In their narratives of the rise of the Safavid dynasty, many Safavid chroniclers include accounts of either one or two dreams of Shaykh Safi al-Din (1253-1334), founder of the Safavid order. A historiographical reading of the various renditions of the dreams serves several important purposes: it gives insight into the historical methodology of the Safavid chroniclers, it indicates changing religious perspectives in Safavid Iran, and it demonstrates the patterns of political legitimacy that evolved from the reign of Shah Isma'il (1501-1524) to the reign of Shah ‘Abbas I (1587-1629). This paper will thus examine six versions of Shaykh Safi's dreams and show how interpretations of the dreams changed over time, based on evolving religious and political attitudes.Scholars have long been aware of the importance of dreams in Islamic history, and have outlined the many religious and political functions of dream episodes in historical and philosophical texts.

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The mi‘raj, or ascension of the Prophet Muhammad to heaven, has received a great deal of attention on the part of Islamic scholars and writers, who expanded upon a short Qur’anic passage and communicated their understanding of this episode. Nineteenth century religious leaders associated with the the Shaykhī, Bābī, and Bahā’ī movements continued the practice of commenting on the mi‘rāj. Rather than communicating fixed ideas about the meaning of the mi‘raj, their writings reflect the contexts in which they were composed.

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How Muslims in past centuries dreamed about, attempted to actualize, andconceived the apocalyptic and messianic events of the End Times cannot beignored in any comprehensive approach to the study of Islam. This volumeconsists of an English translation of one important source that contributes toour understanding of nineteenth-century Islamic messianic movements:Mirza Habib Allah Afnan’s (1875-1971) history of the Babi and Baha’i religionsin Shiraz. Born in Shiraz, Afnan grew up in the home of SayyidMuhammad `Ali Shirazi, “The Bab,” (1819-50) and was raised by his widow,Khadijah Begum.The Bab was born into a Shi’i Muslim merchant family during the earlyQajar period, a time when many of his contemporaries expected the nearadvent of messianic and apocalyptic events. Among the groups so inclinedwere the “Shaykhis,” devotees of Shaykh Ahmad ibn Zayn al-Din al-Ahsa’i(d. 1826). The Bab was initially a Shaykhi and a follower of Sayyid KazimRashti (d. 1843), al-Ahsa’i’s successor. In the 1840s, he claimed to be theexpected qa’im (messianic “ariser”) or mahdi (“rightly guided one”) andfounded a religion that he hoped would change the world and usher in an eraof peace and justice. These assertions led to his execution in Tabriz, Iran, in1850. In subsequent years, most of his followers looked to Mirza Husayn`Ali Nuri, “Baha’u’llah,” as the Bab’s successor and a figure who, in his ownright, fulfilled Babi and other messianic expectations ...