From the onset of his ministry, Abdul-Baha faced significant family opposition to his authority and position. These family members, led by Mirza Muhammad-Ali, a younger half-brother of Abdul-Baha to whom Bahaullah had given a rank subordinate to Abdul-Baha, colluded in spreading false allegations against Abdul-Baha who was seeking to spread the Baha'i Faith to Europe and North America. For several years, Abdul-Baha worked hard to contain these defections and to prevent news of them from reaching other Baha'i communities. By 18967, the Baha'is of Egypt had heard enough of the details that when Mirza abbullh Afnn was going on a visit to Akka, they asked him to learn as much of the details as he could. To his great shock, while in Akka, the Afnan learned that indeed Abdul-Baha's brothers and the majority of his family had arisen against him in rebellion. As instructed by Abdul-Baha, the young pilgrim on his return to Egypt informed the Baha'i community of the occurrences in Akka and the opposition to Abdul-Baha. The celebrated Mirza Ab'l-Fadl found this hard to accept. Therefore, he wrote to Abdul-Baha inquiring about the veracity of this news, and received in response a lengthy tablet dated 26 March 1897, which we propose to be called the First Thousand-Verse Tablet. This paper will provide historical background and a provisional translation of this momentous tablet.
In the traditions of the Twelver Branch of Islám or Imámí Shi'ism in particular, three sermons of Imám ʿAlí stand out as pivotal in their contribution to the Bahá’í writings. These are known as the sermons of Ṭutunjiyyih [the Gulf ), Nurániyyat [Recognition through Luminousness], and Iftikhár [Glorification]. They hold tremendous theological importance, and, down the centuries, have had a magnetic effect on Shi'ih religious thought. The author of the book that contains these three sermons, Ḥafiz Rajab al Bursi (died 1411 CE), held a very high view of the station of the Imams, Likewise these texts vere highly valorized by Shaykh Aḥmad and Siyyid Kazim, Sayyid `Alí Muhammad, the Bab and Mirza Husayn ʿAli, Baha’u’lllah respectively.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.