Guest Author - Sandy Mullins

On October 20, Baha’is all over the world will comme rate the Birth of the Bab a Holy Day when work should be suspended by Baha’is.

The Bab (the Gate) was a early leader and forerunner of the Baha’i Faith then called the Bábí’s. He was born Mírzá ‘Alí Muhammad Shíráz, in the south of in what was then called Persia on October 20, 1819. Mírzá ‘Alí Muhammad was a Siyyid, a descendant of the Muslim Prophet Muhammed and his father a well known merchant who died shortly after the birth of Mírzá ‘Alí Muhammad. While being raised by his uncle, he received his education by Shaykh Muhammad (Hájí Siyyid ‘Alí) who remarkably became a devout follower of his student and was martyred as a Bábí.

It was and is believed that an appearance of a Divine Messenger among Shaykhís a sect of Islam, it was to Mullá Husayn Bushrú’i a distinguished member of the Shaykhís that the Bab first announced his mission. Mullá Husayn Bushrú’i believed that the Divine Messenger had indeed come and that the Bab was it and shared this with several of his friends and the word spread.

The Bab is for Baha’is, is like Peter was to Jesus Christ. They both had a divine mission in life to prepare the world for the coming of the latest Manifestation of God. Soon a young man name Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí became a follower of the Bab. He later declared to the Bab that he was the latest Manifestation of God that propheces had foretold of and he declared his mission and was from that point on known as Bahá’u’lláh (i.e. Glory of God).