Hájí Siyyid Mírzá Afnán

Hájí Siyyid Mírzá.

Hájí Siyyid Mírzá (d. 1904) was a member of the Afnán family who became a Bahá’í. He supported Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí in his attempt to usurp control of the Bahá’í community after the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh but before his passing he reconciled with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá who had been appointed the successor of Bahá’u’lláh.

Biography

Siyyid Mírzá was a son of Afnán-i-Kabír and like his father he began a career as a merchant in Yazd with his business expanding to China and Europe. He married fellow Afnán Sárá-Sultán Bagum, daughter of Hájí Mírzá Abú'l-Qásim, and they had five children. He was an active Bahá’í and undertook several tasks for the community in the time of Bahá’u’lláh including facilitating communications between the Holy Land and the Bahá’ís of Iran.

While living in Yazd Mírzá accumulated a sizeable debt to a fellow Bahá’í and he received a Tablet from Bahá’u’lláh in which he was sternly warned to settle his debts without delays. He lived in Bombay, India, for an extended period of time heading the Indian branch of the Afnán family trading company, and he went on pilgrimage from Bombay on one occasion and presented Bahá’u’lláh with a large oil lamp which Bahá’u’lláh used.

After the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, which took place in 1892 while Siyyid Mírzá was in Bombay, he supported Mírzá Muhammad ‘Alí who attempted to supplant ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as leader of the Bahá’í community. He returned to Yazd and he was the only supporter of ‘Alí in the city. His wife and children severed all relations with him due to his opposition to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and as he had business relationships with his children which were also severed this resulted in his finances depleting.

In 1898 Mírzá visited the Holy Land and in December that year he wrote a letter to his mother in which he made false accusations that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was claiming divinity and criticized Him for not visiting his brother, Díyá'u'lláh, until the last day of his life. The letter resulted in Siyyid Mírzá's mother refusing to see him when he returned to Yazd. He made plans to move to 'Ishqábád in Russia in order to promote ‘Alí to the Bahá’í community there although he was prevented from making the journey by his brother Siyyid Ahmad.

Siyyid Mírzá was later convinced of the legitimacy of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's leadership of the Faith by his relative, Vakílu'd-Dawlih, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá allowed him to rejoin the Bahá’í community in approximately 1901. He provided assistance to the Bahá’í community of Yazd during a period of intense persecution in 1903 and he passed away in the city in 1904.