Áqá Siyyid Áqá Afnán
Áqá Siyyid Áqá Ahmad-‘Alí Afnán (1869 - August, 1929) was a Persian Bahá’í who was a member of the Afnán family who was a prominent member of the Shiraz Bahá’í community.
Biography[edit]
Áqá was born into a Bahá’í family in Shiraz in 1869. His given name was Ahmad-‘Alí but he was known as Áqá Siyyid Áqá. He was the eldest son of Núri'd-Dín and Maryam-Sultán Bagum who were both members of the Afnán family. In his youth Khadíjih Bagum, the widow of the Báb, was involved with raising him.[1]
In 1879 Áqá's father moved to Bombay, India, and instructed him to continue organizing weekly Bahá’í gatherings held in the family household in Shiraz in his absence and oversee the development of Bahá’í communities in the surrounding area. He was eventually able to complete annual tours of Bahá’í communities in the region and compiled reports on the community which were sent to Bahá’u’lláh who sent Tablets of encouragement in reply.[1]
In 1884 Áqá moved to Bombay to join his father and while living in India he developed his ability to speak English and Urdu. In 1889 he moved to Egypt with his father and helped establish the Rúhaniyyih Company which expanded to have offices in Port Said, Alexandria, and Cairo. They both went on pilgrimage in December 1889 and met with Bahá’u’lláh in person and Bahá’u’lláh gifted Áqá an abá, a type of robe. In July 1891 he went on a second pilgrimage with several members of his family and they remained in the Holy Land for a month.[1]
Áqá made another pilgrimage in 1894 after the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá asked him to return to Iran to combat the efforts of the Covenant-breakers to usurp authority over the Bahá’í community and he moved back to Shiraz. In 1896 he married to Ághá Bíbí and went on to have six children with her. The same year he was appointed the head of the Yazd post office moving to the city. While in Yazd he married a second time to Zahrá Bagum who he had two children with.[1]
Áqá retired from his position with the post office in 1909 and moved from Yazd back to Shiraz where he was able to serve the Faith full time and established the first Bahá’í printing press in the city. He passed away in August 1929 while visiting Búshihr.[1]
