Sadru’s-Sudúr

Haji Sayyid Ahmad Sadr ul-Ulama Hamadani (1868 - April, 1907) granted the title Sadru’s-Sudúr by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was a Persian Bahá’í who established deepening classes to train Bahá’í travel teachers in Tehran. He was honored by at least two Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

Biography

Hamadani was born in 1868 and was the eldest son of Haji Mirza Sayyid Abu’ l-Qasim Sadr ul-‘Ulama Hamadani. In his youth he studied Islamic traditions, Shariah Law, and mystical philosophy in Tehran and became a religious judge in the city earning the title Sadr ul-Islam.

Hamadani was first introduced to the Bahá’í Faith while in Hamadan and he investigated the religion in Tehran, but was more interested in Sufism initially and joined the Ni‘matu'llahi Sufi order. He was later reintroduced to the Faith and met with Youness Afrukhtih and he became a Bahá’í between 1898 and 1899 after an extended period of study. He composed a book on the Faith after converting titled Lama ‘at-i Khams va Tajalliyat-i Shams which translates to The Five Flashes and the Effulgences of the Sun.

In 1903 Hamadani established a class in Tehran to train Bahá’í youth to teach the Bahá’í Faith after consulting with other Bahá’ís of Tehran and several prominent Bahá’í travel teachers were trained at his classes. He taught weekly with a general class on Fridays and extended classes for promising students on Sundays. In 1906 French Bahá’ís Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney and Laura Barney consulted with him during a visit to Iran.

Hamadani passed away in April 1907. After his passing ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote that his passing had affected Him the most of any person to have passed since the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh in 1892. Another Bahá’í, Mírzá Muhammad Na‘ím assumed responsibility for facilitating the classes Hamadani had established on the instructions of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and they continued for some time after his passing.