Ḥájí Mírzá Buzurg Afnán Álá’í

Ḥájí Mírzá Buzurg Afnán Álá’í

Ḥájí Mírzá Buzurg Afnán Álá’í (1873 - 1941) was a Persian Bahá’í and a member of the Afnán family who served the early Bahá’í community of Egypt.

Biography

Buzurg was born into a Bahá’í family in Shiraz in 1873. His father was Núri'd-Dín who was a cousin of the Báb. In 1883 he wrote to Bahá’u’lláh and received a Tablet from Him, and he went on pilgrimage in 1891 and met Bahá’u’lláh in person living in the Holy Land for nine months.

After the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh in 1892 His son and successor ‘Abdu’l-Bahá advised Buzurg to establish himself in Port Said, Egypt, and Buzurg established a business in the city. Bahá’í pilgrims travelling to the Holy Land from Iran often stopped in Port Said during their travels and Buzurg was able to assist them. In 1897 he made another pilgrimage to the Holy Land with his brother Habíbu’lláh.

In 1902 Buzurg closed down his business in Port Said and returned to Shiraz with his father and his brother Habíbu’lláh as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had requested that his father restore the House of the Báb in Shiraz. When Núri'd-Dín passed away in 1903 Buzurg and his brother complete the restoration of the House.

Buzurg was an active member of the Shiraz Bahá’í community in addition to working on the House of the Báb and he hosted Bahá’ís visiting Shiraz to visit the House of the Báb in his home. He also held deepening classes for children and served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Shiraz and several of its committees. He passed away in 1941, having never married.