Siyyid Muṣṭafá Rúmí
| Siyyid Muṣṭafá Rúmí | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1846 Baghdad, Iraq |
| Died | 1945 Daidanaw, Kungyangon, Myanmar |
| NSA member | India and Burma |
| Title(s) | Hand of the Cause |
| Appointed by | Shoghi Effendi, July 14 1945 |
Siyyid Muṣṭafá Rúmí (1846 - 1945) was a Hand of the Cause of God appointed posthumously by Shoghi Effendi in 1945. He was of service to the Cause in India, and later in Burma, where he established Bahá’í communities in Rangoon, Mandalay and Daidanaw.
Biography[edit]
Early Life[edit]
Siyyid Muṣṭafá was born in Baghdad, but his family moved to Madras, India while he was a child. He first encountered the Bahá’í Faith in 1876 when he met Jamál Effendi, a Bahá’í travel teacher. He had planned to return to Iraq and establish a business, but instead decided to accompany Jamál Effendi through India, and became a Bahá’í in Calcutta late in 1877.
Establishing the Faith in Burma[edit]
Rumi and Jamal Effendi went to Rangoon, Burma in May, 1878 and despite not being able to speak Burmese they were able to widely proclaim the Bahá’í Revelation.
Mandalay[edit]
They left Rangoon for Mandalay by steamboat in early 1879, and stayed in Mandalay for eighteen months. They had not organised lodging prior to arrival, but they were able to stay in an open shed at a mosque called Joon Pulli. The next morning Haji Abdul Kareem, a Persian from Calcutta who knew the two pioneers and had heard of their arrival, came and met with them and secured a house for them in the Muslim quarter of the city.
Many from the Muslim community came to meet the pioneers and ask them questions about the Faith and Haji Abdul Kareem served as interpreter for them, despite not being a Bahá’í himself. The pioneers soon met some resistance, with their house being stoned and Haji Kareem suggested that they move outside the Muslim quarter. They moved to a house some distance from the Muslim quarter where they continued to teach the Faith.
One of the Muslims who continued to visit the pioneers was Abdul Wahid, who related the message to his Uncle Abdus Sattar, an influential silk merchant. They met with Sattar, and he was so impressed that the next day he sent a cart and chariot to collect the pioneers and their belongings, and they were brought to his home where he had begun the construction of a building for the pioneers to hold meetings with. The building that Sattar constructed soon became the site of regular devotional meetings, and Rumi later credited Abdus Sattar and Abdul Wahid with the opportunities that he and Jamal Effendi had to teach the Faith in Burma. Both Sattar and Wahid later received many tablets from Bahá’u’lláh.
During his time in Mandalay Rumi wrote the book The Standard of Truth or Reality in Urdu for Sattar. The book was about how Islamic Prophecies related to the advent of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, and contained translations of several relevant Tablets, Islamic Traditions and Qur'an verses. By the time Jamal Effendi and Rumi left Mandalay the Bahá’í community there had increased to two hundred members[1]. Abdul Wahid was appointed to represent Rumi and Jamal Effendi, allowing them to communicate with the Bahá’í community of Mandalay in their absence and Abdus Sattar's prominence in the city protected the Bahá’ís from persecution. The two pioneers returned to Rangoon from Mandalay, and Rumi remained there.
Daidanaw[edit]
During the Ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Siyyid Muṣṭafá met with the headman of Daidanaw, a village in Burma. The headman had heard of the Faith when two Bahá’ís vouched for him in a legal dispute and after hearing more about the religion from Rumi he consulted with the village elders who agreed to invite Rumi to live in Daidanaw. He converted approximately 800 residents of Daidanaw to the Bahá’í Faith and established a school there using financial aid provided by the Bahá’ís of Rangoon.
Travels Outside Burma[edit]
He accompanied Jamal Effendi to the Dutch East Indies in the 1880's, and the two converted the King and Queen of Boné in Celebes on the journey.[2]
In the late 1800's the Burmese Bahá’í community constructed a sarcophagus for the Báb and in 1899 Siyyid Muṣṭafá brought it to the Holy Land where he presented it to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The remains of the Báb were placed in the sarcophagus in 1909.
In 1910 he represented the Bahá’í Faith at the All-India Conference of Religions in Allahabad, India, and although he was not able to attend in 1911 he wrote a thesis on the Bahá’í Faith which was read at the Conference and distributed to attendees.
Later Years[edit]
In his later years he translated the Kitáb-i-Íqán, The Hidden Words, Bahá’í Prayers and Some Answered Questions into Burmese, and also wrote the book Lessons in Religion in Burmese. He supervised the translation of the Maqálát-i-Shakhṣí Sayyáḥ into Urdu and edited a compilation called al-Mi‘yár’uṣ-Ṣaḥíḥ (The True Criterion) in Urdu, which was used by Bahá’í teachers in India. He was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma in the late 1930's.
In 1945 a mob of 3000 nationalists targeted foreigners in Daidanaw, destroying many Bahá’í properties and murdering eleven Bahá’ís including Siyyid Muṣṭafá. A shrine was erected in Daidanaw to honor him.
On July 14, 1945 Shoghi Effendi posthumously named him a Hand of the Cause sending the following cable:
“Hearts griefstricken passing Supreme Concourse distinguished pioneer Faith Bahá’u’lláh, dearly beloved staunch high minded noble soul Siyyid Muṣṭafá. Long record his superb services (in) both teaching (and) administrative fields shed lustre on both heroic and formative ages (of) Bahá’í Dispensation. His magnificent achievements fully entitle him join ranks (of the) Hands of (the) Cause (of) Bahá’u’lláh. His resting place should be regarded foremost shrine (in the) community of Burmese believers Advise holding (of) memorial gatherings throughout India (to) his imperishable memory. Urge Indian (and) Burmese Bahá’ís participate construction (of his) tomb. Cabling three hundred pounds (as) my personal contribution (for) so praiseworthy (a) purpose.”[3]
References[edit]
- http://bahaiheoresheroines.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/siyyid-mustafa-rumi-hand-of-cause.html
- http://bahaisworldwide.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/jamal-effendi-first-bahai-teacher-sent.html
- http://bahai-library.com/devries_jamal_effendi_rumi
- Star of the West, Volume 22, Page 250
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Eminent Bahá’ís in the Time of Bahá’u’lláh by H. M. Balyuzi
- ↑ http://bahai-library.com/devries_jamal_effendi_rumi
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1949). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 10 (1944-1946), Pg(s) 519-520. View as PDF.
