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{{short description|Messianic movement founded by the Báb}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{babism}}
{{Contains special characters|Perso-Arabic}}

'''Bábism'''{{efn|The endonymic name for the faith is Dín-i-Bayán ({{langx|fa|دين بيان}}), meaning "religion of [[Bayán]]", itself a Qur'anic reference. The endonym is used by the contemporary Bábís in both Persian and English, however, Bábism is its standardized English name in academia and elsewhere outside the community.}} ({{langx|fa|بابیه|translit=Bâbiyye}}) is a [[Messianism|messianic movement]] founded in 1844 by [[Báb|the Báb]] ({{abbr|b.|born}} 'Ali Muhammad of Shiraz).{{sfn|MacEoin|1988a}}'''{{sfn|Browne|1911}}''' The Báb, an Iranian merchant-turned-prophet, professed that there is one incorporeal, unknown, and incomprehensible God<ref>[[Báb|Báb, The]] (1848). [http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/trans/bayan/bayan.htm ''Persian Bayán''], Exordium.</ref><ref name="browne15">[[Edward Granville Browne|Browne, E.G.]] [https://www.h-net.org/~bahai/areprint/nk/n-q-p-5.pdf ''Kitab-i-Nuqtatu'l-Kaf''], p. 15</ref> who manifests His will in an unending series of [[Theophany|theophanies]], called Point ({{langx|ar|نقطة|translit=nuqta}}) in Bábí terminology. The Báb's revelation, throughout which there was much evolution as he progressively outlined his teachings,{{sfn|Lambden|2019}} was turbulent and short-lived and ended with his public execution in Tabriz in 1850. A campaign of extermination followed, in which thousands of followers were killed in what has been described as potentially one of the bloodiest actions of the [[Qajar]] Iranian military in the 19th century.{{sfn|de Bellaigue|2018|p=142}}

According to current estimates, Bábism has no more than a few thousand adherents, most of whom are concentrated in Iran,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title=Azali |encyclopedia=Britannica Concise Encyclopedia |volume=2006 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9356264/Azali |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060502021323/http://concise.britannica.com/ebc/article-9356264/Azali |url-status=dead |archive-date=2006-05-02 }}</ref><ref>Barret (2001), p. 246</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Iranica |year=2011 |article=Azali Babism |first=Dennis |last=MacEoin |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azali-babism}}</ref> but it has persisted into the modern era in the form of the [[Baháʼí Faith|Bahá'í Faith]], to which the majority of Bábís eventually converted.{{sfn|de Bellaigue|2018|p=140}}

Bábism flourished in [[Qajar Iran|Iran]] until 1852, then lingered on in exile in the [[Ottoman Empire]], especially [[Cyprus]], as well as underground in Iran. An anomaly amongst Islamic messianic movements, the Bábí movement signaled a break with [[Shia Islam]], beginning a new religious system with its own unique laws, teachings, and practices. While Bábism was violently opposed by both clerical and government establishments, it led to the founding of the Bahá'í Faith, whose followers consider the religion founded by the Báb as a predecessor to their own.

==Etymology==
The name Báb ({{lit|Gate}}) is a reference to the [[Bab (Shia Islam)|gate]] to the [[Twelfth Imam]].{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=19}}

''Bábism'', a term originating from [[Orientalism|Orientalists]] rather than the followers of the religion, comes from the Arabic noun {{transliteration|ar|bāb}} "gate" ({{Langx|ar|باب}}). Additionally, {{transliteration|ar|Bayání}} comes from the [[Semitic root]] [[:wikt:ب ي ن|ب ي ن]], which forms a class of words relating to concepts of clarity, differentiation, and separation, including {{transliteration|ar|[[Bayán]]}}, which can refer to explanation, commentary, or exposition as well as the branch of Arabic rhetoric dealing with metaphors and interpretation.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Esposito |first1=John L. |title=The Oxford Dictionary of Islam |date=21 October 2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-975726-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E324pQEEQQcC |page=39}}</ref>

==History==

===Antecedents===
[[Twelver Shi'ism|Twelver Shia Muslims]] regard the [[Imamate in Twelver doctrine|Twelfth Imam]], [[Muhammad al-Mahdi]], as the last of the Imams.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=312}} They contend that Muhammad al-Mahdi went into [[The Occultation#Minor Occultation|the Occultation]] in 874 CE, at which time communication between the Imam and the Muslim community could only be performed through mediators called {{transliteration|ar|[[Bab (Shia Islam)|bābs]]}} ('gates') or {{transliteration|ar|nā'ibs}} ('representatives').{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=15}} In 940, the fourth {{transliteration|ar|nā'ib}} claimed that Imam Muhammad al-Mahdi had gone into an indefinite "[[Major Occultation]]", and that he would cease to communicate with the people. According to Twelver belief, the Hidden Imam is alive in the world, but in concealment from his enemies, and will only emerge shortly before the [[Last Judgment]]. At that time, acting as [[Qa'im Al Muhammad]] ("He who will arise"), a messianic figure also known as the [[Mahdi]] ("He who is rightly guided"), the Hidden Imam will start a holy war against evil, would defeat the unbelievers, and would start a reign of justice.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=15}}

In 1830s [[Qajar dynasty|Qajar Persia]], [[Kazim Rashti]] was the leader of the [[Shaykhism|Shaykhis]], a sect of Twelvers. The Shaykhis were a group expecting the imminent appearance of al-Qāʾim. At the time of Kazim's death in 1843, he had counselled his followers to leave their homes to seek the Lord of the Age whose advent would soon break on the world.<ref name="EoI">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam |year=1999 |article=Bāb |publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |first=A. |last=Bausani}}</ref>

===Origin===
[[File:Room-bab.jpg|thumb|left|The room in the [[Báb's house]] in [[Shiraz]] where he declared his mission to Mulla Husayn.]]

On 22 May 1844,<ref name="dawn">{{cite book |first=R. |last=Mehrabkhani |year=1987 |title=Mullá Ḥusayn: Disciple at Dawn |publisher=Kalimat Press |location=Los Angeles, CA, USA |isbn=978-0-933770-37-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wDYnPNwuwtcC&pg=PA121 |pages=58–73}}</ref> [[Mullá Husayn]], of [[Boshruyeh]] in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]], a prominent disciple of Sayyid Kāẓim, entered [[Shiraz]] following the instruction by his master to search for al-Qā'im. Soon after he arrived in Shiraz, Mullá Husayn came into contact with the Báb. On the night of 22 May 1844, Mulla Husayn was invited by the Báb to his home; on that night Mullá Husayn told him that he was searching for the possible successor to Sayyid Kāẓim, al-Qā'im, and the Báb told Mullá Husayn privately that he was Sayyid Kāẓim's successor and the bearer of divine knowledge.{{sfn|MacEoin|1988}} Through the night of the 22nd to dawn of the 23rd, Mullá Husayn became the first to accept the Báb's claims as the gateway to Truth and the initiator of a new prophetic cycle;<ref name="EoI" />{{sfn|MacEoin|1988}} the Báb had replied in a satisfactory way to all of Mullá Husayn's questions and had written in his presence, with extreme rapidity, a long commentary on the [[Yusuf (sura)|surah of Yusuf]], which has come to be known as the [[Selections from the Writings of the Báb#Qayyúmu'l-Asmáʼ|Qayyūmu l-Asmā']] and is often considered the Báb's first revealed work,<ref name="EoI" /> though he had before then composed a commentary on [[Al-Fatiha|Surat al-Fatihah]] and [[Surat al-Baqara]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawson |first=Todd |chapter=The Authority of the Feminine and Fatima's Place in an Early Work by the Bab |title=The Most Learned of the Shiʻa: The Institution of the MarjaʼTaqlid |year=2007 |pages=94–127}}</ref> This night and the following day are observed in the Bahá'í Faith as a [[Baháʼí calendar#Holy days|holy day]] since then.

After Mullá Husayn accepted the Báb's claim, the Báb ordered him to wait until 17 others had independently recognized the station of the Báb before they could begin teaching others about the new revelation.

Within five months, seventeen other disciples of Sayyid Kāẓim had independently recognized the Báb as a Manifestation of God.<ref name="BBCHistory">{{cite web |title=The Time of the Báb |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/bahai/history/bab_2.shtml |publisher=BBC |access-date=2 July 2006}}</ref> Among them was one woman, Zarrin Tāj Baraghāni, a poet, who later received the name of [[Táhirih]] (the Pure). These 18 disciples were later to be known as the [[Letters of the Living]] and were given the task of spreading the new faith across Iran and Iraq.{{sfn|MacEoin|1988}} The Báb emphasized the spiritual station of these 18 individuals, who along with himself, made the first "Unity" of his religion.{{sfn|Amanat|1989|p=191}}

After his declaration, he soon assumed the title of the Báb. Within a few years the movement spread all over Iran, causing controversy. His claim was at first understood by some of the public at the time to be merely a reference to the Gate of the Hidden Imám of Muhammad, but this understanding he publicly disclaimed. He later proclaimed himself, in the presence of the heir to the Throne of Persia and other notables, to be al-Qā'im. In the Báb's writings, the Báb appears to identify himself as the gate ({{transliteration|ar|báb}}) to Muhammad al-Mahdi and later he begins to explicitly proclaim his station as equivalent to that of the Hidden Imam and a new messenger from God.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=19}} Saiedi states the exalted identity the Báb was claiming was unmistakable, but due to the reception of the people, his writings appear to convey the impression that he is only the gate to the Hidden Twelfth Imam.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=19}} To his circle of early believers, the Báb was equivocal about his exact status, gradually confiding in them that he was not merely a gate to the Hidden Imam, but the Manifestation of the Hidden Imam and al-Qā'im himself.<ref name="EoA">{{cite book |chapter=Resurgence of Apocalyptic in Modern Islam |first=Abbas |last=Amanat |author-link=Abbas Amanat |editor=Stein, Stephen J. |title=The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism, vol. III: Apocalypticism in the Modern Period and the Contemporary Age. |location=New York |publisher=Continuum |year=2000 |pages=241–242 |isbn=978-0-8264-1255-3}}</ref> During his early meetings with Mullá Husayn, the Báb described himself as the Master and the Promised One; he did not consider himself just Sayyid Kāẓim Rashti's successor, but claimed a prophetic status, with a sense of deputyship delegated to him not just from the Hidden Imam, but from Divine authority.{{sfn|Amanat|1989|p=171}} His early texts, such as the Commentary on the Sura of Yusuf, used Qur'anic language that implied divine authority and identified himself effectively with the Imam.{{sfn|MacEoin|1988}}{{sfn|Amanat|1989|pp=230–31}} When Mullā ʿAlī Basṭāmī, the second Letter of the Living, was put on trial in [[Baghdad]] for preaching about the Báb, the clerics studied the Commentary on the Sura of Yusuf, recognized in it a claim to divine revelation, and quoted from it extensively to prove that the author had made a messianic claim.{{sfn|Amanat|1989|pp=230–231}}

===Spread===
{{blockquote|The Babi movement{{nbsp}}[...] [became] an important catalyst of social progressiveness in mid-nineteenth-century Iran, promoting interreligious peace, social equality between the sexes and revolutionary anti-monarchism. Babism was a reflection of an older Iran that had been mass-producing messiahs in opposition to mainstream Islam since the seventh century{{nbsp}}[...] And yet the new current was also a product of Iran's grappling with novelty and change, and [the Babi movement] went on to present a vision of modernity that was based on secularism, internationalism, and the rejection of war. It is this vision which has enabled it to survive to the present day – as Bahaism, which emerged from Babism in the late nineteenth century – in pockets and communities peopled by 5{{nbsp}}million souls, and which qualifies it for inclusion in any narrative about modernisation in the Middle East.{{sfn|de Bellaigue|2018|p=140}}}}

The Báb's message was disseminated by the Letters of the Living through Iran and southern [[Iraq]]. One of these initial activities was communicated to the West starting 8 January 1845 as an exchange of diplomatic reports concerning the fate of [[Letters of the Living#Mull.C3.A1 .60Al.C3.AD Bast.CC.A3.C3.A1m.C3.AD|Mullá ʿAli-e Bastāmi]], the second Letter.<ref name=momen1981>{{cite book |author=Moojan Momen |author-link=Moojan Momen |title=The Bábí and Bahá'í religions 1844–1944: some contemporary western accounts |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1S4KAQAAMAAJ |year=1981 |orig-year=1977 |publisher=G. Ronald |isbn=978-0-85398-102-2 |pages=xv, xvi, 4, 11, 26–38, 62–5, 83–90, 100–104}}</ref> These were exchanges between [[Sir Henry Rawlinson, 1st Baronet]] who wrote first to [[Stratford Canning, 1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe]]. Followups continued until in 1846 he was sentenced by the Ottomans to serve in the naval shipyards at hard labor—the Ottoman ruler refusing to banish him as it would be "difficult to control his activities and prevent him spreading his false ideas."<ref name=momen1981/> Separately each of the Letters and other early believers were sent on various missions to begin public presentations of the new religion. Indeed various activities the Báb initiated were devolved to various Letters of the Living like preaching activities and answering questions from the community.{{sfn|MacEoin|1988a}} In particular, as these first public activities multiplied, opposition by the Islamic clergy arose and prompted the Governor of Shiraz to order the Báb's arrest. The Báb, upon hearing of the arrest order, left [[Bushehr]] for Shiraz in June 1845 and presented himself to the authorities. This series of events become the first public account of the new religion in the West when they were published 1 November 1845 in ''[[The Times]]'' of London.<ref name="States1977">{{cite book |author=National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States |title=World order |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sUYlAQAAIAAJ |access-date=20 August 2013 |year=1977 |publisher=National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.}}</ref> The story was also carried from 15 November by the ''[[Literary Gazette]]''<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=UcdLAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA757 "Mahometan Schism"], ''Literary Gazette'', 15 Nov. 1845, p. 757, 1st column, below middle</ref> which was subsequently echoed widely.<ref>For example see:
* [http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn84023200/1846-02-19/ed-1/seq-4.pdf "Mahomedan Schism"], ''Vermont Watchman and State Journal'', 19 February 1845, p. 4, second column, top
* [http://signalofliberty.aadl.org/signalofliberty/SL_18460223-p3-06 "Mahometan Schism"], ''[[Signal of Liberty]]'', p. 3, center top of full page view
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=4MIRAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA142 "Mahometan Schism"], ''The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature, Science, and Art'', January–February 1846, p. 142, bottom left then top of right columns
* [http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83016957/1846-04-04/ed-1/seq-1.pdf "A modern Mahomet"], ''Boon's Lick Times'', 4 April 1846, p. 1, fourth column, half way down
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31747707 "Mahometan Schism"], ''Morning Chronicle'', 4 Apr 1846, p. 4, 5th column, top, as highlighted
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article71604390 "Mahometan Schism"], ''South Australian'', 7 April 1846 p. 3, bottom of second column, top of next, as highlighted
* [http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article27452599 "Persia"], ''South Australian Register'', 11 Apr 1846, p. 3, 5th column near bottom, as highlighted
* [http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NZSCSG18460715.2.11 "Mahometan Schism"], ''New Zealand Spectator Cook's Strait Guardian'', 15 July 1846, p. 3, near bottom of text selection</ref> Meanwhile the Báb was placed under house arrest at the home of his uncle, and was restricted in his personal activities, until a cholera epidemic broke out in the city in September 1846.{{sfn|MacEoin|1988}}

The Báb was released and departed for [[Isfahan]]. There, many came to see him at the house of the imám jum'ih, head of the local clergy, who became sympathetic. After an informal gathering where the Báb debated the local clergy and displayed his speed in producing instantaneous verses, his popularity soared.{{sfn|Amanat|1989|p=257}} After the death of the Governor of Isfahan, [[Manouchehr Khan Gorji]], an [[Iranian Georgians|Iranian Georgian]],<ref>Cheyne, ''The Reconciliation of Races and Religions'', 29.</ref> who had become his supporter, pressure from the clergy of the province led to the Shah, [[Mohammad Shah Qajar]], ordering the Báb to [[Tehran]] in January 1847.{{sfn|Amanat|1989|p=258}} After spending several months in a camp outside Tehran, and before the Báb could meet the Shah, the Prime Minister sent the Báb to [[Tabriz]] in the northwestern corner of the country, and later [[Maku, Iran|Maku]] and [[Chehriq]], where he was confined.{{sfn|MacEoin|1988}} During his confinement, he was said to have impressed his jailers with his patience and dignity.<ref>{{cite EB9 |last=Garnett |first=Richard ||author-link=Richard Garnett (writer) |mode=cs2 |wstitle=Bábi |volume=3 |page=180 }}</ref> Communication between the Báb and his followers was not completely severed but was quite difficult, and more responsibilities were devolved to the ''Letters''{{sfn|MacEoin|1988a}} as he was not able to elucidate his teachings to the public.{{sfn|MacEoin|1988a}} With Bábí teachings now mostly spread by his followers, they faced increasing persecution themselves.{{sfn|MacEoin|1988a}}

The role played by [[Táhirih]] in [[Karbala|Karbalāʾ]] was particularly significant. She began an effort of innovation in religion based on her station as a Letter of the Living and the incarnation of [[Fatimah]]. In his early teachings, the Báb emphasized observing [[sharia]] and extraordinary acts of piety. However, his claim of being the Báb, i.e. the authority direct from God, was in conflict with this more conservative position of supporting sharia. Táhirih innovated an advance in the understanding of the priority of the Báb's station above that of Islamic sharia by wedding the concept of the Báb's overriding religious authority with ideas originating in [[Shaykhism]] pointing to an age after outward [[conformity]]. She seems to have made this connection {{Circa|1262}}/1846 even before the Báb himself. The matter was taken up by the community at large at the [[Conference of Badasht]].{{sfn|MacEoin|1988a}}

This conference was one of the most important events of the Bábí movement when in 1848 its split from Islam and Islamic law was made clear.<ref name="EoI"/> Three key individuals who attended the conference were [[Bahá'u'lláh]], [[Quddús]], and Táhirih. Táhirih, during the conference, was able to persuade many of the others about the Bábí split with Islam based on the station of the Báb and an age after outward conformity. She appeared at least once during the conference in public without a [[chador|veil]], heresy within the Islamic world of that day, signalling the split.<ref name="EoI"/> During this same month the Báb was brought [[Báb#Trial in Tabríz|to trial]] in Tabriz and made his claim to be the [[Mahdi]] public to the Crown Prince and the Shi'a clergy.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=55-59}}

Several sources agree that by 1848 or 1850 there were 100,000 converts to Babism.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Smith (historian) |title=Research Note; A note on Babi and Baha'i Numbers in Iran |journal=Iranian Studies |volume=17 |issue=2–03 |pages=295–301 |date=Spring–Summer 1984 |jstor=4310446 |doi=10.1080/00210868408701633}}</ref> In the fall of 1850 newspaper coverage fell behind quickly unfolding events. Though the Báb was named<ref>{{cite web |title=Early mention of Bábís in western newspapers, summer 1850 |work=Historical documents and Newspaper articles |publisher=Bahá'í Library Online |date=2010-09-17 |orig-year=Autumn 1850 |url=http://bahai-library.com/1850_brief_reports |access-date=20 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article3712637 Summary of General News], ''The Moreton Bay Courier'', 4 January 1851, page 1s, 4th column, a bit down from the top</ref> for the first time he had in fact already been executed.

===Uprisings and massacres===
By 1848 the increased fervour of the Bábís and the clerical opposition had led to a number of confrontations between the Bábís and their government and clerical establishment.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=55-59}} After the death of [[Mohammad Shah Qajar]], the shah of Iran, a series of armed struggles and uprisings broke out in the country, including at Tabarsi.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=55-59}} These confrontations all resulted in Bábí massacres; Bahá'í authors give an estimate of 20,000 Bábís killed from 1844 to present, with most of the deaths occurring during the first 20 years.<ref name=":0293" /> The first major killings of Bábís recorded in history took place in [[Qazvin]]. Since then, attacks against the Bábís by prominent clerics and their followers became more common and some Bábís started to carry arms.<ref name=":0293">{{cite encyclopedia|title=MARTYRS, BABI|author=Peter Smith & Moojan Momen|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica|volume=Online Edition|date=September 2005|url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/martyrs-babi-babi|accessdate=1 May 2020}}</ref> In remote and isolated places the scattered Bábís were readily attacked and killed while in places where large numbers of them resided they acted in self-defense.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shoghi |first=Effendi |title=Gott geht vorüber |date=2019 |isbn=978-3-87037-634-5 |location=Hofheim |pages=37–38 |oclc=1262336126}}</ref> One of these attacks occurred in [[Babol]] of [[Mazandaran province|Mazandaran]] which led to the death of several Bábís and their opponents, as well as an armed conflict between Bábís and their enemies in fort [[Shaykh Tabarsi|Ṭabarsí]]. After that, two other big clashes between the Bábís and their opponents took place in the cities of [[Zanjan, Iran|Zanjan]] and [[Neyriz]] in the north and south of Iran, respectively, as well as a smaller conflict in [[Yazd]]. A total of several thousand Bábís were killed in these conflicts.<ref name=":0293" /> In the three main conflicts in Ṭabarsí, Zanjan and Neyriz, Bábís were accused by their enemies of revolting against the government.<ref name=":12" /> However, it seems unlikely that these actions were purely revolutionary.<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last=Smith|first=Peter|year=2008|title=An introduction to the Baha'i faith|publisher=Cambridge University Press|place=Cambridge; New York|isbn=978-0-521-86251-6|page=13|oclc=181072578 }}</ref> In all three cases, the battles that took place were of a defensive nature, and not considered an offensive [[jihad]], as the Báb did not allow it and in the case of two urban conflicts (Neyriz and Zanjan), they were related to pre-existing social and political tensions within the towns.<ref name=":12"/><ref name=":0">''[https://bahai-library.com/walbridge_babi_uprising_zanjan The Babi Uprising in Zanjan],'' John Walbridge published in Iranian Studies, 29:3-4, pages 339-362 1996</ref> There is also no evidence of a coordinated plan of action.<ref name=":12"/> Wilson suggests that the Bábí uprisings were deliberate and that their clashes with authority were sometimes extremely brutal to respond to the tactics of the supporters of government.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wilson |first=Samuel Graham |title=Modern Movements Among Moslems |publisher=Fleming H. Revell Company |year=1916 |location=United States |pages=119}}</ref> In mid-1850 a new prime-minister, [[Amir Kabir]], was convinced that the Bábí movement was a threat and ordered the [[execution of the Báb]] which was followed by the killings of many Bábís.{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=55-59}}

====Fort Tabarsi====
{{Main|Battle of Fort Tabarsi}}
[[File:Shaykhtabarsi 2008.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|Shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí]]

Of the conflicts between the Bábís and the establishment, the first and best known took place in [[Mazandaran province|Māzandarān]] at the remote shrine of [[Shaykh Tabarsi]], about {{convert|22|km}} southeast of Bārfarush (modern [[Babol]]). From October 1848 until May 1849, around 300 Bábís (later rising to 600), led by Quddús and Mullá Husayn, defended themselves against the attacks of local villagers and members of the Shah's army under the command of Prince Mahdi Qoli Mirza.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=331}} They were, after being weakened through attrition and starvation, subdued through false promises of safety, and put to death or sold into slavery.<ref name="EoI"/>{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=331}}

====Zanjan upheaval====
The revolt at the fortress of ʿAli Mardan Khan in [[Zanjan province|Zanjan]] in northwest Iran was by far the most violent of all the conflicts. It was headed by Mullā Muhammad 'Ali Zanjani, called [[Hujjat]], and also lasted seven or eight months (May 1850–January 1851). The Bábí community in the city had swelled to around 3,000 after the conversion of one of the town's religious leaders to the Bábí movement.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=368}} The conflict was preceded by years of growing tension between the leading Islamic clergy and the new rising Bábí leadership. The city governor ordered that the city be divided into two sectors, with hostilities starting soon thereafter.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=368}} The Bábís faced resistance against a large number of regular troops, and led to the death of several thousand Bábís.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=368}} After Hujjat was killed, and the Bábí numbers being greatly reduced, the Bábís surrendered in January 1851 and were massacred by the army.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=368}}

====Nayriz upheaval====
Meanwhile, a serious but less protracted struggle was waged against the government at [[Neyriz]] in [[Fars province|Fars]] by Yahya Vahid Darabi of Nayriz. Vahid had converted around 1500 people in the community and had thus caused tensions with the authorities which led to an armed struggle in a nearby fort.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=260}} The Bábís resisted attacks by the town's governor as well as further reinforcements. After being given a truce offer on 17 June 1850, Vahid told his followers to give up their positions, which led to Vahid and the Bábís being killed; the Bábí section of the town was also plundered, and the property of the remaining Bábís seized.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=260}} Later, in March 1853 the governor of the city was killed by the Bábís. These further events led to a second armed conflict near the city where the Bábís once again resisted troop attacks until November 1853, when a massacre of Bábís happened, with their women being enslaved.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=260}}

===After the execution of the Báb===
{{See also|Execution of the Báb|}}
[[File:Haifa Shrine and Port.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Shrine of the Báb]] in [[Haifa]]]]

The revolts in Zanjan and Nayriz were in progress when in 1850 the Báb, with one of his disciples, was brought from his prison at Chehriq citadel, which was called {{transliteration|ar|jabal alshadid}}, meaning 'mount extreme', by the Báb, to Tabriz and publicly shot in front of the citadel. The body, after being exposed for some days, was recovered by the Bábís and conveyed to a shrine near [[Tehran]], whence it was ultimately removed to [[Haifa]], where it is now [[Shrine of the Báb|enshrined]].{{sfn|Browne|1911}}

Most Western scholars who reviewed the Faith of the Báb after 1860 saw it as a way of letting in Western and Christian ideals into "a closed and rigid Moslem system" and gave the Báb himself sometimes less or more credit for being authentic in the process.<ref name=momen1981/> However, some went further. In 1866 British diplomat Robert Grant Watson (1834–1892) published a history of the first 58 years of the 19th century of Persia<ref name="WatsonBLO">[http://bahai-library.com/watson_history_persia_1858 A History of Persia from the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century to the Year 1858] by Robert Grant Watson, pages 347–352, 385–393, 407–410, London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1866</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/stream/ahistorypersiaf00grangoog#page/n363/mode/2up A History of Persia from the Beginning of the Nineteenth Century to the Year 1858] by Robert Grant Watson, 1866.</ref> and would serve in several diplomatic capacities.<ref>See: * [[María Luz Incident]]
* [https://archive.org/details/cu31924005216811 The diplomatic service]; an abstract and examination of evidence taken by the Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1870 (1871)</ref> Watson summarizes the impact of the Báb in Persia:

{{blockquote|Bábism, though at present a proscribed religion in Persia, is far from being extinct, or even declining, and the Báb may yet contest with Mahomed ''(sic)'' the privilege of being regarded as the real prophet of the faithful. Bábism in its infancy was the cause of a greater sensation than that even which was produced by the teaching of Jesus, if we may judge from the account of [[Josephus]] of the [[Historicity of Jesus#Josephus and Tacitus|first days of Christianity]].<ref name="WatsonBLO"/>}}

Latter commentators also noted these kinds of views: [[Ernest Renan]],<ref>*[https://books.google.com/books?id=V7MLR8OBo_YC&pg=PA299 The Origins of Christianity: The apostles], Volume 2 of The Origins of Christianity, by Ernest Renan, Publisher Carleton, 1866,* [http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030272/1898-09-11/ed-1/seq-22.pdf Under "Some New Books", "vi"], ''The Sun'', New York New York, 11 September 1898, p. 22, 5th column near bottom to 6th column top</ref> Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch,<ref>[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924031235546#page/n141/mode/2up/search/babism ''Babism''], Studies in the evidences of Christianity, 1869, pp. 129 – 140</ref> son of [[Charles Bulfinch]], and others.<ref name="Margaret">{{cite journal |last=Dean-Deibert |first=Margaret |title=Early Journalistic Reactions to the Baháʼí Faith: 1845–1912 |journal=World Order |issue=Summer 1978 |pages=17–27 |date=1978 }}</ref>

For the next two years comparatively little was heard of the Bábís. The Bábís became polarized with one group speaking of violent retribution against [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar]] and the Qajar State, while the other, under the leadership of Baha'u'lláh, looked to reconsolidate the community, rebuild relationships with the government and advance the Babí cause by persuasion and the example of virtuous living.<ref>{{cite web |date=2004-03-23 |title=The Attempted Assassination of Nasir al Din Shah in 1852: Millennialism and Violence |author=[[Moojan Momen]] |website=Bahá'í Library Online |url=http://bahai-library.com/momen_attempted_assassination_shah}}</ref><ref name="Religio 12-1">{{cite journal |last=Momen |first=Moojan |author-link=Moojan Momen |title=Millennialism and Violence: The Attempted Assassination of Nasir al-Din Shah of Iran by the Babis in 1852 |journal=Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=57–82 |date=August 2008 |jstor=10.1525/nr.2008.12.1.57 |doi=10.1525/nr.2008.12.1.57}}</ref>

The militant group of Bábís was between thirty and seventy persons, only a small number of the total Bábí population of perhaps 100,000. Their meetings appear to have come under the control of a "Husayn Jan", an emotive and magnetic figure who obtained a high degree of personal devotion to himself from the group. Meanwhile, Tahirih and Baha'u'lláh, visible leaders of the community previously, were removed from the scene – Tahirih by arrest and in the case of Baha'u'lláh an 'invitation', by order of [[Amir Kabir]], to go on pilgrimage to Karbila. On 15 August 1852, three from this small splinter group, acting on their own initiative, attempted to assassinate [[Naser al-Din Shah Qajar]] as he was returning from the chase to his palace at [[Niavaran|Niavarān]].{{sfn|Browne|1911|p=94}} Notwithstanding the assassins' claim that they were working alone, the entire Bábí community was blamed, and a mass slaughter of thousands of Bábís followed, starting on 31 August 1852 with some thirty Bábís, including Táhirih. Dr [[Jakob Eduard Polak]], then the Shah's physician,<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |title=POLAK, Jakob Eduard |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |volume=Online |date=15 December 2009 |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/polak-jakob-eduard |access-date=2010-07-07}}</ref> was an eye-witness to her execution.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.paintdrawer.co.uk/david/folders/Research/Bahai/Tahirih/Martyrdom%20of%20Tahirih%20(Dr%20Jakob%20Eduard%20Polak).htm |title=Martyrdom of Tahirih (Dr Jakob Eduard Polak) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000259/http://www.paintdrawer.co.uk/david/folders/Research/Bahai/Tahirih/Martyrdom%20of%20Tahirih%20(Dr%20Jakob%20Eduard%20Polak).htm |archive-date=2016-03-04}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Polak |first=Jakob Eduard |title=Persien |publisher=F.A. Brockhaus |year=1865 |page=350 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IvAIAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA350 |language=de}}</ref> Bahá'u'lláh surrendered himself and he along with a few others were imprisoned in the [[Síyáh-Chál|Siāhchāl]] ('Black Pit'), an underground dungeon in Tehran.{{sfn|Hutter|2005b|pp=737-740}} Meanwhile, echoes of the newspaper coverage of the violence continued into 1853.<ref name="Spect26Mar">[http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=NZSCSG18530326.2.10 Persian Heretics and Executioners] under "English Extracts", ''New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian'', 26 March 1853, Page 3, (near the middle)</ref>

===Bahá'í–Azali split===
{{Main|Baháʼí–Azali split}}

In most of his prominent writings, the Báb alluded to a Promised One, most commonly referred to as "[[#He whom God shall make manifest|He whom God shall make manifest]]", and that he himself was "but a ring upon the hand of Him Whom God shall make manifest." Within 20 years of the Báb's death, over 25 people claimed to be the Promised One, most significantly [[Bahá'u'lláh]].

Shortly before the Báb's execution, a follower of the Báb, Abd al-Karim, brought to the Báb's attention the necessity to appoint a successor; thus the Báb wrote a certain number of tablets which he gave to Abd al-Karim to deliver to Subh-i Azal and Bahá'u'lláh.{{sfn|Amanat|1989|p=384}} These tablets were later interpreted by both [[Azalis]] and Bahá'ís as proof of the Báb's delegation of leadership.{{sfn|Amanat|1989|p=384}} 'Abdu'l-Bahá stated that the Báb did this at the suggestion of Bahá'u'lláh.{{sfn|ʻAbdu'l-Bahá|1886|p=37}} In one of the tablets, which is commonly referred to as the Will and Testament of the Báb, Subh-i Azal is viewed to have been appointed as leader of the Bábís after the death of the movement's founder. The tablet orders, in verse 27, orders Subh-i Azal "...to obey Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest, and in verse 37 to "protect yourself, then protect yourself, then protect what is revealed in the Bayan followed by what is revealed from your presence."<ref name = "Manuchehri (2004)">{{cite journal |author=Manuchehri, S. |title=The Primal Point's Will and Testament |journal=Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies |year=2004 |volume=7 |issue=2 |url=http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/notes/vol7/BABWILL.htm |access-date=15 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041208211101/http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/notes/vol7/BABWILL.htm |archive-date=8 December 2004 |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the time of the apparent appointment Subh-i Azal was still a teenager, had never demonstrated leadership in the Bábí movement, and was still living in the house of his older brother, Bahá'u'lláh.

Subh-i Azal's leadership was controversial. He generally absented himself from the Bábí community spending his time in [[Baghdad]] in hiding and disguise; and even went so far as to publicly disavow allegiance to the Báb on several occasions.{{sfn|MacEoin|1987}}<ref name="Barrett p. 246">{{cite book |last=Barrett |first=David |title=The New Believers |location=London |publisher=Cassell & Co |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-304-35592-1 |page=[https://archive.org/details/newbelieverssurv00barr/page/246 246] |url=https://archive.org/details/newbelieverssurv00barr}}</ref> Subh-i Azal gradually alienated himself from a large proportion of the Bábís who started to give their alliance to other claimants.{{sfn|MacEoin|1987}} During the time that both Bahá'u'lláh and Subh-i-Azal were in Baghdad, since Subh-i Azal remained in hiding, Bahá'u'lláh performed much of the daily administration of the Bábí affairs.

Bahá'u'lláh claimed that in 1853, while a prisoner in Tehran, he was visited by a "[[Maid of Heaven]]", which symbolically marked the beginning of his mission as a Messenger of God. Ten years later in Baghdad, he made his first public declaration to be "He whom God shall make manifest" to a small number of followers, and in 1866 he made the claim public.{{sfn|MacEoin|1987}} Bahá'u'lláh's claims threatened Subh-i Azal's position as leader of the religion since it would mean little to be leader of the Bábís if "Him Whom God Shall Make Manifest" were to appear and start a new religion. Subh-i-Azal responded by making his own claims, but his attempt to preserve the traditional Bábism was largely unpopular, and his followers became the minority.{{sfn|MacEoin|1987}}
[[File:Bahai community.jpg|upright=1.1|thumbnail|A Baha'i community in Iran ]]
[[File:Iranian Azali community or Isfahan, Iran Azali community.jpg|upright=1.1|thumbnail|An Azali community in Iran ]]

Eventually Bahá'u'lláh was recognized by the vast majority of Bábís as "He whom God shall make manifest" and his followers began calling themselves Bahá'ís. By 1908, there were probably from half a million to a million Bahá'ís, and at most only a hundred followers of Subh-i Azal.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} According to Ali Raza Naqavi, Bábism and the Bahá'í Faith are "almost inseparable" and have "almost identical beliefs and doctrines."<ref name="naqavi-1975">{{Cite journal |last1=NAQAVI|first1=SAYYID ALI RAZA|last2=Naqavi|first2=Syyid 'Ali Raza|date=1975|title=BĀBISM AND BAHĀ'ISM —A study of their History and Doctrines |journal=Islamic Studies|volume=14|issue=3|pages=186 |jstor=20846959|issn=0578-8072}}</ref> He writes that in the way Muslims view Judaism as having been abrogated by Christianity and Christianity as having been abrogated by Islam, Bahá'ís view Bábism as having been abrogated and replaced by the Bahá'í Faith.<ref name="naqavi-1975"/>

Subh-i Azal died in [[Famagusta]], Cyprus in 1912, and his followers are known as [[Azalis]] or Azali Bábis. [[Denis MacEoin]] notes that after the deaths of those Azali Babis who were active in the [[Persian Constitutional Revolution]], the Azali form of Babism entered a stagnation from which it has not recovered as there is no acknowledged leader or central organization.{{sfn|MacEoin|1987}}

In 2001, Azalis were estimated to number no more than a few thousand, living mainly in Iran.<ref name = "Barrett p. 246"/>

==Beliefs and teachings==
{{Main|Teachings of the Báb}}

The Báb's teachings can be grouped into three broad stages which each have a dominant thematic focus. His earliest teachings are primarily defined by his interpretation of the [[Quran]] and other [[Hadith|Islamic traditions]]. While this interpretive mode continues throughout all three stages of his teachings, a shift takes place where his emphasis moves to the philosophical elucidation and finally to [[legislation|legislative]] pronouncements. In the second philosophical stage, the Báb gives an explanation of the [[metaphysics]] of being and creation, and in the third legislative stage his mystical and historical principles are explicitly united.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|pp=27–28}} An analysis of the Báb's writings throughout the three stages shows that all of his teachings were animated by a common principle that had multiple dimensions and forms.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=49}}

===Hidden Imam===
In [[Twelver]] [[Shiʻa Islam]]ic belief there were twelve [[Imams]], the last of whom, known as [[Imam Mahdi]], communicated with his followers only through certain representatives.<ref name="browne">{{cite book |url=http://bahai-library.com/browne_babism |title=Religious Systems of the World: A Contribution to the Study of Comparative Religion |chapter=Bábism |pages=333–353 |first=Edward G. |last=Browne |author-link=E.G. Browne |place=London |publisher=Swann Sonnenschein |year=1890 |orig-year=1889 |via=Baháʼí Library Online}}</ref> According to the [[Twelver]]'s belief, after the last of these representatives died, the Imam Mahdi went into a state of Occultation; while still alive, he was no longer accessible to his believers.<ref name="browne" /> Shiʻa Muslims believe that when the world becomes oppressed, the Imam Mahdi (also termed the [[Al-Qāʾim Āl Muḥammad|Qa'im]]) will come out of occultation and restore true religion on Earth before the cataclysmic end of the world and judgement day.<ref name="browne" /><ref name="amanat1">{{cite journal |title=The Resurgence of Apocalyptic in Modern Islam |first=Abbas |last=Amanat |author-link=Abbas Amanat |editor=Stephen J. Stein |journal=The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism |volume=III |year=2000 |pages=230–254 |via=Baháʼí Library Online |url=http://bahai-library.com/amanat_resurgence_apocalyptic_islam}}</ref>

In Bábí belief the [[Báb]] is the return of the Imam Mahdi, but the doctrine of the Occultation is implicitly denied; instead the Báb stated that his manifestation was a symbolic return of the Imam, and not the physical reappearance of the Imam Mahdi who had died a thousand years earlier.<ref name="browne" /> In Bábí belief the statements made from previous revelations regarding the Imam Mahdi were set forth in symbols.<ref name="browne" /> The Báb also stated that he was not only the fulfillment of the Shiʻi expectations for the Qá'im, but that he also was the beginning of a new prophetic dispensation.<ref name="amanat1" />

===Resurrection, Judgment Day and cyclical revelation===
The Báb taught that his revelation was beginning an apocalyptic process that was bringing the Islamic dispensation to its cyclical end, and starting a new dispensation.<ref name="amanat1" /> He taught that the terms "resurrection", "Judgement Day", "paradise" and "hell" used in Shiʻa prophecies for the end-times are symbolic. He stated that "Resurrection" means that the appearance of a new revelation, and that "raising of the dead" means the spiritual awakening of those who have stepped away from true religion. He further stated that "Judgement Day" refers to when a new [[Manifestation of God (Baháʼí Faith)|Manifestation of God]] comes, and the acceptance or rejection of those on the Earth. Thus the Báb taught that with his revelation the [[Eschatology|end times]] ended and the age of resurrection had started and that the end-times were symbolic as the end of the past prophetic cycle.<ref name="amanat1" /> The Báb wrote: "Verily, the world and the hereafter are two spiritual states. If you turn towards God, exalted be He, then you are in paradise and if you are occupied with your self then you are in hell and in the world. Therefore understand these allusions."<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawson |first=Todd |year=2005 |chapter=The Bab's Epistle on the Spiritual Journey towards God |title=The Baha'i Faith and the World Religions: Papers presented at the Irfan Colloquia |pages=231–247}}</ref>

In the [[Persian Bayán]], the Báb wrote that religious dispensations come in cycles, as the seasons, to renew "pure religion" for humanity.<ref name="amanat1" /> This notion of continuity anticipated future prophetic revelations after the Báb.<ref name="amanat1" />

===He whom God shall make manifest===<!--several pages point to this section title -->
One of the core Bábí teachings is that a new prophet would soon come, whom the Báb termed '''He whom God shall make manifest''' ({{langx|ar|من يظهر الله}}, {{langx|fa| مظهر کلّیه الهی}}), a messianic figure that would complete the revelation that the Báb begun.{{sfn|Warburg|2006|p=7}}<ref name="farah">{{cite book |title=Islam: Beliefs and Observances |first=Caesar E. |last=Farah |location=Woodbury, NY |publisher=Barron's Educational Series |year=1970 |url=http://bahai-library.com/farah_islam_beliefs_observances}}</ref> The Báb describes this messianic figure as the origin of all divine attributes, and states that his command is equivalent to God's command.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Smith |first=Peter |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pYfrAQAAQBAJ |title=A Concise Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith |date=2013-10-01 |publisher=Oneworld Publications |isbn=978-1-78074-480-3 |page=180 |language=en}}</ref> Unlike earlier religions in which references to future promised figures were occasional and only in hints and allusions, the entirety of the [[Persian Bayán|Bayan]], the mother book of the Bábí dispensation, is essentially a discourse on a messianic figure, even greater than himself, that the Báb refers to as "he Whom God shall make manifest". The Báb always discusses his own revelation and laws in the context of this promised figure.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=344}} The essence and purpose of the Báb's own mission, as he always stressed, was to prepare the people for the advent of him.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=1}} He asks his followers to independently investigate and look for the promised one, and recognize him out of his own intrinsic reality, works and attributes, and not due to any reasons external to him.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|pp=290–291}} He even warns them not to be deprived of the promised one by arguing against him from the works of the Báb, the same way the followers of the previous religions opposed the next prophet while citing their holy scriptures.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|pp=290–291}} Furthermore, the Báb speaks of the imminence of the advent of the promised one and refers to the time of his advent as year nine and nineteen.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|pp=348–357}} After the Báb's execution in 1850, there were some Bábis who claimed to be "He whom God shall make manifest".{{sfn|Smith|2000|pp=118, 180}} Later in 1863, nineteen years after the declaration of the Báb, [[Baháʼu'lláh]] privately laid claim to be the messianic figure, and made his claim publicly in 1866–1868. His claim was by far the most successful. The majority of the Bábis followed him and later became known as [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Amanat |first=Abbas |title=Iran : a modern history |date=2017 |isbn=978-0-300-11254-2 |location=New Haven, CT |page=246 |oclc=971223468}}</ref> The [[Azalis]] (those Babis who did not accept Baháʼu'lláh) objected to Baháʼu'lláh's statement.{{sfn|Smith|2000|p=180}}{{sfn|Hutter|2005b|pp=737-740}}

===Religious law===
The Báb abrogated Islamic law and in the ''[[Persian Bayán]]'' promulgated a system of Bábí law, thus establishing a separate religion distinct from Islam.{{sfn|Hutter|2005}}<ref name="walbridge">{{cite book |title=Essays and Notes on Bábí and Baháʼí History |first=John |last=Walbridge |publisher=H-Bahai Digital Library |location=East Lansing, Michigan |year=2002 |chapter=Chap. 3 |chapter-url=http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/bhpapers/vol6/waless/chap3.htm}}</ref> Some of the new laws included changing the direction of the [[Qibla]] to the [[Baháʼí pilgrimage#House of the Báb, Shiraz|Báb's house]] in [[Shiraz]], Iran and changing the calendar to a solar calendar of nineteen months and nineteen days (which became the basis of the [[Baháʼí calendar]]) and prescribing the last month as a month of fasting.{{sfn|Hutter|2005b|pp=737-740}} The Bab also prohibits confession and seeking forgiveness from anyone but God and His Manifestation.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=325}}

In many respects, the Báb raised the status of women in his teachings. The Báb taught that, since God transcends the boundaries of male and female, God wishes that "neither men exalt themselves over women, nor women exalt themselves over men."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Saiedi |first1=Nader |title=The Bab and Modernity |url=https://user-hrqc9mo.cld.bz/The-Bab-and-Modernity}}</ref> He instructs his followers to not mistreat women "even for the blink of an eye"<ref name="academia.edu"/> and sets the penalty for causing grief to women as double that of causing grief to men. ([[Persian Bayán|Persian Bayān]] 7:18)<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
 | title = Women; In the works of the Bab and in the Babi movement |author= Moojan Momen
 | encyclopedia = Encyclopædia Iranica (Iranicaonline.org)
 | url =https://iranicaonline.org/articles/women-babi
 | date =4 December 2012 |orig-year=11 February 2011
 | access-date = 31 March 2021}}</ref> He also encourages the education of women<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Keddie |first1=Nikki |title=Modern Iran: Roots and Results of Revolution |journal=International Journal of Environmental Studies |date=2008 |volume=65 |issue=4 |pages=621–626|doi=10.1080/00207230802281307 |bibcode=2008IJEnS..65..621B |s2cid=95123178 }}</ref> and does not display a gender distinction in Bábi laws on education.<ref name="academia.edu">{{cite book |last1=Eschraghi |first1=Armin |title=Undermining the Foundations of Orthodoxy: Some Notes on the Báb's Sharia (Sacred Law) |page=232 |url=https://www.academia.edu/34514384 |access-date=15 April 2021}}</ref> Armin Eschraghi notes the context of 19th century Iran and that, "Modern western readers might not appreciate the revolutionary potential" of the Báb's teaching that "Those who have been brought up in this community, men and women, are allowed to look [at each other], speak and sit together."<ref name="academia.edu"/> The Primal Will of God is also personified as the female figure of the [[Maid of Heaven]].{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|pages=154}} The Báb also foreshadowed later developments in media, by emphasising the need for a rapid system of news communication, which would be available for all to access, no matter their wealth or social standing. He writes, regarding the news, that "until such a system is made universal, its benefit will not reach those servants of the kingdom unless there come a time when it will be accessible to all the people. Although today the kings have their own special couriers, this is fruitless, for the poor are deprived of such a service." Commenting on the extremes of wealth and poverty in society, the Báb also teaches that the true station of the rich should be as "the depositories of God"<ref>{{cite book |author=The Báb |translator=Peter Terry |year=1980 |orig-year=Translated by A.L.M. Nicolas and published in French in 1905 |title=The Arabic Bayan |page=81 |url=https://bahai-library.com/bab_bayan_arabic_terry |via=Baháʼí Library Online}}</ref> and enjoins generosity and charity. He says, "Should ye find one stricken with poverty, enrich him to the extent of your ability ... should ye find one who is in distress, bring him tranquility by any means in your power."{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|pages=323}}

Jack McLean, summarizing Baháʼí scholar Nader Saiedi's analysis, writes that "the Báb's writings even foresee current global issues of crisis, such as the protection of the environment and the commodification of natural resources." The Báb specifically calls for the absolute purity of water (Bayán 6:2). It may be easily deduced from this injunction that the environment must not be polluted since all substances return to the inland water table and the oceans. The Arabic Bayán (9:11) also forbids the [[commodification]] of the four elements, earth, air, fire and water.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb, by Nader Saiedi|url=https://bahai-library.com/mclean_saiedi_gate_heart}}</ref>

The Báb also created a large number of other rituals, rites and laws.<ref name="mceoin">{{cite web |title=Deconstructing and Reconstructing the Shari'a: the Bábí and Baháʼí Solutions to the Problem of Immutability |first=Denis |last=MacEoin |author-link=Denis MacEoin |date=1997 |url=http://bahai-library.com/maceoin_deconstructing_sharia |access-date=11 July 2006 |website=Baháʼí Library Online}}</ref> Some of these include the carrying of arms only in times of necessity, abstaining from smoking tobacco,{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=300}} the obligatory sitting on chairs, the advocating of the cleanliness displayed by Christians, the non-cruel treatment of animals, the prohibition of beating children severely, the recommendation of the printing of books, even scripture and the prohibition on the study of logic or dead languages,<ref name="mceoin" /> and abolishment of priesthood.<ref name=":7">{{Citation |last=Saiedi |first=Nader |title=The Writings and Teachings of the Báb |date=2021-11-26 |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429027772/chapters/10.4324/9780429027772-5 |work=The World of the Bahá'í Faith |page=36 |edition=1 |place=London |publisher=Routledge |language=en |doi=10.4324/9780429027772-5 |isbn=978-0-429-02777-2 |s2cid=244695650 |access-date=2023-01-27|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Other laws include elaborate regulations regarding pilgrimage, fasting, the manufacture of rings, the use of perfume, and the washing and disposal of the dead.<ref name="mceoin" />

Nader Saiedi states that the severe laws of the Bayán were never meant to be put in practice, because their implementation depended on the appearance of He whom God shall make manifest, while at the same time all of the laws would be abrogated unless the Promised One would reaffirm them. Saiedi concludes that these can then only have a strategic and symbolic meaning, and were meant to break through traditions and to focus the Báb's followers on obedience to He whom God shall make manifest.{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|pp=363–367}}

==Writings==
{{See also|Báb#Writings}}

The Báb affirms that the verses revealed by a [[Manifestation of God]] are the greatest proof of His mission and the writings of the Báb comprise over two thousand tablets, epistles, prayers, and philosophical treatises. These writings form part of [[Baháʼí literature|Baháʼí scripture]], particularly his prayers, which are often recited individually as well as in devotional gatherings.<ref name="bahai.org">[https://www.bahai.org/documents/essays/martin-douglas/mission-bab-retrospective-1844-1944 MARTIN, DOUGLAS. "The Mission of the Báb."]</ref> 
The Báb's major writings include the [[Selections from the Writings of the Báb#Qayyúmu'l-Asmáʼ|Qayyúmu'l-Asmáʼ]] (a commentary on the [[Yusuf (sura)|Sura of Joseph]]), and the [[Persian Bayán]], which the Bábís saw as superseding the [[Qurʼan]]. The latter has been translated into [[French language|French]]; only portions exist in [[English language|English]].

The works of the Báb have also excited scholarly interest and analysis. Elham Afnan describes the writings of the Báb as having "restructured the thoughts of their readers, so that they could break free from the chains of obsolete beliefs and inherited customs".<ref name="AFNAN, ELHAM 2019 pp 3">AFNAN, ELHAM. "A Twofold Mission." (2019) pp 3</ref> Jack McLean notes the novel symbolism of the Báb's works, observing that "The universe of the Báb's sacred writings is pervasively symbolic. Numbers, colors, minerals, liquids, the human body, social relationships, gestures, deeds, language (letters and words), and nature itself are all mirrors or signs that reflect the profounder reality of the names and attributes (asmá va sifát) of God".<ref name=McLeanReview>{{cite web
 | title =Review of: ''Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb''
 | url =https://bahai-library.com/mclean_saiedi_gate_heart
 | website =Bahai-Library.com |author= Jack McLean
 | date = 2009
 | access-date =31 March 2021}}</ref> Todd Lawson similarly identifies in the commentaries of the Báb an assertion of "the potential and ultimate meaningfulness of all created things, from the highest to the lowest."<ref>{{cite book |last=Lawson |first=Todd |chapter=The Dangers of Reading: Inlibration, Communion and Transference in the Qur'an Commentary of the Bab |title=Scripture and Revelation |page=198}}</ref> The Báb's works are characterised by linguistic innovation, including many [[neologisms]] whenever He found existing theological terms inadequate.<ref name="bahai.org"/> Several scholars have identified the continual repetition of particular words or phrases of religious importance to be a distinct feature throughout the Bab's writings.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Behmardi |first1=Vahid |last2=McCants |first2=William |title=A Stylistic Analysis of the Báb's Writings |url=https://bahai-library.com/behmardi_mccants_stylistic_analysis |journal=Online Journal of Baha'i Studies |volume= |issue= |pages=118, 132–134 |doi= |access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> John Walbridge views the "unquestionably hypnotic" use of repetition in the Bab's Kitab-i-Panj Sha'n, where "the same evocative words are repeated ceaselessly" with gradual variations over time, as anticipating a [[minimalist]] aesthetic as well as possibly prefiguring the modernist style of [[Finnegans Wake]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Walbridge |first=John |title=The Báb's Panj Sha'n (Five Modes) in A Most Noble Pattern: Collected Essays on the Writings of the Báb, 'Alí Muhammad Shirazi (1819–1850) |url=https://bahai-library.com/walbridge_kitab_panj-shan_commentary}}</ref> The Báb himself categorised his writings into five modes: divine verses, [[prayers]], [[Tafsir|commentaries]], rational discourse – written in Arabic – and the Persian mode, which encompasses the previous four.<ref name="AFNAN, ELHAM 2019 pp 3"/> Baháʼí scholars have argued that there are commonalities between the Báb's writings and those of Western philosophers such as [[Hegel]],{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=246}} [[Kant]]{{sfn|Saiedi|2008|p=303}} and [[James Joyce]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://bahai-library.com/pdf/l/lawson_joycean_modernism.pdf |chapter=Joycean Modernism in a Nineteenth-Century Qurʼan Commentary?: A Comparison of the Bab's Qayyūm al asmāʼ with Joyce's Ulysses |author=Todd Lawson |pages=79–118 |editor1=H. E. Chehabi |editor2=Grace Neville |title=Erin and Iran: Cultural Encounters between the Irish and the Iranians |place=Boston & Washington DC |publisher=Ilex Foundation & Center for Hellenic Studies Trustees of Harvard University |year=2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Walbridge |first= John |author-link= |title= The Báb's Panj Sha'n (Five Modes) in A Most Noble Pattern: Collected Essays on the Writings of the Báb, 'Alí Muhammad Shirazi (1819–1850) |url= https://bahai-library.com/walbridge_kitab_panj-shan_commentary}}</ref>

Most of the writings of the Báb have been lost. The Báb himself stated they exceeded five hundred thousand verses in length; the Qurʼan, in contrast, is 6300 verses in length. If one assumes 25 verses per page, that would equal 20,000 pages of text.{{sfn|MacEoin|1992|p=15}} [[Nabíl-i-Aʻzam|Nabíl-i-Zarandí]], in ''[[The Dawn-Breakers]]'', mentions nine complete commentaries on the Qurʼan, revealed during the Báb's imprisonment at [[Maku, Iran|Máh-Kú]], which have been lost without a trace.{{sfn|MacEoin|1992|p=88}} Establishing the true text of the works that are still extant, as already noted, is not always easy, and some texts will require considerable work. Others, however, are in good shape; several of the Báb's major works are available in the handwriting of his trusted secretaries.{{sfn|MacEoin|1992|pp=12–15}}

Most works were revealed in response to specific questions by Bábís. This is not unusual; the genre of the letter has been a venerable medium for composing authoritative texts as far back as Paul of Tarsus. Three-quarters of the chapters of the New Testament are letters, were composed to imitate letters, or contain letters within them.<ref>On letters as a medium of the composition of the New Testament, see {{cite book |author=Norman Perrin |title=The New Testament: An Introduction, Proclamation and Parenesis, Myth and History |place=New York |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch |year=1974 |pages=96–97}}</ref> Sometimes the Báb revealed works very rapidly by chanting them in the presence of a secretary and witnesses.

The Archives Department at the [[Baháʼí World Centre]] currently holds about 190 [[Tablet (religious)|Tablets]] of the Báb.<ref>{{cite web |author=Unpublished letter from the Universal House of Justice |title=Numbers and Classifications of Sacred Writings Texts |url=http://bahai-library.com/uhj_numbers_sacred_writings |access-date=16 December 2006}}</ref> Excerpts from several principal works have been published in an English language compilation of the Báb's writings: ''[[Selections from the Writings of the Báb]]'', other publications include ''[[Prayers from the Bab: The Remembrance of God]]''. Denis MacEoin, in his ''Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History'', gives a description of many works; much of the following summary is derived from that source. In addition to major works, the Báb revealed numerous letters to his wife and followers, many prayers for various purposes, numerous commentaries on verses or chapters of the Qurʼan, and many khutbihs or sermons (most of which were never delivered). Many of these have been lost; others have survived in compilations.{{sfn|MacEoin|1992|pp=15–40}}

Also significant to Bábism are the writings of [[Quddús]], which "display a close similarity to that of the Báb in both form and content" according to [[Moojan Momen]] and [[Todd Lawson]],<ref>{{cite book |last= Momen |first= Moojan |author-link= |title= Quddus: Holy people of the world: a cross-cultural encyclopedia |year= 2004 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=H5cQH17-HnMC&q=%22display+a+close+similarity+to+that+of+the%22&pg=PA710 |location= |publisher= Bloomsbury Academic|page= 710 |isbn=9781576073551}}</ref> as well as the poetry and prose of [[Tahirih]].

==Outside reception==
[[Denis MacEoin]], a scholar who was formerly a Baháʼí, describes Bábí law as a "mishmash of rules and regulations that at times are little more than mere whimsy, revolving around some of the Bab's own obsessions about cleanliness, polite behaviour, and elegance. It is a shari'a, but not in any practical sense. Certainly, it does not seem to be going anywhere... Here and there we find indications that the Bab had been impressed by Europeans and that he wanted his followers to emulate them."<ref name="mceoin" /> He further states: "One comes away from the Bayan with a strong sense that very little of this is to be taken seriously. It is a form of a game, never actually intended to be put into practice, much in the same way that whole sections of the Bab's later books don't, in fact, mean anything very much, but are elaborate exercises in interesting things you can do with Arabic roots. Or the way so many of the Bab's early writings, described as tafsirs on this or that sura of the Qurʼan, are really not commentaries at all."<ref name="mceoin" /> He further criticizes the Bábi laws, stating: "The average Babi could hardly hope to afford the three diamonds, four yellow rubies, six emeralds, and six red rubies that he was expected to give to the Babi Messiah, let alone find time to observe all the rules and regulations laid down in the book. For all that, the Babi shari'a made an impact."<ref name="mceoin" />

==See also==
* [[New religious movement]]
* [[Outline of Bábism]]
* [[Selections from the Writings of the Báb]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==Citations==
{{reflist}}

==References==
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |author=ʻAbdu'l-Bahá |author-link=ʻAbdu'l-Bahá |translator=Browne, E.G. |date=1886 |orig-year=pub. 2004 |title=A Traveller's Narrative: Written to illustrate the episode of the Bab |publisher=Kalimát Press |location=Los Angeles, US |isbn=978-1-890688-37-0 |url=http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TN/ }}
*{{cite book |last=Amanat |first=Abbas |author-link=Abbas Amanat |title=Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Bábí Movement in Iran 1844–1850 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca, NY |year=1989 |isbn=978-0-8014-2098-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/resurrectionrene00aman }}
*{{cite book |last=de Bellaigue |first=Christopher |date=2018 |title=The Islamic Enlightenment: The Modern Struggle Between Faith and Reason |publisher=Vintage |location=London |isbn=978-0-099-57870-3}}
*{{cite book |last=Effendi |first=Shoghi |author-link=Shoghi Effendi |date=1944 |title=God Passes By |publisher=Baháʼí Publishing Trust |location=Wilmette, Illinois, US |isbn=0-87743-020-9 |url=http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/GPB/ |access-date=2007-02-21}}
*{{cite web |last=Lambden |first=Stephen |date=2019-07-25 |title=The Evolving Claims and Titles of Sayyid 'Ali Muhammad Shirazi |url=http://hurqalya.ucmerced.edu/node/2971 |website=Hurqalya Publications: Center for Shaykhī and Bābī-Bahā’ī Studies }}
*{{cite book |last=MacEoin |first=Denis |author-link=Denis MacEoin |year=1992 |title=The Sources for Early Bābī Doctrine and History: A Survey |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |isbn=978-90-04-09462-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xqV9-zmMxsUC }}
*{{cite book |last=Saiedi |first=Nader |year=2008 |title=Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb |publisher=Wilfrid Laurier University Press |location=Canada |isbn=978-1-55458-056-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XTfoaK15t64C }}
*{{cite book |last=Warburg |first=Margit |author-link=Margit Warburg |date=2006 |title=Citizens of the world: a history and sociology of the Bahaʹis from a globalisation perspective |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-474-0746-1 |location=Leiden |oclc=234309958}}
{{refend}}

===Encyclopedias===
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Hutter |first=Manfred |year=2005 |title=Babis |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Religion |editor=Lindsay Jones |volume=2 |edition=2nd |location=Detroit |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |pages=727–729}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Hutter |first=Manfred |year=2005b |title=Bahā'īs |editor=Lindsay Jones |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Religion |edition=2nd |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |volume=2 |location=Detroit |isbn=0-02-865733-0 |pages=737–740 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofre0000unse_v8f2}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=MacEoin |first=Denis |author-link=Denis MacEoin |date=15 December 1987 |orig-year=updated 18 August 2011 |title=AZALI BABISM |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/azali-babism |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2021-01-03}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=MacEoin |first=Denis |author-link=Denis MacEoin |date=15 December 1988 |orig-date=updated 18 August 2011 |title=BĀB, ʿAli Moḥammad Širāzi |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bab-ali-mohammad-sirazi |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2022-12-14}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=MacEoin |first=Denis |author-link=Denis MacEoin |date=15 December 1988a |orig-year=updated 19 August 2011 |title=BABISM |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/babism-index |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2022-12-20}}
*{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Smith (historian) |date=2000 |title=A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith |publisher=[[Oneworld Publications]] |isbn=9781780744803 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pYfrAQAAQBAJ&pg=PT71 |access-date=26 December 2020}}
{{refend}}

'''Attribution:'''
* {{EB1911 |mode=cs2 |last=Browne |first=Edward Granville |author-link=Edward Granville Browne |wstitle=Bábíism |volume=3 |pages=94–95 }}

==Further reading==
{{NIE poster|Babism}}

*{{Cite encyclopedia |last=Adamson |first=Hugh C. |date=2009 |title=The A to Z of the Baháʼí Faith |series=The A to Z Guide Series, No. 70 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |place=Plymouth, UK |isbn=978-0-8108-6853-3  |url=https://archive.org/details/atozofbahaifaith0000adam |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Afnan |first=Habibuʾllah |editor=Ahang Rabbani |title=The Genesis of the Bábí-Baháʼí Faiths in Shíráz and Fárs |publisher=Brill; Leiden |series=Numen Book Series – Studies in the History of Religions -Texts and Sources in the History of Religions |volume=122 |year=2008 |location=Boston, USA |url=http://bahai-library.com/afnan_rabbani_genesis_faiths |isbn=978-90-04-17054 4 |issn=0169-8834 |ref=none }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Ahdieh |first=Hussein |date=4 September 2015 |title=BABISM iii. Babism in Neyriz |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/babism-03 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2022-12-20 }}
*{{cite book |last=Amanat |first=Abbas |author-link=Abbas Amanat |date=2000 |editor=Stein, Stephen J. |chapter=Resurgence of Apocalypticticism in Modern Islam |title=The Encyclopedia of Apocalypticism, vol. III: Apocalypticism in the Modern Period and the Contemporary Age. |location=New York |publisher=Continuum |isbn=0-8264-1255-6}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bausani |first=A. |date=1999 |title=Bāb |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Islam |publisher=Koninklijke Brill NV |location=Leiden, The Netherlands }}
*{{cite book |editor-last1=Daume |editor-first1=Daphne |editor-last2=Watson |editor-first2=Louise |date=1992 |title=Britannica Book of the Year |contribution=The Baháʼí Faith |place=Chicago |isbn=0-85229-486-7 |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/1988britannicabo0000daum}}
*{{cite encyclopedia |date=28 September 2011 |title=Azalī |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Azali |access-date=2021-01-03 |ref={{sfnref|Britannica|2011}} }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |date=5 July 2022 |title=the Bāb |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/the-Bab |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=2022-12-20 |ref={{sfnref|Britannica|2022}} }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |date=8 November 2022 |title=Bahāʾ Allāh |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Baha-Allah |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=2022-12-20 |ref={{sfnref|Britannica|2022b}} }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |date=1 January 2022 |title=al-Aḥsāʾī |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Ahsai |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=2022-12-20 |ref={{sfnref|Britannica|2022c}} }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Eschraghi |first=Armin |date=31 May 2013 |orig-date=updated 6 February 2013 |title=KĀẒEM RAŠTI |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/kazem-rasti-sayyed |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2022-12-20 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=MacEoin |first=Denis |author-link=Denis MacEoin |date=15 December 1984 |orig-date=updated 29 July 2011 |title=AḤSĀʾĪ, SHAIKH AḤMAD |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahsai-shaikh-ahmad |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2022-12-20 }}
* {{cite book |first=Denis |last=MacEoin |author-link=Denis MacEoin |year=2009 |title=The Messiah of Shiraz: Studies in Early and Middle Babism |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |isbn=978-90-04-17035-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LgOPsxZofrkC |ref=none }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=MacEoin |first=Denis |author-link=Denis MacEoin |date=15 December 1988b |orig-date=updated 23 August 2011 |title=BAHAISM xii. Bahai Literature |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/bahaism-xii |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2022-12-14 }}
*{{cite encyclopedia |last=Momen |first=Moojan |author-link=Moojan Momen |date=11 February 2011 |orig-year=updated 4 December 2012 |title=WOMEN iv. in the works of the Bab and in the Babi Movement |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/women-babi |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Iranica]] |access-date=2021-03-31}}
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Smith (historian) |title=The Bábí and Baháʼí Religions: From Messianic Shiʻism to a World Religion |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, UK |year=1987 |isbn=978-0-521-30128-2 |ref=none }}
* Vahman, Fereydun (ed.) (2020). ''[https://bahai-library.com/vahman_bab_babi_community The Báb and the Bábí Community of Iran]''. Oneworld Academic, London. ISBN 	9781786079565.

==External links==
* ''[https://thegatefilm.com The Gate: Dawn of the Baháʼí Faith]''. (2018 documentary from a Baháʼí perspective).

{{Religion topics}}
{{New Religious Movements}}
{{Baháʼí-2}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Babism}}
[[Category:Bábism| ]]
[[Category:Abrahamic religions]]
[[Category:Iranian religions]]
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[[Category:Religion in Iran]]
[[Category:Religious organizations established in 1844]]
[[Category:Religions derived from Islam]]
[[Category:New religious movements established in the 20th century]]