BABIISM

babiism, the religion founded in persia in a.d. 1844-1845 by mirza 'ali muhammad of shiraz, a young sayyid who was at that time not twenty-five years of age. before his "manifestation" (_zuhur_), of which he gives in the persian _bayan_ a date corresponding to 23rd may 1844, he was a disciple of sayyid kazim of rasht, the leader of the shaykhis, a sect of extreme shi'ites characterized by the doctrine (called by them _rukn-i-rabi'_, "the fourth support") that at all times there must exist an intermediary between the twelfth imam and his faithful followers. this intermediary they called "the perfect shi'ite," and his prototype is to be found in the four successive _babs_ or "gates" through whom alone the twelfth imam, during the period of his "minor occultation" (_ghaybat-i-sughra_, a.d. 874-940), held communication with his partisans. it was in this sense, and not, as has been often asserted, in the sense of "gate of god" or "gate of religion," that the title _bab_ was understood and assumed by mirza 'ali muhammad; but, though still generally thus styled by non-babis, he soon assumed the higher title of _nuqta_ ("point"), and the title _bab_, thus left vacant, was conferred on his ardent disciple, mulla husayn of bushrawayh. the history of the babis, though covering a comparatively short period, is so full of incident and the particulars now available are so numerous, that the following account purports to be only the briefest sketch. the bab himself was in captivity first at shiraz, then at maku, and lastly at chihriq, during the greater part of the six years (may 1844 until july 1850) of his brief career, but an active propaganda was carried on by his disciples, which resulted in several serious revolts against the government, especially after the death of muhammad shah in september 1848. of these risings the first (december 1848-july 1849) took place in mazandaran, at the ruined shrine of shaykh tabarsi, near barfurush, where the babis, led by mulla muhammad 'ali of barfurush and mulla husayn of bushrawayh ("the first who believed"), defied the shah's troops for seven months before they were finally subdued and put to death. the revolt at zanjan in the north-west of persia, headed by mulla muhammad 'ali zanjani, also lasted seven or eight months (may-december 1850), while a serious but less protracted struggle was waged against the government at niriz in fars by aga sayyid yahya of niriz. both revolts were in progress when the bab, with one of his devoted disciples, was brought from his prison at chihriq to tabriz and publicly shot in front of the _arg_ or citadel. the body, after being exposed for some days, was recovered by the babis and conveyed to a shrine near tehran, whence it was ultimately removed to acre in syria, where it is now buried. for the next two years comparatively little was heard of the babis, but on the 15th of august 1852 three of them, acting on their own initiative, attempted to assassinate nasiru'd-din shah as he was returning from the chase to his palace at niyavaran. the attempt failed, but was the cause of a fresh persecution, and on the 31st of august 1852 some thirty babis, including the beautiful and talented poetess qurratu'l-'ayn, were put to death in tehran with atrocious cruelty. another of the victims of that day was hajji mirza jani of kashan, the author of the oldest history of the movement from the babi point of view. only one complete ms. of his invaluable work (obtained by count gobineau in persia) exists in any public library, the bibliotheque nationale at paris. the so-called "new history" (of which an english translation was published at cambridge in 1893 by e. g. browne) is based on mirza jani's work, but many important passages which did not accord with later babi doctrine or policy have been suppressed or modified, while some additions have been made. the bab was succeeded on his death by mirza yahya of nur (at that time only about twenty years of age), who escaped to bagdad, and, under the title of _subh-i-ezel_ ("the morning of eternity"), became the pontiff of the sect. he lived, however, in great seclusion, leaving the direction of affairs almost entirely in the hands of his elder half-brother (born 12th november 1817), mirza husayn 'ali, entitled _baha' u'llah_ ("the splendour of god"), who thus gradually became the most conspicuous and most influential member of the sect, though in the _iqan_, one of the most important polemical works of the babis, composed in 1858-1859, he still implicitly recognized the supremacy of _subh-i-ezel_. in 1863, however, baha declared himself to be "he whom god shall manifest" (_man yuz-hiruhu'llah_, with prophecies of whose advent the works of the bab are filled), and called on all the babis to recognize his claim. the majority responded, but _subh-i-ezel_ and some of his faithful adherents refused. after that date the babis divided into two sects, ezelis and baha'is, of which the former steadily lost and the latter gained ground, so that in 1908 there were probably from half a million to a million of the latter, and at most only a hundred or two of the former. in 1863 the babis were, at the instance of the persian government, removed from bagdad to constantinople, whence they were shortly afterwards transferred to adrianople. in 1868 baha and his followers were exiled to acre in syria, and _subh-i-ezel_ with his few adherents to famagusta in cyprus, where he was still living in 1908. baha'u'llah died at acre on the 16th of may 1892. his son 'abbas efendi (also called 'abdu'l-baha, "the servant of baha") was generally recognized as his successor, but another of his four sons, muhammad 'ali, put forward a rival claim. this caused a fresh and bitter schism, but 'abbas efendi steadily gained ground, and there could be little doubt as to his eventual [v.03 p.0095] triumph. the controversial literature connected with this latest schism is abundant, not only in persian, but in english, for since 1900 many americans have adopted the religion of baha. the original apostle of america was ibrahim george khayru'llah, who began his propaganda at the chicago exhibition and later supported the claims of muhammad 'ali. several persian missionaries, including the aged and learned mirza abu'l-fazl of gulpayagan, were thereupon despatched to america by 'abbas efendi, who was generally accepted by the american baha'is as "the master." the american press contained many notices of the propaganda and its success. an interesting article on the subject, by stoyan krstoff vatralsky of boston, mass., entitled "mohammedan gnosticism in america," appeared in the _american journal of theology_ for january 1902, pp. 57-58. a correct understanding of the doctrines of the early babis (now represented by the ezelis) is hardly possible save to one who is conversant with the theology of islam and its developments, and especially the tenets of the shi'a. the babis are muhammadans only in the sense that the muhammadans are christians or the christians jews; that is to say, they recognize muhammad (mahomet) as a true prophet and the qur'an (koran) as a revelation, but deny their finality. revelation, according to their view, is progressive, and no revelation is final, for, as the human race progresses, a fuller measure of truth, and ordinances more suitable to the age, are vouchsafed. the divine unity is incomprehensible, and can be known only through its manifestations; to recognize the manifestation of the cycle in which he lives is the supreme duty of man. owing to the enormous volume and unsystematic character of the babi scriptures, and the absence of anything resembling church councils, the doctrine on many important points (such as the future life) is undetermined and vague. the resurrection of the body is denied, but some form of personal immortality is generally, though not universally, accepted. great importance was attached to the mystical values of letters and numbers, especially the numbers 18 and 19 ("the number of the unity") and 19^2 = 361 ("the number of all things"). in general, the bab's doctrines most closely resembled those of the isma'ilis and hurufis. in the hands of baha the aims of the sect became much more practical and ethical, and the wilder pantheistic tendencies and metaphysical hair-splittings of the early babis almost disappeared. the intelligence, integrity and morality of the babis are high, but their efforts to improve the social position of woman have been much exaggerated. they were in no way concerned (as was at the time falsely alleged) in the assassination of nasiru'd-din shah in may 1896. of recent persecutions of the sect the two most notable took place at yazd, one in may 1891, and another of greater ferocity in june 1903. some account of the latter is given by napier malcolm in his book _five years in a persian town_ (london, 1905), pp. 87-89 and 186. in the constitutional movement in persia (1907) the babis, though their sympathies are undoubtedly with the reformers, wisely refrained from outwardly identifying themselves with that party, to whom their open support, by alienating the orthodox _mujtahids_ and _mullas_, would have proved fatal. here, as in all their actions, they clearly obeyed orders issued from headquarters. literature.--the literature of the sect is very voluminous, but mostly in manuscript. the most valuable public collections in europe are at st petersburg, london (british museum) and paris (bibliotheque nationale), where two or three very rare mss. collected by gobineau, including the precious history of the bab's contemporary, hajji mirza jani of kashan, are preserved. for the bibliography up to 1889, see vol. ii. pp. 173-211 of the _traveller's narrative, written to illustrate the episode of the bab_, a persian work composed by baha's son, 'abbas efendi, edited, translated and annotated by e. g. browne (cambridge, 1891). more recent works are:--browne, _the new history of the bab_ (cambridge, 1893); and "catalogue and description of the 27 babi manuscripts," _journal of r. asiat. soc._ (july and october 1892); andreas, _die babi's in persien_ (1896); baron victor rosen, _collections scientifiques de l'institut des langues orientales_, vol. i. (1877), pp. 179-212; vol. iii. (1886), pp. 1-51; vol. vi. (1891), pp. 141-255; "manuscrits babys"; and other important articles in russian by the same scholar; and by captain a. g. toumansky in the _zapiski vostochnava otdyeleniya imperatorskava russkava archeologicheskava obshchestva_ (vols. iv.-xii., st petersburg, 1890-1900); also an excellent edition by toumansky, with russian translation, notes and introduction, of the _kitab-i-aqdas_ (the most important of baha's works), &c. (st petersburg, 1899). mention should also be made of an arabic history of the babis (unsympathetic but well-informed) written by a persian, mirza muhammad mahdi khan, _za'imu'd-duwla_, printed in cairo in a.h. 1321 (= a.d. 1903-1904). of the works composed in english for the american converts the most important are:--_baha'u'llah_ (the glory of god), by ibrahim khayru'llah, assisted by howard macnutt (chicago, 1900); _the three questions_ (n.d.) and _facts for bahaists_ (1901), by the same; _life and teachings of 'abbas efendi_, by myron h. phelps, with preface by e. g. browne (new york, 1903); isabella brittingham, _the revelations of baha'u'llah, in a sequence of four lessons_ (1902); laura clifford burney, _some answered questions collected_ [in acre, 1904-1906] _and translated from the persian of 'abdu'l-baha_ [_i.e._ 'abbas efendi] (london, 1908). in french, a. l. m. nicolas (first dragoman at the french legation at tehran) has published several important translations, viz. _le livre des sept preuves de la mission du bab_ (paris, 1902); _le livre de la certitude_ (1904); and _le beyan arabe_ (1905); and there are other notable works by h. dreyfus, an adherent of the babi faith. lastly, mention should be made of a remarkable but scarce little tract by gabriel sacy, printed at cairo in june 1902, and entitled _du regne de dieu et de l'agneau, connu sous le nom de babysme_. (e. g. b.)