Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí
Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí | |
|---|---|
| Declared | 1844 |
| Died | 1852 |
Siyyid Ḥusayn-i-Yazdí (d. 1852), also known by the title Azíz, was one of the first eighteen Bábís and a Letter of the Living. He served as the amanuensis of the Báb and was His companion during His imprisonment in Máh-Kú and Chihríq.
Background[edit]
Azíz's father was a low-ranking Mullá who was a member of the Shaykhí school of Islam and he also became a Shaykhí.[1]
When Siyyid Káẓim, the head of the Shaykhí school, passed in 1843 he instructed the Shaykhís to disperse to search for the Qa'im. Between May and July of 1844 Azíz traveled to Shiraz where Mullá Ḥusayn had settled.[2] Mullá Ḥusayn had become a Bábí but did not inform Azíz of the identity of the Báb when he arrived and he came to believe in the Báb and know his identity after a few months in Shiraz during which he prayed and meditated. By the start of July, 1844, Azíz had become a Bábí and had met with the Báb accompanied by Mullá Ḥusayn.[3] Later in July the Báb instructed the Letters of the Living to leave Shiraz to teach the Bábí Faith throughout Persia.[4]
Some time shortly before September 1846 Azíz returned to Shiraz and after a short time the Báb instructed him to move to Iṣfahán and the Báb also relocated to Iṣfahán later the same month.[5] Around March 1847 the Báb sent Azíz ahead of Him instructing him to go to Kashan shortly before He spent three nights in the city in late March while traveling from Isfahán towards Tehran as He had been summoned by the Shah. During the Báb's visit in Kashan Azíz served as his amanuensis taking dictation of a prayer He revealed for His host Hájí Mírzá Jání.[6]
During His journey the Báb was redirected from Tehran to Kulayn on the orders of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí and He camped outside of the village. Azíz and his brother, Siyyid Ḥasan, and some others were invited by the Báb to camp near His tent and they joined Him two days after His arrival in the village in early April 1847 and spent eighteen days with Him before He was moved.[7] As of July 1847 Muhammad Shah, at the urging of Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí, gave orders for the Báb to be imprisoned in the fortress of Máh-Kú and a condition of His confinement was that He was only to be allowed one companion and one attendant. The Báb selected Azíz as His companion and Azíz's brother Siyyid Ḥasan as His attendant and they accompanied Him from Kulayn on His exile.[8] They passed through Tabriz and arrived in Máh-Kú in July 1847 with Azíz and his brother being the only Bábís allowed to see the Báb initially although the conditions of His imprisonment were relaxed after a time.[9]
In April 1848 the Báb was transferred to Chihríq and Azíz accompanied Him and continued to serve as His amanuensis and also as an attendant.[10] The Báb had been transferred to Chihríq as Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí was deeply concerned by how His influence had grown while He was in Máh-Kú and the Báb was placed under extremely strict confinement upon arriving in the new fortress with communication with the outside world being restricted. Azíz was instrumental in allowing the Báb to maintain contact with the Bábí community under these conditions however after a time the conditions of His imprisonment were relaxed.[11]
In May 1849 many of the Letters of the Living and other Bábís were massacred at the end of the siege of Shaykh Ṭabarsí and the Báb refused to meet with Azíz for a period of five months. He did communicate with Azíz from within His cell but forbade Azíz from taking dictation of their conversations.[10] In June 1850 the Báb was transferred to Tabriz to be put on trial and Azíz also moved to Tabriz. The night before the Báb was martyred on July 9, 1850, He instructed Azíz to denounce Him in order to secure his own release and Azíz obeyed preventing him from being martyred.[12]
Azíz was imprisoned in Tehran in 1852 after two Bábís acting alone made an assassination attempt on the Shah of Iran in retaliation. He was held in the Síyáh-Chál alongside Bahá’u’lláh and while some officials in Tehran offered to help secure his release he turned down their offers and was executed.[13]
References[edit]
- ↑ Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal, Kalimat Press: Los Angeles, 2005, p 179
- ↑ Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal, Kalimat Press: Los Angeles, 2005, p 176
- ↑ Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, US Publishing Trust, 1932, p 69
- ↑ Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal, Kalimat Press: Los Angeles, 2005, p 211
- ↑ Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, US Publishing Trust, 1932, p 192
- ↑ Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, US Publishing Trust, 1932, p 219
- ↑ Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, US Publishing Trust, 1932, p 227
- ↑ Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, US Publishing Trust, 1932, p 235
- ↑ Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, US Publishing Trust, 1932, p 257
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Nabil, The Dawn-Breakers, US Publishing Trust, 1932, p 430
- ↑ Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal, Kalimat Press: Los Angeles, 2005, p 381
- ↑ Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal, Kalimat Press: Los Angeles, 2005, p 401
- ↑ Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, US Publishing Trust, 1944, p 77
