Shaykh Abú-Turáb

Shaykh Abú-Turáb (d. 1862) was among the earliest members of the Bábí Faith and was involved in many of the pivotal early events in the history of the religion.

Background

Abú-Turáb was from Ishtihard, a town near Tehran. He studied religion in Mashhad where he became a follower of the Shaykhi movement and he later moved to Karbila where he studied under Siyyid Kázim and became a leading Shaykhi scholar. He married Varaqat ul-Firdaws who was the sister of fellow Shaykhi Mullá Ḥusayn.

Abú-Turáb remained in Karbila after the passing of Siyyid Kázim in 1843 and became a Bábí when Mullá 'Alíy-i-Bastámí visited the city in 1844. He initially decided not to publicly associate with the Bábí's, but moved to Tehran at some point where he produced copies of some of the Writings of the Báb. In June 1848 he attended the Conference of Badasht, and Bahá’u’lláh entrusted him with accompanying Táhirih from the Conference and ensuring her safety.

In October 1848 Abú-Turáb visited the Bábí's at Shaykh Ṭabarsí on the behalf of Bahá’u’lláh to announce His arrival at the nearby village of Nazar Khan and invite them to be His guests. Abú-Turáb and Bahá’u’lláh departed before the battle of Shaykh Ṭabarsí took place. In December 1848 he was part of a group that accompanied Bahá’u’lláh in an attempt to join the other Bábís at Ṭabarsí but they were arrested in a nearby village preventing them from doing so. In 1849 as persecution of the Bábí community escalated Bahá’u’lláh made arrangements to have Táhirih brought to Tihran for her safety and Abú-Turáb wrote to Him to insist it was too dangerous and Nabíl-i-A‘ẓam recorded that Bahá’u’lláh said the following regarding him:

"Shaykh Abú-Turáb wrote Us, insisting that such an attempt was fraught with grave risks and might occasion an unprecedented tumult. We refused to be deflected from Our purpose. That Shaykh was a kind-hearted man, was simple and lowly in temper, and behaved with great dignity. He lacked courage and determination, however, and betrayed weakness on certain occasions."

He went to Karbila briefly during 1849 before settling in Ishtihard. In 1852 he was imprisoned in the Siyah-Chal in Tehran alongside Bahá’u’lláh following an assassination attempt made on the Shah by two Bábí's acting alone in retaliation for the Martyrdom of the Báb but was ultimately released and returned to Ishtihard.

In 1860 a mujtahid of Ishtihard who viewed Abú-Turáb as a threat to his authority petitioned authorities in Tehran to have him arrested and he was placed in chains and taken to Tehran where he was imprisoned alongside other Bahá’ís. During his imprisonment he became ill however no Muslim doctor would agree to treat the Bahá’í prisoners. Eventually Hakím Masíh, a Jewish physician, came and treated the prisoners and ultimately became the first Jewish Bahá’í through another prisoner, Ismu'llahu'l-Asdaq, however Abú-Turáb did not recover and passed away in 1862.

Abú-Turáb had a son, Mulla Muhammad, who became a leading figure of the Bahá’í community of Ishtihard after his passing.