Nabíl-i-A‘ẓam

Nabíl-i-A`ẓam
Born	July 29, 1831 Zarand, Iran
Died	1892 Israel
Title(s)	Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh

Mullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí (July 29, 1831 - 1892), more commonly known as Nabíl-i-A`ẓam (Persian: نبيل أعظم "the Great Nabíl") or Nabíl-i-Zarandí (Persian: نبيل زرندي "Nabíl of Zarand"), was a Persian Bahá’í who traveled extensively undertaking services for Bahá’u’lláh. He is perhaps most notable for writing a history of the establishment of the Bábí religion which was published as The Dawn-Breakers. He was named an Apostle of Bahá’u’lláh by Shoghi Effendi.

History

Nabíl was born in Zarand in 1831 into a humble family and he became a shepherd receiving only a rudimentary education. Despite his origins he became literate, learnt to read the Qur'an, and often visited Qum with his father to learn about Islam. He first heard of the Bábí Faith while visiting his mothers brother in Rubat-Karim when he overheard a conversation about the religion which intrigued him, and he was later able to study and join the religion through Siyyid Husayn-i-Zavari'i. He then moved to Qum where he studied further under Siyyid Isma'il-i-Zavari'i and they attempted to join Mullá Ḥusayn's company in Mazandaran in 1849 but did not arrive until after the Battle of Shaykh Tabarsí had taken place. Nabíl instead settled in Tehran where he was able to meet with many prominent members of the community including Bahá’u’lláh.

In 1850 seven prominent Bábí's were martyred in Tehran and Nabíl was convinced to return to Zarand. He remained briefly then traveled to Qum in an attempt to meet with fellow Bábí Mirza Ahmad, however he was unable to find him and traveled to Kashan and then Kirmanshah where he located Ahmad. They were able to meet with Bahá’u’lláh when He passed through Kirmanshah in 1851 and he and Ahmad were instructed to transcribe and distribute the writings of the Báb. They did so until the situation became too dangerous and Nabíl returned to Zarand. In 1852 two Bábí's acting alone attempted to assassinate the Shah of Iran resulting in an intense period of violent persecution of the Bábí community and during this period Nabíl claimed Divine inspiration in an attempt to provide leadership of the community.

Nabíl traveled to Baghdad in 1854, during the period Bahá’u’lláh was in Sulaymaniyyih, to meet with Mírzá Yaḥyá who was regarded as a leader in the Bábí community although he was in hiding. Upon arriving in the city he was able to meet with Mírzá Músá who advised him that Yaḥyá refused to meet with Bábí's although Yaḥyá did convey a message to Nabíl directing him to leave Baghdad and travel to Karbila and associate with Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahání. Nabíl traveled to Karbila where he was disappointed by Muhammad's conduct. He returned to Baghdad after Bahá’u’lláh had returned to the city in 1857 and upon meeting with Bahá’u’lláh he recognized His spiritual station and retracted his own claims to leadership.

After residing in Baghdad for three months Nabíl was directed to teach the Faith in Qazvin and he did so visiting Kirmanshah during his journey. He then returned to Baghdad where Bahá’u’lláh assigned him the responsibility of seeing to the accuracy of transcriptions of His writings. He was often sent to Iran from Baghdad to undertake several missions for Bahá’u’lláh. In 1863 Bahá’u’lláh formally declared Himself to be the Manifestation of God foretold by the Báb and Nabíl became a Bahá’í. In early 1863 Bahá’u’lláh was exiled from Baghdad to Constantinople and Nabíl joined Bahá’u’lláh's caravan partway through the journey. In December the same year Bahá’u’lláh was exiled again to Adrianople and several followers including Nabíl were instructed to travel elsewhere and provided funds for travel expenses.

Nabíl continued to receive instructions from Bahá’u’lláh during the Adrianople period directing him to undertake journeys to serve the Faith particularly to announce His claims to Bábí communities. During this period Bahá’u’lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Ḥajj Tablets for Nabíl which detailed the rites for Bahá’í pilgrimage to the House of the Báb in Shiraz and the Bayt-i-Aʻzam in Baghdad with Nabíl completing the pilgrimages in the early 1860's and remaining the only Bahá’í to have done so. In 1867 he was sent to Salonica by Bahá’u’lláh to request that Mírzá Músá, who had temporarily relocated there, return to Adrianople.

At some point between 1867 and 1868 Bahá’u’lláh instructed Nabíl to travel to Egypt and launch an appeal for the release of Haji Mirza Haydar-'Ali and six other Bahá’ís who had been arrested in the country and held in Sudan, however Nabíl was himself arrested and imprisoned in Alexandria. As of 1868 Nabíl remained imprisoned in Alexandria. That year Bahá’u’lláh passed through Alexandria while being exiled to Akka and by chance Nabíl was able to establish contact with a Bahá’í member of Bahá’u’lláh's company who passed by the prison. He was informed of where Bahá’u’lláh was being exiled and Bahá’u’lláh's company was informed of his position with Bahá’u’lláh revealing a Tablet for Nabíl.

After being released from prison Nabíl was sent to Anatolia, then traveled to Akka via Cyprus. Siyyid Muhammad-i-Isfahání, a follower of Yaḥyá and opponent of Bahá’u’lláh, had been exiled to Akka with Bahá’u’lláh but had befriended the authorities and granted a cell with a view of the city and as such Nabíl's presence when he arrived in Akka was reported resulting in him being immediately expelled from the city. He remained in the area living on Mount Carmel and in Nazareth until he was able to gain entry to the city and was able to reunite with Bahá’u’lláh. He was sent on a journey across Iran by Bahá’u’lláh to deepen the community on the Faith and after completing this tour he settled in Akka which remained his residence up until his passing.

In 1887 Nabíl began composing a history of the Bábí religion based on extensive interviews he had conducted, his own personal recollections, and the assistance of Mírzá Músá. When Bahá’u’lláh fell into the illness that lead to His Ascension in 1892 some disunity began to emerge in the Holy Land and on one occasion a group of Bahá’ís lead by Nabíl and another group headed by Furúghiyyih Khánum, a daughter of Bahá’u’lláh who ultimately broke the Covenant, became involved in an argument. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá intervened and instructed them to cease arguing.

After the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh on May 29, 1892, Nabíl became inconsolable. He composed an account of the Ascension and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá entrusted him with the task of selecting Tablets from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh to serve as His Tablet of Visitation. After completing these tasks he wrote a final note paying tribute to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and including the date of his death and committed suicide by drowning himself in the ocean.

Publications

• 1932 - The Dawn-Breakers (translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi).

See also

• Apostles of Bahá’u’lláh

References

• "Nabíl-i-A`zam". 2008-07-18. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (1997) [1915]. Memorials of the Faithful. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. pp. pp. 32-37. ISBN 0877432422. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Balyuzi, H.M. (1985). Eminent Bahá’ís in the time of Bahá’u’lláh. The Camelot Press Ltd, Southampton. pp. pp. 268-270. ISBN 0853981523. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Balyuzi, H.M. (2000). Bahá’u’lláh, King of Glory. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. pp. pp. 265-268. ISBN 0853983283. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)

• Taherzadeh, A. (1976). The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad 1853-63. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. pp. pp. 201-206. ISBN 0853982708. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help)