Mírzá Yaḥyá

Mírzá Yahyá.

Yaḥyá-i-Núrí also called Mírzá Yaḥyá, Subh-i-Azal or Azal (1831 - April 29, 1912) was the half brother of Bahá’u’lláh. He was a Bábí and after the Martyrdom of the Báb he became a leader in the community, although he was fearful of the harsh persecution of Bábís in Iran and lived in hiding.

In 1853 Yaḥyá joined Bahá’u’lláh in Baghdad and became influenced by Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahání to undermine His position as a prominent and respected Bábí who many looked at as a spiritual authority within the community. Despite covertly opposing Bahá’u’lláh he accompanied Him on His exiles to Constantinople and Adrianople.

In Adrianople Yaḥyá became openly hostile to Bahá’u’lláh and ultimately tried to poison Him and in 1866 Bahá’u’lláh formally called on him to relinquish his claim to authority over the Bábís and to recognize that Bahá’u’lláh was the Manifestation of God foretold by the Báb. Yaḥyá rejected Bahá’u’lláh's claims and Bahá’u’lláh's followers began calling themselves Bahá’ís and Yaḥyá's followers Azalis.

In 1868 Yaḥyá was exiled to Cyprus when Bahá’u’lláh was exiled to Akká and he passed away there.

Biography

Early Life

Yaḥyá was the son of Mírzá Buzurg and his concubine Kuchik Khánum of Kirmanshah. He was born in 1831 and was just eight years old when his father passed away with his older half-brother Bahá’u’lláh assuming responsibility for raising him. Bahá’u’lláh became a Bábí in 1844 after receiving a Tablet from the Báb and He taught Yaḥyá about the new religion, encouraging him to study the Writings of the Báb, resulting in him becoming a Bábí shortly afterwards. In December 1848 Yaḥyá accompanied Bahá’u’lláh and others on an attempt to reach Shaykh Ṭabarsí to join the Bábís who were besieged there however they were arrested in a nearby village preventing them from reaching Ṭabarsí for the battle. At some point around 1848 Yaḥyá married his first wife Fatimih, daughter of Sakínih Khánum, and had his first child.

In early 1850 Bahá’u’lláh received a Tablet from the Báb in which He was instructed to ensure Yaḥyá received education and training and Bahá’u’lláh entrusted Yaḥyá with transcribing the Writings of the Báb producing copies for distribution in the community. This allowed Yaḥyá to study and learn the composition and style of the Báb’s Writings and also trained him to imitate the Báb’s handwriting. Bahá’u’lláh had become extremely well-known as a Bábí by this time and shortly before the Martyrdom of the Báb He advised the Báb to nominate Yaḥyá as the figurehead of the community in the event of His passing as a means of allowing Bahá’u’lláh to manage the affairs of community after Him without attracting attention from the authorities. Mulla Abdu'l-Karim of Qazvin conveyed Bahá’u’lláh’s recommendation to the Báb and outside of Abdu’l-Karim, the Báb, and Bahá’u’lláh only Mírzá Músá was made aware of the arrangement.

After the Martyrdom of the Báb

The Báb was martyred in July 1850 and His Tablet the Lawh-i-Vasaya, understood to be His Will and Testament, appointed Yaḥyá as the titular head of the Bábí community although overall the Báb’s Writings emphasized the imminent Advent of He Whom God Shall Make Manifest. Upon hearing of the Martyrdom of the Báb he fled for the mountains of Mazindaran disguised as a dervish fearing persecution. In June 1851 Bahá’u’lláh departed Iran for Karbila and Yaḥyá traveled across Iran in disguise in order to avoid being captured.

As of 1852 Yaḥyá had returned to Tehran and that year he became aware of the plans of two Bábís who had decided to assassinate the Shah of Iran in retaliation for the Martyrdom of the Báb. As he felt the attempt was going to be successful he went to Takur where he attempted to assemble an armed force of Bábís. The assassination attempt was unsuccessful and instead triggered a wave of intense and violent persecution of the Bábís and as a result Yaḥyá moved to Gilan and then Kirmanshah. In 1853 Bahá’u’lláh passed through Kirmanshah during His exile to Baghdad and Yaḥyá was afraid to meet with Him in case it exposed his identity however Mírzá Músá visited him and persuaded him to meet with Bahá’u’lláh. He advised Bahá’u’lláh he would like to settle near Him in Baghdad and continue to live in hiding while engaging in a trade and Bahá’u’lláh gave him a small amount of money which he used to buy some cotton and enter Baghdad disguised as an Arab.

Yaḥyá settled in the Arab quarter of the city and would only leave his home at night to visit Mírzá Músá, refusing to meet with any Bábís with Músá acting as an intermediary for him. Shortly after his arrival a Bábí, Haji Mirza Kamalu'd-Din-i-Naraqi, visited Baghdad and requested a commentary on a Qur’anic verse from Yaḥyá through Músá. Naraqi was left disappointed by Yaḥyá’s commentary and then requested a commentary from Bahá’u’lláh who revealed the Lawḥ-i-Kullu’ṭ-Ṭa‘ám which quickly became famous in the Bábí community.

After a short time Yaḥyá gained confidence and assumed the identity of Haji Aliy-i-Las-Furush to begin working as a trader, and he also began to engage with the Bábí community as Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahani had encouraged him to pursue exerting authority over the community. Rather than continuing to work with Mírzá Músá or meet with Bábí's directly he hired a Persian merchant, Abu'l-Qasim, to serve as an intermediary. Siyyid Muhammad exerted a strong influence on him encouraging him to undermine Bahá’u’lláh and assisted him in issuing directives to the Bábí community in Iran from Baghdad. His directives emphasized that the Báb had abrogated sharia law as a means to justify some of his actions which caused controversy in the community. Despite Yaḥyá’s position as figurehead of the community the Bábís held more respect for Bahá’u’lláh and while Yaḥyá did not directly oppose Him he had rumors spread to discredit Him.

The actions of Yaḥyá and Siyyid Muhammad caused intense disunity in the Bábí community which prompted Bahá’u’lláh to leave the city for the mountains of Sulaymániyyih in 1854 in order to remove Himself as a source of disunity. Upon leaving Bahá’u’lláh allowed Yaḥyá to assume residence in His house with His family and directed His family to defer to Yaḥyá. Yaḥyá remained fearful of persecution and refused to allow the family of Bahá’u’lláh to leave the house, keeping the doors of the home locked to physically prevent them from doing so. At some point the family moved to a larger house, the Bayt-i-Aʻzam, and Yaḥyá decided to live in a smaller neighboring house in order to avoid public attention. When news reached Baghdad of the martyrdom of a Bábí in Najafabad he feared another wave of persecution and fled the city for Basra in disguise for a short time before returning. He refused to meet with Bábís visiting the city and when Nabíl-i-A‘ẓam visited Baghdad during the absence of Bahá’u’lláh Yaḥyá conveyed a message advising him to go to Karbilá to meet with Siyyid Muhammad instead.

In the period of Bahá’u’lláh’s absence there was considerable opposition to Yaḥyá’s leadership of the community and under the influence of Siyyid Muhammad he ordered the assassination of several prominent Bábís who opposed him. He also married several times having eleven to fourteen wives including Fatimih, the second wife and widow of the Báb, who he married for a few days before having her married to Siyyid Muhammad. His stewardship of the community resulted in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Mírzá Músá locating Bahá’u’lláh and asking Him to return to Baghdad and He did in 1856.

Ascendancy of Bahá’u’lláh

In January 1861 Khál Akbar, an Uncle of the Báb, visited Baghdad and outlined his doubts about the Báb’s claims for Bahá’u’lláh who revealed the Kitáb-i-Íqán in response which resulted in Khál Akbar becoming a committed Bábí and cementing Bahá’u’lláh’s standing as a leader of the community. As a result Siyyid Muhammad began circulating rumours that the Íqán had actually been composed by Yaḥyá. In 1863 Yaḥyá fled Baghdad shortly after it became known that Bahá’u’lláh was to be exiled to Constantinople as he feared the exiles may be executed. He settled in Mosul and briefly considered moving to India or Ethiopia but ultimately decided to remain in Iraq and Bahá’u’lláh arranged for a cottage to be built for him to stay in near Baghdad. Bahá’u’lláh declared Himself to be He Whom God Shall Make Manifest to His closest followers immediately before His departure from Baghdad and it is not known when Yaḥyá was made aware of this or what his immediate reaction was.

When Bahá’u’lláh’s entourage passed through Mosul en route to Constantinople Yaḥyá decided to join them in disguise with his wives traveling with him. After arriving in Constantinople he presented himself as a servant of Bahá’u’lláh to avoid drawing any attention from the authorities. In late 1863 it became known that Bahá’u’lláh was to be exiled to Adrianople. Bahá’u’lláh intended to refuse to leave Constantinople however Yaḥyá feared the possible consequences and demanded that Bahá’u’lláh accept the banishment resulting in Bahá’u’lláh consenting to preserve unity. He accompanied Bahá’u’lláh on His exile to Adrianople, and shortly after arriving Yaḥyá and his family shared a house with Mírzá Músá’s family neighboring Bahá’u’lláh’s house. When Bahá’u’lláh established His residence in the House of Amru’lláh Yaḥyá and his family rented a separate house in the same quarter and meals for his household were prepared at the House of Amru’lláh and delivered to them.

Conditions in Adrianople were less dangerous for Bábís and Yaḥyá stopped living in hiding and seclusion, and began taking openly hostile acts against Bahá’u’lláh in an attempt to regain leadership of the Bábí community. In 1864 he invited Bahá’u’lláh to his home and served Him poisoned tea which almost resulted in Bahá’u’lláh's death and left Him with a shaking hand for the rest of His life. On another occasion Yaḥyá poisoned the well used by the House of Amru’lláh which caused its residents to become ill but did not result in any deaths. In 1866 he attempted to convince Ustád Muhammad-`Alíy-i Salmání, the barber of Bahá’u’lláh’s household, to assassinate Bahá’u’lláh which Salmani refused to do. When reporting his conversation Salmani was advised by those close to Bahá’u’lláh that He was aware of the situation but did not want it to become public knowledge.

In 1866 Bahá’u’lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Amr in which He formally called for Yaḥyá to recognise Him as He Whom God Shall Make Manifest, relinquishing any claim to authority over the Bábís, and on March 10, 1866, He went into seclusion leaving the House of Amru’lláh for the House of Rida Big with His family. Bahá’u’lláh firmly instructed His followers not to take any hostile actions against Yaḥyá and upon moving His household He had Mírzá Músá deliver half of the furnishings of the House of Amru’lláh to Yaḥyá along with several artifacts which he desired. Despite Bahá’u’lláh’s efforts this event, which came to be known as the Most Great Separation, represented the permanent split between the followers of Yaḥyá and Bahá’u’lláh. After the Separation Yaḥyá and his supporters sent prolific correspondence across the Bábí community in Iran denouncing Bahá’u’lláh and they also wrote to government officials in the Ottoman Empire.

After two months Bahá’u’lláh ended His seclusion and announced that He was declaring Yaḥyá and his followers to have broken the Covenant of the Báb and from that point on Bahá’u’lláh’s followers referred to themselves as Bahá’ís and Yaḥyá’s followers as Azalis.

Yaḥyá continued to denounce Bahá’u’lláh with untrue accusations especially to the Ottoman authorities in Constantinople and in September 1867 he challenged Bahá’u’lláh to a public confrontation at the suggestion of Siyyid Muhammad, who felt that Bahá’u’lláh would decline the challenge as He had previously always avoided confrontation for the sake of unity. Bahá’u’lláh accepted the challenge and it was organized to take place at the Mosque of Sultan Salim and as it was widely publicized a large crowd gathered. Yaḥyá did not show at the arranged time, which resulted in him losing a significant amount of credibility.

Exile to Cyprus

In 1868 the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire issued an edict that Bahá’u’lláh was to be exiled to Akka for life and Yaḥyá was to be exiled to Famagusta on the island of Cyprus. He was confined to the city of Famagusta until 1878 when the British Empire seized control of the island, however even after being released from confinement he remained a recluse.

At some point during Yaḥyá's exile in Cyprus the wife of a man named Shaykh `Ali Kaffash Zanjani began working as a servant in Yaḥyá's household and Yaḥyá requested that he be allowed to sleep with her which her husband consented to. She was later thrown out of Yaḥyá's household when she fell pregnant with Yaḥyá accusing his eldest living son Ahmad of being the father of the child and Ahmad accusing Yaḥyá and the matter was taken to court. Yaḥyá disinherited Ahmad as a result of the matter and named Mirza Yaḥyá Dawlatabadi as his heir.

In 1890 Edward Granville Browne visited Yaḥyá and they began a correspondence. Browne was an English academic with an intense interest in the Bábí religion and was interested by manuscripts provided to him by Yaḥyá and his followers publishing a translation of an Azali history of the religion in 1893 and praising Yaḥyá in the publication. Browne visited him a second time in 1896, however he was left disillusioned by the second visit losing interest in Bábí studies for a time. Yaḥyá also met with another western Bábí scholar A.L.M. Nicolas many times during the two years Nicolas lived in Cyprus. Although he met with Browne and Nicolas he made no attempts to spread his Faith on Cyprus and was regarded as a Muslim holy man by the populace.

Yaḥyá received a pension from the British Government remaining on Cyprus until his passing in 1912. None of his followers attended his funeral which was conducted by Muslim clerics.

Family

Different sources give various numbers of wives and children of Mírzá Yaḥyá. Moojan Momen has compiled the following family information from various sources. His wives are listed with their children listed underneath:

• Fatima, a daughter of Sakínih
  • Muhammad Hadi (1848 - 1896)
  • Muhammad Mahdi
• Narjis
  • Son (name unknown)
• Maryam, also known as Qanita
  • Mirza Nuru'llah (1848 - ????)
• Fatima (d. 1868)
  • Ahmad Bahhaj (1853 - 1933)
  • 'Abdu'l-'Ali (1857 - 1956)
    • Jalal Azal (d. 1971)
  • Ridvan-'Ali (1863 - 1894)
  • Muhammad (1867 - ????)
• Ruqiyya, also known as Hajjiyya, a daughter of Sakínih
  • Raf'at (1861 - ????)
  • Fu'adu'llah (1868 - 1888)
  • 'Abdu'l-Wahid (1871 - ????)
  • Maryam (1873 - ????)
  • Taqiu'd-Din (1876 - ????)
• Fatima, the second wife of the Báb.
• Badri-Jan
  • Safiyya (1861 - ????)
  • Tal'atu'llah (1864 - ????)
• Arab woman whose name is unknown
  • Mirza Rivanu'llah
• A daughter of Mulla 'Abdu'l-Ghani
• A daughter of Mirza Haydar-Quli Namad-Sab
• Widow of Mulla Muhammad Mu`allim Nuri who was martyred at Shaykh Tabarsi
• Ruqiyya
• Nisa Khanum Tihrani
• Qanita
• Sahib-Jan Isfahani
  • Mirza Ruhu'llah
• Wife of Shaykh `Ali Zanjani
• Widow of Mirza 'Abdu'l-Wahhab Shirazi who was martyred.

Children he had whose mothers are not known are

• Hibatu'llah (1860 - ????)
• Mashiyyatu'llah (1867 - 1875)
• Maryam Sultan (1876 - ????)
• Fatima (d. 1871)
• Ruhu'llah

Titles

His most widely known title, "Subh-i-Azal" appears in an Islamic tradition called the Hadith-i-Kumayl (Kumayl was a student of the first Imam, Ali) which the Báb quotes in his book Dalá'il-i-Sab'ih.

It was common practice among the Bábís to receive titles. The Báb's Will and Testament addresses Mírzá Yaḥyá in the first verse:

"Name of Azal, testify that there is no God but I, the dearest beloved."

Manuchehri (2004) notes that Mírzá Yaḥyá was the only Bábí with such a title as "Azal".

However, the Báb appears to mention him only occasionally, if ever, specifically as "Subh-i-Azal", while attributing others with the title. He appeared to prefer calling him "Thamaratu'l-Azaliyya" and "'Ismu'l-Azal", while in early books he is called "Hadrat-i-Azal". This has led certain academics to doubt its origin, although they cite error, rather than deception as a motive. There are also references to the titles al-Waḥīd, Ṭalʻat al-Nūr, and al-Tamara.

Succession

There are conflicting reports as to whom Subh-i-Azal appointed as his successor. Browne reports that there was confusion over who was to be Subh-i-Azal's successor at his death. Subh-i-Azal's son, Rizwán `Ali, reported that he had appointed the son of Aqa Mirza Muhammad Hadi Daulatabadi as his successor; while another, H.C. Lukach's, states that Mírzá Yaḥyá had said that whichever of his sons "resembled him the most" would be the successor. None appear to have stepped forward. MacEoin notes that Subh-i-Azal appoint his son, Yahya Dawlatabadi, has his successor, but he notes that there is little evidence that Yahya Dawlatabadi was involved in the affairs of the religion, and that instead he spent his time as that of secular reformer. Shoghi Effendi reports that Mirza Yaḥyá appointed a distinguished Bábí, Aqa Mirza Muhammad Hadi of Daulatabad (Mirza Hadiy-i-Dawlat-Abadi) successor, but he later publicly recanted his faith in the Báb and in Mirza Yaḥyá. Mirza Yaḥyá's eldest son apparently became a Bahá’í himself. Miller quoting a later source states that Yaḥyá did not name a successor.

MacEoin notes that after the deaths of those Azali Babis who were active in the Constitutional Revolution in Iran, the Azali form of Babism entered a stagnation which it has not recovered as there is no acknowledged leader or central organization. Current estimates are that there are no more than a few thousand.

References

• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1891). Browne, E.G. (Tr.) (ed.). A Traveller's Narrative: Written to illustrate the episode of the Bab. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. (See Browne's "Introduction" and "Notes", esp. "Note W".).

• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (2004) [1886]. Browne, E.G. (Tr.) (ed.). A Traveller's Narrative: Written to illustrate the episode of the Bab (2004 reprint, with translator's notes ed.). Los Angeles, USA: Kalimát Press. ISBN 1-890688-37-1.

• Balyuzi, H.M. (2000). Bahá’u’lláh, King of Glory. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853983283.

• Barrett, David (2001). The New Believers. London, UK: Cassell & Co. ISBN 0304355925.

• Browne, E.G. (1918). Materials for the Study of the Bábí Religion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

• Browne, E.G. (1897). "Personal Reminiscences of the Babi Insurrection at Zanjan in 1850, written by Aqa `Abdu'l-Ahad-i-Zanjan". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. v. 29: pp. 761–827. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-020-9.

• Mirza Huseyn Hamadani (1893). Browne, E.G. (Tr.) (ed.). The Tarikh-i-Jadid, or New History of Mirza 'Ali Muhammad The Bab. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. (See Browne's "Introduction" and "Appendix II".).

• Haji Mirza Jani Kashani (Attrib.) (1910). Browne, E.G. (Ed. & Tr.) (ed.). Kitab-i Nuqtat al-Kaf: Being the Earliest History of the Bábís. Leiden, The Netherlands: E.J. Brill. pp. (See Browne's "English Introduction".).

• Manuchehri, Sepehr (1999). "The Practice of Taqiyyah (Dissimulation) in the Babi and Bahai Religions". Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies. Vol. 3 (no. 3). Retrieved 2006-12-26. {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help); |issue= has extra text (help)

• Manuchehri, S. (2004). "The Primal Point's Will and Testament". Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies. Vol. 7 (No. 2). {{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help); |issue= has extra text (help)

• Miller, William M. (1974). The Bahá’í Faith: Its History and Teachings. William Carey Library. ISBN 0-87808-137-2.

• Momen, M. (1991). "The Cyprus Exiles". Bahá’í Studies Bulletin: pp. 81–113. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Nabíl-i-Zarandí (1932). Shoghi Effendi (Tr.) (ed.). The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative (Hardcover ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-900125-22-5.

• Ruhi, Attiya. "A Brief Biography of His Holiness Subh-i-Azal". Retrieved 2006-12-28.

• Salmání, Ustád Muhammad-`Alíy-i (1982). My Memories of Bahá’u’lláh. Kalimát Press, Los Angeles, USA.

• Schaefer, U. (2000). Making the Crooked Straight: A Contribution to Bahá’í Apologetics. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-443-3. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

• Smith, Peter (1988). The Bahá’í Religion, A Short Introduction to its History and Teachings. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-277-5.

• Taherzadeh, A. (1976). The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad 1853-63. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853982708.

• Taherzadeh, Adib (1992). The Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-344-5.

External links

• The Primal Point's Will and Testament - Commentary on the Báb's will
• Cyprus Exiles

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