Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl
Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl-i-Gulpáygání | |
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| Native name | ميرزا أبوالفضل گلپايگانی |
| Born | Mírzá Muḥammad Gulpáygání June/July, 1844 Village near Gulpáygán, Iran |
| Declared | September 20, 1876 |
| Died | January 21, 1914 Cairo, Egypt |
Mírzá Muḥammad Gulpáygání, better known by the title Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl Gulpáygání (Persian: ميرزا أبوالفضل گلپايگانی) (June/July, 1844 - January 21, 1914) was a Persian Bahá’í who was named an Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh by Shoghi Effendi.
He was a respected scholar of Islam prior to becoming a Bahá’í and came to be the pre-eminent scholar of the Bahá’í Faith. He taught the Faith in Persia and Central Asia before pioneering to Egypt where he was among the most active Bahá’ís of Cairo. He also lived in the United States of America for four years at the request of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá helping to teach the early American Bahá’ís about the religion.[1]
Biography[edit]
Early life and Islamic studies[edit]
Fadl was born in a village near the city of Gulpáygán in central Iran in 1844 as Muhammad. At some point he adopted the title Abu’l-Faḍl which means progenitor of virtue. His family were prominent in the village with his father, Mirza Muhammad Rida Shari`atmadar, being a religious leader and his mother, Sharafu'n-Nisa, being related to the towns Imam Jumih. In his youth Fadl moved to Gulpaygan where he undertook religious studies. He later moved to Sultanabad for further studies and in 1868 he moved to Isfahan where he studied at a religious college for three years before returning to Gulpaygan. His father passed in 1871 and his brothers seized his estate depriving Fadl of any inheritance.[2]
In October 1873 Fadl moved to Tehran where he accepted a position teaching speculative theology at a religious college, the Madrasih Hakim Hashim, and while teaching he also studied philosophy at the college himself. He also began studying the history of religion under some Buddhists and science at a technical college with European instructors. He was ultimately appointed the head of the Madrasih Hakim Hashim.[2]
Serving the Bahá’í Faith[edit]
In early 1876 Fadl was impressed by the insight of an illiterate farrier and became aware he was a Bahá’í. Around the same time he began discussing religion with Aqa `Abdu'l-Karim, a cloth-seller who had no formal education, and Fadl was surprised that he was able to discuss complex religious points. He eventually learnt `Abdu'l-Karim was a Bahá’í and became interested in learning about the religion. Over a period of several months he met frequently with prominent Bahá’ís of Tehran, including Nabíl-i-Akbar, and became aware of Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh which predicted the Ottoman vizier `Ali Pasha and the Sultan `Abdu'l-`Aziz would lose their positions and stated he would become a Bahá’í if the prediction came true. The vizier and Sultan were deposed during 1876 and Fadl declared on September 20, 1876.[2]
Fadl openly taught the Bahá’í Faith after declaring and was dismissed from his position at the Madrasih Hakim Hashim however a Zoroastrian in Tehran, Manikji Sahib, gave him a position teaching at a Zoroastrian school for children. He was arrested in December, 1876, and imprisoned for five months as a result of becoming a Bahá’í. He was arrested a second time in the early 1880's along with other prominent Bahá’ís of Tehran and imprisoned for nineteen months, and arrested again in October 1885 for six months. When he was released in February 1886 he received a Tablet from Bahá’u’lláh instructing him to begin travel teaching across Persia.[2]
In March, 1886, Fadl left Tehran. He stayed in Kashan for one and a half months, then went to Isfahan where his teaching found success and twenty people declared. He then went to Yazd briefly before arriving in Tabriz in December, 1886. He visited Hamadan in August, 1887, and was hosted by a Bahá’í family. He was able to teach a wide range of people in Hamadan, including members of the Jewish community and two Qajar princes. Later in the year he visited Kirmanshah where he was opposed by Azali's so he left after a brief time and was in Sanandaj by February 1888. He spent the rest of 1888 in Hamadan, Tabriz, Kashan, and Yazd, then traveled to Tabas. He was in Mashhad by June 1889.[2]
Travels outside of Iran[edit]
In July 1889 Fadl moved to Central Asia settling in Ishqabad. While in the city a Bahá’í was martyred and Fadl advocated for the Bahá’í community during the trial of his murderers and tried to mobilize the Bahá’ís of the city in their teaching efforts, emphasizing that they had considerable freedom compared to the Bahá’ís of Persia.[2] In February 1890 he moved from Ishqabad to Samarqand and taught the Faith in the city with some limited success for one to two years before moving to Bukhara. He was unable to find any receptivity in the city and returned to Ishqabad without anyone having declared in Bukhara.[2] At some point he visited China, including Kashgar, from Central Asia.[3]
In 1892 the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh took place and His successor, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, invited Fadl to the Holy Land. Fadl did not depart immediately due to community responsibilities he had assumed in Ishqabad however when his cousin pioneered to the city he was able to depart and he arrived in Akka in September 1894. While in the Holy Land Fadl consulted with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá on his lack of success in firmly establishing Bahá’í communities in Samarqand and Bukhara. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá requested that he pioneer to Egypt and advised him to adopt a different approach to teaching.[2]
Fadl spent ten months in the Holy Land then pioneered to Cairo, Egypt. After arriving in Cairo he secured a position teaching at the University of al-Azhar. He did not openly proclaim the Faith instead developing relationships with students and teaching those he felt were open-minded about the religion. Through his efforts around thirty students became Bahá’ís including ‘Abdu’l-Jalíl Bey Sa‘d. He also developed contacts with writers and journalists in the city achieving some prominence in the Egyptian press.[2]
In 1896 Nasiru'd-Din Shah, the ruler of Persia, was assassinated and Za`imu'd-Dawlih, a prominent figure in Egypt hostile to the Faith, began promoting the idea that he had been assassinated by Bahá’ís. Fadl was present at the Iranian Embassy in Egypt on an occasion when Za`imu'd-Dawlih began denouncing the Bahá’ís and advocated for the Faith stating that Bahá’ís were not involved in the assassination, and he announced that he was a Bahá’í himself resulting in him becoming publicly known as a Bahá’í in Egypt. The Islamic clergy of Egypt became increasingly hostile towards Fadl and by 1900 he had been declared an infidel.[2]
Deepening the Western Bahá’ís[edit]
In July 1900 Fadl returned to the Holy Land. He then made a short visit to Lebanon before being asked to visit the United States of America in order to deepen the community and correct misconceptions about the Bahá’í Faith introduced by Ibrahim Kheiralla who was attempting to form an independent sect of the Faith under his leadership. Fadl first traveled to Paris, France, from the Holy Land accompanied by Laura Clifford Barney arriving in 1901. He began deepening the Paris Bahá’ís and teaching the Faith, with Anton Haddad serving as his translator, and thirty people declared through his efforts. He arrived in the United States in the autumn of 1901 and settled in Chicago where he began deepening the community.[2]
At the time Fadl arrived in Chicago another Persian Bahá’í, Mírzá Asadu’llah Isfahani, was also residing in the city and conducting deepenings at the request of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Asadu’llah emphasized mysticism incorporating many of his own ideas into his teaching whereas Fadl's classes were more scholarly, and Ali Kuli Khan who was translating for both of them expressed concern that the Bahá’ís were becoming divided between the two approaches and requested that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá send Asadu’llah away from Chicago.[4] In December 1901 Fadl moved to Washington where he continued to teach and he composed an introduction to the Bahá’í Faith on the instructions of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá while in the city. In July and August of 1903 he delivered lectures at Green Acre, a property owned by Sarah Farmer which evolved into a Bahá’í Summer School. In 1904 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá advised Fadl to return to the East and a large meeting was held by the American Bahá’ís to bid him farewell in New York City on November 29, 1904.[2]
Later life[edit]
Fadl returned to Egypt from America. While resident in Egypt he occasionally visited Beirut and Haifa.[2] In 1906 he was active in teaching the Faith in Cairo.[5]
When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited Alexandria, Egypt, in 1911 he secured a property near His residence for Fadl so that he could live nearby. Fadl's health began to decline in 1912 and towards the end of the year Muhammed Taqiy-i-Isfahani persuaded him to reside in his home in Cairo to receive care,[2] and in 1913 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent His son-in-law Mírzá Muhsin Afnán to Cairo to care for Fadl.[6] Fadl remained with Isfahani for the rest of his life and passed away in Cairo on January 21, 1914.[2]
Publications[edit]
Arabic & Persian[edit]
- 1887 - Risalih Ayyubiyyih
- 1888 - Sharh-i-Ayat-i-Mu'arrakhih
- 1892 - Faslu'l-Khitab
- 1898 - Fara'id
- 1900 - Al-Duraru'l-Bahiyyih
- 1902 - Al-Hujaju'l-Bahá'íyyih
- 1912 - Burhan-i-Lami`
- 1920 - Majmu`iy-i-Rasa'il-i-Hadrat-i-Abi'l-Fadl
- 1977 - Rasa'il wa Raqa'im (compiled by Ruhu'llah Mihrabkhani)
- 1980 - Mukhtarat min Mu'allafat Abi'l-Fada'il
- ???? - Kashfu'l-Ghita (with Siyyid Mahdi Gulpaygani)
- ???? - The Kitab-i-Ibrar (unpublished)
English[edit]
- 1900 - Miracles and Metaphors. Translated by Juan Cole. Los Angeles, CA: Kalimát Press.
- 1902 - "The Behai Proofs". Translated by Ali Kuli Khan. New York: The J. W. Pratt co., printers.
- 1904 - Knowing God Through Love and Farewell Address of Mirza Abul Fadl[7]
- 1904 - Translation of a Letter of Instruction from Mirza-Abul-Fazl[8]
- 1912 - The Brilliant Proof. Translated by Ali Kuli Khan. Chicago: Baha'i News Service.
- 1886-1913 - Letters and Essays. Translated by Juan Cole. Los Angeles, CA: Kalimát Press.
References[edit]
- ↑ Wendi Momen, A Basic Bahá’í Dictionary, George Ronald: Oxford, 1989, p 7
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Moojan Momen, Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpáygání, published at Bahá’í Library Online, 1995, accessed 28 November 2022
- ↑ Graham Hassall, Bahá'í country notes: China, 1997, published online at Bahai Library Online
- ↑ Gail, M., 1987. Summon Up Remembrance. 1st ed. Oxford: George Ronald., p 165
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 938. View as PDF.
- ↑ H.M. Balyuzi, Abdu'l-Baha: The Centre of the Covenant, George Ronald: Oxford, 1971, p 399
- ↑ Collins, W. P. (1990). Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths 1844-1985. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-315-1., p 42
- ↑ Collins, W. P. (1990). Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths 1844-1985. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-315-1., p 42
