Mírzá Mahram

Áqá Mírzá Rida Manzar, known as Mírzá Mahram, (c. 1864 - 1913) was a Persian Bahá’í who was among the earliest pioneers to India.

Biography

Mahram became a Bahá’í in the 1870's and was a member of a Bahá’í literary group in the Sidih region of Isfahan in Iran. Due to persecution of the Bahá’í Faith in the area he moved to Tehran in March, 1887, and he spent time in Khurasan around 1896.

In 1897 and 1898 Mahram made visits to Bombay (now Mumbai), India, at the request of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to teach the Faith and in 1898 a local governing body for Bahá’ís in Bombay was formed. In 1899 he visited Burma to teach assisting Siyyid Muṣṭafá Rúmí in establishing Bahá’í communities in the country. He ultimately settled in India where he notably met with Ghulam-Ahmad, the founder of Ahmadiyyih Islam, at some point, and was a leading figure in the Mumbai Bahá’í community as of 1910.

In 1913 Mahram passed away in Mumbai and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed a prayer for the elevation of his Soul and an epitaph for his gravestone.