Shaykhi students which included
Mullá Husayn and a number of other future Bábís.

When he was eighteen, Quddús left for the Shia holy city of
Karbala
Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...
in Iraq, where he spent four years studying under
Sayyid Kázim, then the leader of the Shaykhi denomination. While living in Iraq he out religious retreats at the shrine of the
Atabat, and developed a particular devotion to the Imams. He returned to Babol ''circa'' 1843, now a fully trained and licensed
mullá—a Shia legal scholar endorsed by a teacher, and able to issue judgements on matters of religious law.
Babol was disrupted by a conflict between Quddús childhood patron Sharī'atmadār and a cleric named Mulla Sa'id Barfurushi. Mulla Sa'id Burfurushi was called Sa'id al-Ulama. Sharī'atmadār represented the Nemati kinship group and the Shaykhi religious faction. The Sa'id al-Ulama represented the Haydaris and the Usuli school. Sharī'atmadār and Quddús were supported by large numbers of residents in Nemati areas. Quddús was described as charismatic and meticulously observant of religious rituals. The supporters of Sharī'atmadār and Quddús were largely peasants, while the Sa'id al-Ulama had a wealthier set of supporters.
He was described as a charismatic mullá (religious leader) with "affability, combined with dignity and bearing" and he became a notable person within his hometown.
Mírzá Músá, who met him in 1846, said: "whoever was intimately associated with him was seized with an insatiable admiration for the charm of the youth".
Conversion to Bábism
In 1844, He met the
Báb
The Báb (born ʻAlí-Muḥammad; ; ; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850) was an Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbai ...
in
Shiraz
Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...
, and recognized him as the revelatory figure that he and other Shayki had been seeking after the death of Sayyid Kazim. Although there is some disagreement among early primary sources and later analysts as to the exact identity of the first nineteen converts to Bábism and the order in which they recognized Sayyid ʿAlí Muḥammad, there is widespread agreement that Mullá Muḥammad ʻAlí was the last member of the group to arrive and accept the Báb's prophetic claims. He arrived in Shiraz independently from any other group of Shayki seekers after traveling from Babol; he may have been passing through Shiraz on his way to complete an
Islamic pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
to
Mecca
Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
, or may have heard about the Báb's declaration from a Shayki contact and set out to Shiraz with the intent of investigating the matter.
The Báb gave the first nineteen converts to Bábism the title of the
Letters of the Living
The Letters of the Living () was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion. In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list (as the first letter). In this article, the former nota ...
, and entrusted them with tasks that would fulfill important prophecies from
Shia eschatology
Islamic eschatology includes the afterlife, apocalyptic signs of the End Times, and Last Judgment, final Judgement. It is fundamental to Islam as life after death is one of the The six articles of Islamic faith, six Doctrines of Islam. Resurrect ...
. He directed each of them to travel to a different area of Persia or Iraq to evangelize on his behalf, to expand the number of followers of the new religion, attract the support of prominent civil and religious leaders, and gather a base of support in the cities of the Atabat—the Shia shrines of Iraq. Mullá Husayn was sent to Isfahan, Tehran, and
Khorasan and given responsibility for announcing the message of the Bab to the Shah.
Mullá 'Alí and others were sent to Karbala and the other shrine cities of Iraq. Quddús was selected to accompany the Báb on pilgrimage to Mecca, where they would announce the start of a new revelation in the holiest city in the Muslim world.
Accompanying the Báb on pilgrimage
After the eighteen Letters of the Living recognized him, the Báb and Quddús left on a pilgrimage to Mecca and
Medina
Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...
, the sacred cities of Islam. The Báb's household slave Mubárak is the only other person who is generally agreed to have travelled with the party. Quddús was chosen to accompany the Báb primarily due to the closeness of their relationship, and served as the Báb's amanuensis during the journey.
The pilgrims left Shiraz on September 10, 1844, departing from the port of
Bushehr
Bushehr (; ) is a port city in the Central District (Bushehr County), Central District of Bushehr County, Bushehr province, Bushehr province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district.
Etymology
The roots of the n ...
on the 19th of Ramadán (October, 1844), and arriving in Mecca on the first of Dhi'l-Hájjih (December 12, 1844). The journey by sea lasted a total of seventy days, and—owing to humid weather, rough seas, and unpleasant interactions with fellow pilgrims— was very difficult. The party experienced discrimination and abuse from other pilgrims as a result of ethnic and sectarian prejudice, and the Báb later described the majority of the pilgrims as "a bunch of useless and ignorant people" who violated traditions of pious behavior expected of pilgrims.

In Mecca, the Báb, Mubárak, and Quddús performed the expected
rituals of the Hajj. On the day of
Eid al Adha
Eid al-Adha () is the second of the two main festivals in Islam alongside Eid al-Fitr. It falls on the 10th of Dhu al-Hijja, the twelfth and final month of the Islamic calendar. Celebrations and observances are generally carried forward to th ...
, the Báb sacrificed nineteen lambs, "nine in his own name, seven in the name of Quddús, and three in the name of his Ethiopian servant
ubárak.
[ quoted in ] During this pilgrimage the Báb publicly claimed to be the
Qa'im, meeting with a number of prominent religious figures in an attempt to gain their allegiance. Quddús was tasked with delivering a letter of the Báb to the
Sharif of Mecca
The Sharif of Mecca () was the title of the leader of the Sharifate of Mecca, traditional steward of the Holiest sites in Islam, Islamic holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The term ''sharif'' is Arabic for "noble", "highborn", and is used to desc ...
—the Custodian of the Kaaba—proclaiming his status. Portions of this letter are included in the book
Selections from the Writings of the Báb
''Selections from the Writings of the Báb'' is an anthology in English that features translated works of the Báb, the founder of Bábism and the forerunner-Prophet of the Baháʼí Faith. It was compiled and published in 1976 by the Universal ...
. Although the Báb had initially planned to travel to the shrine cities of Iraq after his pilgrimage, he received a letter in early 1845 describing the difficulties that Mullá ʻAlíy-i-Bastami (the second Letter of the Living) had encountered in that region and decided that he and his party should instead return to the port of Bushehr. The Báb's decision not to gather his growing community of followers in Karbala was disappointing to many who had expected him to lead a military revolution against the forces of orthodoxy, fulfilling the role of the
Mahdi
The Mahdi () is a figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, End of Times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a descendant of Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad, and will appear shortly before Jesu ...
.
The Báb's, Mubárak and Quddús returned to Bushehr in the spring of 1845. While the Báb engaged in correspondence with Persian government ministers seeking to gain Mullá ʻAlíy-i-Bastami freedom from imprisonment in Ottoman territory, he ordered Quddús to travel to Shiraz on a mission of evangelism. Zarandí records the Báb as having indicated to Quddús that the two of them would never meet again after parting in Bushehr:
"Yours will be the ineffable joy of quaffing the cup of martyrdom for His sake. I, too, shall tread the path of sacrifice, and will join you in the realm of eternity."
Persecution in Shiraz
Before Quddús arrived in Shiraz, a small number of other Bábís had already begun to engage in evangelical activity in the city including the provocative action of appending a statement about the Báb's to a call to prayer proclaimed from the minaret of a prominent mosque. After his arrival, Quddús ascended the same minaret and read from the Báb's
Qayyūm al-asmā. Another Bábí, Mulla Sadiq Khurasani—known as Muqaddas among Bábís and Bahá'ís—made public declarations that "the Gate to the Hidden Imam had appeared". Prior to Quddús's mission in Shiraz the Letters of the Living had largely kept the identity of the Báb secret, but during these public declarations they openly connected their movement with Siyyid ʿAlí-Muḥammad of Shiraz for the first time. In response to these actions, the governor of the city ordered Quddús, Muqaddas, and another Bábí arrested and tried by a religious council.
As a result of the trial Quddús experienced his first persecution as a Bábí. The governor ordered Muqaddas to be whipped, and all three Bábís had their beards burned, then their noses pierced, and threaded with halters; "then, having been led through the streets in this disgraceful condition, they were expelled from the city." The brutal treatment of the Bábís became a matter of international news, covered by newspapers in the UK starting November 1, 1845, followed by the US, Australia, and New Zealand. Quddús's travel to Shiraz brought the Báb's claim to the attention of the governor, Husayn Khan, who ordered the Báb arrested en route to Shiraz in summoned the Báb to Shiraz in July 1845.
Travels
Following his expulsion from Shiraz, Quddús travelled across Persia teaching of the new religion, travelling through
Yazd
Yazd (; ) is a city in the Central District of Yazd County, Yazd province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. At the 2016 census, its population was 529,673. Since 2017, the historical city of Yazd is rec ...
,
Kermanshah
Kermanshah is a city in the Central District (Kermanshah County), Central District of Kermanshah province, Kermanshah province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is from Tehran in the western pa ...
,
Isfahan
Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...
, and
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
before returning to Babol. When Quddús returned to Babol after his pilgrimage, he retained some popularity from his time there in 1843, and stories of his travels had reached his hometown, inflating his prominence in local discourse. Quddús now took a more prominent role in the rivalry between Shari'atmadar and the Sa'id al-Ulama, openly criticizing the corruption of the clerical class, and advancing messianic theology, but not yet promoting Bábism or revealing the identity of the Báb. Quddus and the Sai'd al-Ulama exchanged a series of letters, debating theology and the role of the Ulama. Quddús criticized the practice of taqlid, and promoted the idea of intuitive knowledge as a source of religious teaching, in line with Shaykhi doctrines and setting the stage for the announcement of the Báb as a new sources of revelation that would transcend the rigid rules developed through centuries of jurisprudence. In response to Quddús' growing popularity, the Sa'i'd al-Ulama and other Usuli leaders organized for him and his followers to be harassed by lutis, teamsters who also acted as gangs of street toughs in the ongoing contest between the Nematis and Haydari's.
Conference of Badasht
Along with
Tahirih and
Baha'u'llah, Quddús was one of three major figures in the
Conference of Badasht (June–July 1848), where prominent Bábí's gathered to clarify matters of doctrine and determine the next steps to be taken by the growing community in the face of increasing persecution at the hands of Persia's clerical and civil leadership. One of the most important Bábí leaders and regarded by his contemporaries as the exponent of the less radical, more conservative element within the Bábí movement, Quddús ostensibly distanced himself from Tahirih's radicalism and break from Islam. However, this was in fact part of what
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...
described as "a pre-conceived plan designed to mitigate the alarm and consternation which such a conference was sure to arouse" and, to the dismay of some Bábí's and the appreciation of others, Quddús wholeheartedly embraced Tahirih's radicalism and the two departed Badasht together on the same camel.
Battle of Fort Tabarsi
From October 10, 1848 to May 10, 1849, the first major military confrontation took place between the Bábís and the local military, instigated by the Islamic clergy. A group of over 200 Bábís were initially attacked by mobs in Bárfurúsh, and fled to the nearby shrine of
Shaykh Tabarsi
Shaykh Ahmad ibn Abi Talib Tabarsi known as Shaykh Tabarsi ( Persian/Arabic: ), was a 12th-century Persian Shia scholar who died in 548 AH (1153 CE).
Life
Tabarsi was born in the year 1073 AD in Tabaristan province or some scholars said in ...
, where they built a defensive fort and received escalating attacks, initially local raids, but later organized imperial regiments. Although the initial clash involved
Mullá Husayn, Quddús became the commander of the Bábís upon his arrival at the fort on October 20, 1848.
Over the months that followed,
Baháʼí sources assert that a number of miraculous events occurred in which a small band of untrained soldiers bore the full brunt of government regiments several times their size, always coming out victorious (see ''God Passes By'', chapter III; and ''The Dawn-Breakers'', chapter XIX). During the last month of the siege, the Bábís went without food or water, and survived by consuming shoe leather and ground bones. The battle became an embarrassment to the Persian authorities, and it was ended by the Prince Mihdí-Qulí Mírzá, who sent Quddús a copy of the
Qurʼan
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
. On the opening Surah he wrote:
:"I swear by this most holy Book, by the righteousness of God who has revealed it, and the Mission of Him who was inspired with its verses, that I cherish no other purpose than to promote peace and friendliness between us. Come forth from your stronghold and rest assured that no hand will be stretched forth against you. You yourself and your companions, I solemnly declare, are under the sheltering protection of the Almighty, of Muhammad, His Prophet, and of Násiriʼd-Dín Sháh, our sovereign. I pledge my honour that no man, either in this army or in this neighbourhood, will ever attempt to assail you. The malediction of God, the omnipotent Avenger, rest upon me if in my heart I cherish any other desire than that which I have stated."
::(''The Dawn-Breakers'', pg 399)
After leaving the fort, they were gathered in a tent and disarmed, and some taken away as prisoners. The army plundered and destroyed the fort, and then opened fire on the Bábís, killing them all.
Death
Quddús himself was escorted by the prince to Barfurúsh, where the local population was celebrating. The prince's plan was to take his prisoner to Tehran and give him to the Shah. However, the Saʼídu'l-ʻUlamá of Barfurúsh vowed to deny himself food and sleep until such a time as he could kill Quddús with his own hands. The prince arranged a meeting with Quddús and the ʻUlamá, and afterwards handed his prisoner over to them. On 16 May 1849 Quddús was handed over to an angry mob. Nabil records: "By the testimony of Baháʼu'lláh, that heroic youth, who was still on the threshold of his life, was subjected to such tortures and suffered such a death as even Jesus had not faced in the hour of His greatest agony." His body was torn apart and its pieces thrown into a fire. Some pieces were gathered by a friend and interred in a nearby place (see the ''Taríkh-i-Jadíd,'' p. 92).
At the time, the Báb was imprisoned in Chihríq, and was so grieved that he stopped writing or dictating for a period of six months.
About two years after the battle of Fort Tabarsi, Abbás-Qulí Khán (the sieging general) was heard describing the battle to a prince, comparing it to the
Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala () was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 Hijri year, AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph Yazid I () and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, th ...
, and himself to
Shimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan, who slew
Imam Husayn.
Legacy and religious significance
Writings
Quddús identified himself with Jesus in his writings, and the Bábis associated him with prophecies regarding the role of Christ in Islamic eschatology. During his youth in Babol, Quddús was rumoured to have been born out of wedlock, and may have emphasized an identification with Christ as a defense against these rumours.
Many of his writings focus on the corruption of the Ulama and their outdated nature in the time following the Báb's revelation. His writings make clear that his many thwarted attempts to engage the clerics in debate, the general dismissal of the Bábí movement by prominent theologians, the role of the mullas in whipping up violent opposition to the Bábís, and the extreme persecution and physical violence he himself had endured since 1844, had left him bitter and fiercely opposed to the entire class. Years of persecution led him to believe that violent self-defense was the only way that Bábís would be able to avoid being forced to recant, and by 1848 his writings include support for such action.
According to Moojan Momen and Todd Lawson, the writings of Quddús, "display a close similarity to that of the Báb in both form and content".
Bahá'í view
:"Regarding the station of Quddus, he should by no means be considered having had the station of a Prophet. His station was no doubt a very exalted one, and far above that of any of the Letters of the Living, including the first Letter, Mulla Husayn. Quddus reflected more than any of the disciples of the Bab the light of His teaching."
::(11 November 1936, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer).
:"It may be helpful to consider that in the Dispensation of the Bab, Quddus is referred to as the "Last Point", and the "Last Name of God", is identified, as pointed out in God Passes By, with one of the "Messengers charged with imposture" mentioned in the Qurʼan, and is one of the "two witnesses" into whom "the spirit of life from God" must enter, as attested by
'Abdu'l-Baha in
Some Answered Questions
''Some Answered Questions'' (abbreviated SAQ; Persian version: ''Mufáviḍát-i-‘Abdu'l-Bahá'') is a compilation of table talks of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá that were collected by Laura Clifford Barney between 1904 and 1906 across several pilgrimages. ...
, yet, despite these sublime stations, he is not regarded as an independent Manifestation of God."
::(24 August 1975, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer).
Notes and citations
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Quddus
1820 births
1849 deaths
Letters of the Living
People executed for heresy
Executed Iranian people
19th-century executions by Iran
People executed by dismemberment
People from Mazandaran province