Afnán-i-Kabír

Afnán-i-Kabír
Born	c. 1807
Died	c. 1892
Other names	Hájí Mírzá Siyyid Ḥasan
Spouse(s)	Bíbí-Ján-Ján Bagum
Children	Hájí Siyyid Mírzá, Siyyid Ahmad, Hájí Siyyid Muhammad, Siyyid ‘Alí Afnán, Mírzá Muhsin, Sáhib-Sultán Bagum, Fátimih-Sultán-Bagum, Shams-Sultán Bagum, Siyyid Husayn, Bíbí-Sakínih, Tayyibih Khánum
Parent(s)	Áqá Mírzá ‘Alí Hájíyyih Bíbí

Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid Ḥasan (c. 1807 - c. 1892) also known as Afnán-i-Kabír (meaning the Great Afnán) was a relative and brother-in-law of the Báb who became a notable Bahá’í. He was honored by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Memorials of the Faithful.

Biography

Hasan was born into the Afnán family in the 1800's. His father was Áqá Mírzá ‘Alí. Like most of the family he became a merchant although he also studied theology in Shíráz and Isfahán and developed expertise in medicine. He settled in Yazd where he constructed an observatory in his home in order to pursue an interest in astronomy. He married Bíbí-Ján-Ján Bagum, another member of the Afnán family and daughter of Khál Akbar, and they had eleven children.

When the Báb established the Bábí religion in 1844 Hasan was initially hostile to His movement and did not communicate with his sister about her husband. He did eventually became a Bábí at some point prior to the Martyrdom of the Báb in 1850 but was not a particularly active member of the Bábí community. After the Martyrdom of the Báb he cared for the widow of the Báb, his sister Khadíjih Bagum.

At some point after 1868 the Bahá’ís Hájí Muhammad-Ibrahim and Nabíl-i-Akbar visited Hasan in Yazd and convinced him of Bahá’u’lláh's claim to the one foretold by the Báb. In approximately 1881 or 1882 he went on pilgrimage and met Bahá’u’lláh in the Holy Land. He visited Ishqabad while traveling to 'Akka which prompted him to have his son purchase land in the area. On May 17, 1886, Hasan's son Siyyid ‘Alí Afnán married Furúghiyyih Khánum, daughter of Bahá’u’lláh and His third wife Gawhar Khánum. The marriage took place at the request of Hasan's sister Khadíjih Bagum. When Edward Granville Browne visited Yazd in 1888 Hasan invited him to his home where he met several Bahá’ís.

Hasan briefly moved to Beirut between 1888 and 1889 where he earnt a reputation for his scholarship and helped run a branch of the Afnán family trading company, and he was then allowed to move to the Holy Land where he lived close to the Mansion of Bahjí from at least 1889. In 1889 he was accused of dishonesty and corruption in business by Aqa Muhammad-'Ali who had gone into business with some of the Afnán and incurred debts while secretly collaborating with the supporters of Mírzá Yaḥyá. Bahá’u’lláh sent three representatives to Istanbul who successfully defended Hasan's reputation using records to win a legal case in the Ottoman Courts, although they were unable to secure payment of the owed debts. Bahá’u’lláh revealed the following regarding the matter in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf:

"In the Great City (Constantinople) they have roused a considerable number of people to oppose this Wronged One. Things have come to such a pass that the officials in that city have acted in a manner which hath brought shame to both the government and the people. A distinguished siyyid, whose well-known integrity, acceptable conduct, and commercial reputation, were recognized by the majority of fair-minded men, and who was regarded by all as a highly honored merchant, once visited Beirut. In view of his friendship for this Wronged One they telegraphed the Persian Dragoman informing him that this siyyid, assisted by his servant, had stolen a sum of money and other things and gone to ‘Akká. Their design in this matter was to dishonor this Wronged One."

In 1890 when Edward Granville Browne visited the Holy Land he was able to meet with Hasan again. He passed away in 1892 shortly after the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh which had caused him considerable grief and he was buried in the Manshíyyih cemetery in ‘Akká.