Jináb-i-Quddús (c.1820–1849), is the title of
Mullá Muḥammad ‘Alí-i-Bárfurúshi, who was the most prominent disciple of the
BábSiyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
, a nineteenth century
ProphetIn religion, a prophet is a person who has been contacted by, or has encountered, the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other humans...
of the
Bahá'í FaithThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.The Bahá'í Faith teaches a doctrine of...
. He was the eighteenth and final
Letter of the LivingThe Letters of the Living was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion. In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list...
.
Quddús was born some time between years 1815–1822, the variance being due to different sources. The latter date is specified by
NabilMullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí , more commonly known as Nabíl-i-A`ẓam or Nabíl-i-Zarandí , was an eminent Bahá'í historian during the time of Bahá'u'lláh, and one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh...
in
The Dawn-breakersThe Dawn-breakers or Nabíl's Narrative is a historical account of the early Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths penned by Nabíl-i-A`zam.Nabil himself was a participant in many of the scenes which he recounts. In 1888 Nabíl began writing The Dawn-breakers with the personal assistance of Mírzá Músá, the brother...
. Amanat [1987] reasons that the most likely date is 1819–1820 as it is in line with other sources.
Quddús was born to a family of rice cultivators in the outskirts of Bárfurúsh.
Jináb-i-Quddús (c.1820–1849), is the title of
Mullá Muḥammad ‘Alí-i-Bárfurúshi, who was the most prominent disciple of the
BábSiyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
, a nineteenth century
ProphetIn religion, a prophet is a person who has been contacted by, or has encountered, the supernatural or the divine, and serves as an intermediary with humanity, delivering this newfound knowledge from the supernatural entity to other humans...
of the
Bahá'í FaithThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.The Bahá'í Faith teaches a doctrine of...
. He was the eighteenth and final
Letter of the LivingThe Letters of the Living was a title provided by the Báb to the first eighteen disciples of the Bábí Religion. In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list...
.
Background
Quddús was born some time between years 1815–1822, the variance being due to different sources. The latter date is specified by
NabilMullá Muḥammad-i-Zarandí , more commonly known as Nabíl-i-A`ẓam or Nabíl-i-Zarandí , was an eminent Bahá'í historian during the time of Bahá'u'lláh, and one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh...
in
The Dawn-breakersThe Dawn-breakers or Nabíl's Narrative is a historical account of the early Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths penned by Nabíl-i-A`zam.Nabil himself was a participant in many of the scenes which he recounts. In 1888 Nabíl began writing The Dawn-breakers with the personal assistance of Mírzá Músá, the brother...
. Amanat [1987] reasons that the most likely date is 1819–1820 as it is in line with other sources.
Quddús was born to a family of rice cultivators in the outskirts of Bárfurúsh. He spent part of his childhood as a house servant of the local
ShaykhíShaykh Ahmad ibn Zayn ad-Dín ibn Ibráhím al-Ahsá'í was was the founder of a 19th century Shi`i school in the Persian and Ottoman empires, whose followers are known as Shaykhís....
leader Mullá Muhammad-Hamza Sharí`at-madár.
Education
He was sent to the town of Sárí for a madrassa education. Sometime in the mid-1830s he met
Mullá HusaynMullá Husayn-i Bushru'i , entitled Janáb-i-Bábu'l-Báb , was the first Letter of the Living in the Bábí movement.Born in 1813, he was for nine years a student of Siyyid Kázim and for five a follower of the Báb...
(the first Letter of the Living) and other future Bábís after he joined a small group of students in Mashhad.
When he was eighteen, Quddús left for Karbalá and spent four years as a student in
Sayyid KázimSayyid Kāẓim bin Qāsim al-Ḥusaynī ar-Rashtī , mostly known as Siyyid Kázim Rashtí , was the son of Sayyid Qasim of Rasht, a town in northern Iran. He was appointed as the successor of Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsa'i, and led the Shaykhí movement until his death.He came from a family of well known...
's circle. He returned to Bárfurúsh
circa 1843.
He was described as a charismatic mullá (religious leader) with "affability, combined with dignity and bearing" and he became a notable person within his hometown.
Mírzá MúsáMírzá Músá , surnamed Áqáy-i-Kalím was the only true brother of Bahá'u'lláh, meaning that they shared the same mother. He was later named by Shoghi Effendi as one of the nineteen Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh....
, who met him in 1846, said: "whoever was intimately associated with him was seized with an insatiable admiration for the charm of the youth".
As a Bábí
He met the
BábSiyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
in
ShirazShiraz is the sixth most populous city in Iran and the capital of Fars Province. Shiraz is located in the southwest of Iran on the Rudkhaneye Khoshk seasonal river. Shiraz has a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for more than a thousand years.The earliest reference to the city,...
and travelled with him as his companion on pilgrimage to
MeccaMecca , sometimes spelled Makkah is the holiest meeting site of the Islamic religion. The city is modern, cosmopolitan and whilst being closed to non-Muslims is nonetheless ethnically diverse.Islamic tradition attributes the beginning of Mecca to Ishmael's descendants...
, leaving Búshihr on the 19th of Ramadán (October, 1844), and arriving in Mecca on the first of Dhi’l-Hájjih (December 12, 1844). During this visit the Báb made his first public declaration, openly challenging Mírzá Muhít-i-Kirmání, one of the most outstanding exponents of the Shaykhí school, and sending a letter conveyed by Quddús to the
Sharif of MeccaThe Sharif of Mecca or Sharif of Hejaz was the title of the former governors of Hejaz and a traditional steward of the holy cities of Mecca and Medina...
.
Back in Búshihr (February–March, 1845), the Báb indicated to Quddús that they would never meet again:
- "Yours will be the ineffable joy of quaffing the cup of martyrdom for His sake. I, too, shall tread the path of sacrifice, and will join you in the realm of eternity."
In Shiraz Quddús experienced his first persecution as a Bábí, when he and Mullá Sádiq had their beards burned, then their noses pierced, and threaded with halters; "then, having been led through the streets in this disgraceful condition, they were expelled from the city." (See
God Passes By,
pg 11) Following his expulsion he travelled across Persia teaching of the new religion, and was one of three major figures in the
Conference of BadashtThe Conference of Badasht was an instrumental meeting of the leading Bábís in June-July 1848 that set in motion the radicalisation of the movement...
(June–July 1848), in which Quddús advocated the Bábí religion to be less militant and more conservative.
Battle of Fort Tabarsi
From October 10, 1848 to May 10, 1849, the first major military confrontation took place between the Bábís and the local military, instigated by the Islamic clergy. A group of over 200 Bábís were initially attacked by mobs in Bárfurúsh, and fled to the nearby shrine of
Shaykh Tabarsi', or more correctly the Shrine of Shaykh Tabarsí, was the location of a battle between the forces of the Shah of Persia and the Bábís, followers of the Báb over the period October 10 1848 to May 10 1849 when the prince resorted to a plan of betrayal to capture the remaining Bábís...
, where they built a defensive fort and received escalating attacks, initially local raids, but later organized imperial regiments. Although the initial clash involved
Mullá HusaynMullá Husayn-i Bushru'i , entitled Janáb-i-Bábu'l-Báb , was the first Letter of the Living in the Bábí movement.Born in 1813, he was for nine years a student of Siyyid Kázim and for five a follower of the Báb...
, Quddús became the commander of the Bábís upon his arrival at the fort.
Over the months that followed,
Bahá'íThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.The Bahá'í Faith teaches a doctrine of...
historians describe a number of miraculous events in which a small band of untrained soldiers bear the full brunt of government regiments several times their size, always coming out victorious (see
God Passes By, chapter
III; and
The Dawn-Breakers, chapter
XIX). During the last month of the siege the Bábís went without food or water, and survived by consuming shoe leather and ground bones. The battle became an embarrassment to the Persian authorities, and it was ended by the Prince Mihdí-Qulí Mírzá, who sent Quddús a copy of the
Qur'anThe Qur’an is the central religious text of Islam...
. On the opening Surah he wrote:
- "I swear by this most holy Book, by the righteousness of God who has revealed it, and the Mission of Him who was inspired with its verses, that I cherish no other purpose than to promote peace and friendliness between us. Come forth from your stronghold and rest assured that no hand will be stretched forth against you. You yourself and your companions, I solemnly declare, are under the sheltering protection of the Almighty, of Muhammad, His Prophet, and of Násiri’d-Dín Sháh, our sovereign. I pledge my honour that no man, either in this army or in this neighbourhood, will ever attempt to assail you. The malediction of God, the omnipotent Avenger, rest upon me if in my heart I cherish any other desire than that which I have stated."
After leaving the fort, they were gathered in a tent and disarmed, and some taken away as prisoners. The army plundered and destroyed the fort, and then opened fire on the Bábís, killing them all.
Death
Quddús himself was escorted by the prince to Barfurúsh, where the local population was celebrating. The prince's plan was to take his prisoner to Tihran and give him to the Shah. However, the Sa’ídu’l-‘Ulamá of Barfurúsh vowed to deny himself food and sleep until such a time as he could kill Quddús with his own hands. The prince arranged a meeting with Quddús and the ‘Ulamá, and afterwards handed his prisoner over to them. On 16 May 1849 Quddús was handed over to an angry mob. Nabil records: "By the testimony of Bahá’u’lláh, that heroic youth, who was still on the threshold of his life, was subjected to such tortures and suffered such a death as even Jesus had not faced in the hour of His greatest agony."
http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/nz/DB/db-39.html#gr52 His body was torn apart and its pieces thrown into a fire. Some pieces were gathered by a friend and interred in a nearby place (see the
Taríkh-i-Jadíd, p. 92)
At the time, the Báb was imprisoned in Chihríq, and was so grieved that he stopped writing or dictating for a period of six months.
About two years after the battle of Fort Tabarsi, Abbás-Qulí Khán (the sieging general) was heard describing the battle to a prince, comparing it to the
Battle of KarbalaThe Battle of Karbala took place on Muharram 10, in the year 61 of the Islamic calendar in Karbala, in present day Iraq...
, and himself to
Shimr Ibn Thil-JawshanShimr Ibn Thil-Jawshan was a soldier in the Ummayad army during the battle of Karbala, in southern Iraq that occurred in the year 680 AD.He was the maternal uncle of Abbas ibn Ali....
, who slew
Imam HusaynḤusayn ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the son of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Fātimah Zahrā...
.
http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/nz/DB/db-39.html#fn45
Station of Quddús
- "Regarding the station of Quddus, he should by no means be considered having had the station of a Prophet. His station was no doubt a very exalted one, and far above that of any of the Letters of the Living, including the first Letter, Mulla Husayn. Quddus reflected more than any of the disciples of the Bab the light of His teaching."
- http://bahai-library.com/uhj/letters.quddus.dawnbreakers.html#3
- "It may be helpful to consider that in the Dispensation of the Bab, Quddus is referred to as the "Last Point", and the "Last Name of God", is identified, as pointed out in God Passes By, with one of the "Messengers charged with imposture" mentioned in the Qur'an, and is one of the "two witnesses" into whom "the spirit of life from God" must enter, as attested by 'Abdu'l-Baha in Some Answered Questions
Some Answered Questions was first published in 1908. It contains questions asked to `Abdu'l-Bahá by Laura Clifford Barney, during several of her visits to Haifa between 1904 and 1906, and `Abdu'l-Bahá's answers to these questions....
, yet, despite these sublime stations, he is not regarded as an independent Manifestation of God."
- http://bahai-library.com/uhj/letters.quddus.dawnbreakers.html#3