Work And Life of Qahir And Seraj

Please find the instructions to view Qahir and Seraj's Books at the end of this introduction.

1.    The Events Leading To the Split in followers of Bayan
After Mirza Husayn Ali Baha at Edirne claimed to be first the return of Imam Husayn and then He-Whom-God-Will-Make manifest [1] and after his claims were rejected by Subh-i Azal who succeeded the Primal Point, some of the virtuous Bayanis and disciples of the Primal Point such as Akhund Mulla Rajab-Ali Qahir, his brother Aqa Ali-Muhammad Seraj of Isfahan, Akhund Mulla Muhammad Jafar Naraqi, Haji Sayyed Muhammad of Isfahan and Mirza Muhammad Husayn the custodian (of the holy shrine in Qum) who had found the claims in direct contradiction with the teachings of the Primal Point and had stayed faithful to Subh-i Azal wrote books in refutation of the claimant and published them.

2.    Qahir's Background
Their books are considered to be of important historical significance due to the reasons that they were written at the same time as the when the claims were made and that the authors were considered as some of the most virtuous learned and well known Bayanis and that they were eyewitnesses of these historical events leading to the division among the Bayanis.

The present collection contains the works of Mulla Rajab Ali Qahir and his brother Aqa Ali Muhammad Seraj of Isfahan in refutation of the claims by Mirza Husayn Ali Baha. These two brothers were the sons of Mulla Husayn the Preacher of Isfahan who was one of the elders and a virtuous disciple of the Primal Point.

Qahir was among the religious scientists of his age. One of the Bayani elders who had met him in Karbala during the writing of this very book and had a friendship with him writes in his historical diary notes: “He had written books on the subject of religious science. In one of the books, I saw that some of the scientists of the Shia Islam had credited him with the station of religious jurisprudent [2].”

Mulla Rajab-Ali had met the Primal Point in Isfahan and became a follower of Him and was entitled by Him with ‘Qahir’ [3]. The Primal Point married to Qahir’s sister Lady Fatima during the end of His stay in Isfahan. [4]

Qahir traveled Khurasan [5] together with his father. During their travel they joined the well-known gathering of the Babis at Badasht and returned to Isfahan after the breakup of the gathering.

3.    Qahir Leaves Iran for Baqdad
During the massacre of the Babis in 1851 A.D in which the government’s men and the people persecuted the Babis, the lives of Qahir and his family in Isfahan were also threatened and as stated by lady Fatima, people stormed into and pillaged their house. Many of the writings fell to the hands of the perpetrators and Qahir was forced to leave his country for Iraq and after a while settled in Najaf. After the arrival of Subh-i Azal in Baqdad, Qahir was in contact and communicated with his comrades such as Haji Sayyed Javad of Karbala, Haji Sayyed Muhammad of Isfahan, Akhund Naraqi, and Mirza Husayn Ali Baha.

Two years later, his brother Seraj took his wife, his family and lady Fatima to Karbala to join Qahir. Seraj writes in his book that he had contact and liaised with Mirza Husayn Ali Baha close to eleven years in Baqdad and witnessed his activities.

4.    The Account of Seraj's Killing in Baqdad
Seraj and Qahir remained in Iraq after the Ottoman government submitted to the demand by the Iranian government to expel the Babis from Baqdad to Istanbul. After Baha’s claim in Edirne, Qahir and Seraj rejected Baha’s claim and remained faithful to Subh-i Azal. Seraj debated Baha’s claim with his followers. Finally as a result of writing of the present work, he was murdered by the Bahais. One of the Bayani elders gives the account of his killing as follows: “One evening, when Seraj was returning home located in the (old part) of Baqdad from Bazar located in the (new part) of Baqdad, Baha’s men afflicted him with many cuts on his body. An Arab girl who had witnessed the attack, cried out and called on the Seraj’s daughter “They killed your father!”
The men had escaped before the justice officials were sent for. The news reached Qahir in Karbala who departed for Baqdad and moved that martyr’s (Seraj’s) family to Karbala.

5.    Killing of Qahir
Qahir who also wrote in refutation of Baha was also murdered by a follower of Baha named Naser the Arab who killed Qahir with a revolver when he was returning home from the shrine of Imam Husayn. According to his sister, his killing occurred two years after the killing of Seraj.

6.    The Significance of Qahir & Seraj's Works
The significance of the writings of Qahir and Seraj are due to the following:

1.  They were among the most learned and virtuous elders of the Bayanis during the early period.

2.  They had very good knowledge of the writings of the Primal Point concerning Subh-i Azal.

3.  They lost lives as direct result of these works.


Moreover, the reference to some of the Point’s disciples by name and title in their works is also of significance.

According to Seraj himself, he finished the writing of his book on16th Rabi’ul-Owla 1284 AH (18th July 1867). In page 15, he writes: “Now that 16 years have passed since the ascension of His Highness ..” This means that he must have started writing it in the year 1865 A.D.

7.    Some Notes on the Collection
Qahir’s book begins with an Arabic introduction, has four chapters in Persian in which the author has rejected Baha’s claim supporting his arguments with writings of the Primal Point. The date of the writing of this book is not mentioned, neither is the exact date of the killing of Qahir and Seraj, however this must have happened during 1867 to 1869 AD [6].

Page 85 to 97 of this collection (containing Qahir and Seraj’s works) contains a full copy of a historical letter by Mirza Husayn Ali Baha to the believers in Karbala [7], a small portion of which is quoted by Seraj. The letter concerns the Baqdad period when Mirza Husayn Ali acted as an intermediary person between Subh-i Azal and his followers. In this letter he has frequently expressed his total submission and includes a verse from a poem which he had written in praise of Subh-i Azal at the end of the letter.

In order for the readers to take notice of the importance of this collection and for the information of those who are not aware of the precise nature of the division among the Bayanis and the emergence of Bahaism, we briefly outline the events that led to the division:

8.    Historical Reasons For Deporting BABis From Baqdad

8.1    Introduction
In Bayan containing the Bayanic teachings and laws, the Primal Point gave the news that there will be another manifestation after the religion of Bayan has reached its degree of perfection. He referred to him as He-Whom-God-Will-Make-Manifest and gave strict command to his followers to believe in Him on the day of His manifestation. He determined that there would be 1511 to 2001 years between His manifestation and that of HWGSMM.

In the final year of his manifestation and when he was imprisoned at the castle of Mah-Ku, the Primal Point appointed Mirza Yahya Nuri the son of Mirza Buzurg to succeed him. He wrote to him a special tablet in which He entitled Subh-i Azal to His own names and attributes.

He delivered to him the command of the Bayan and confirmed Subh-i Azal’s path as the ‘Mighty True Path’. He gave him the titles such as ‘Subh-i Azal’, ‘the glorious Fruit of Bayan’, ‘Mirror of God’, ‘Name of God Wahid’, ‘Light’, and ‘Face of God’and gave the good news of his manifestation. In His testament, the Primal Point wrote to Subh-i Azal to reveal the remaining eight Unities of Bayan and insisted that he must protect himself.

After the martyrdom of the Primal Point on Monday 27th Sha’ban 1266AH, all Babis submitted to the command of Subh-i Azal with no opposition or dispute [8]. Subh-i Azal resided in Tehran but visited Nur often until the event that three Babis fired gunshots at Naser-al Din Shah at the Niyavaran. The government arrested forty people form this community. Twenty-eight of the well known Babi and Babi leaders were killed after much torture in Ziqa’deh 1268 A.H (August 1852).

Subh-i Azal who was persecuted and chased, reached Baqdad in early 1269 AH (1852 A.D) through Hamadan and Kermanshah with his cloth changed to that of a Dervish. Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri known as Baha was the elder brother of Subh-i Azal who was arrested during that affair and was imprisoned. He was later released by the recommendation of Mirza Aqa Khan of Nur to the Shah and joined Subh-i Azal.

Babis gradually took to Baqdad and made it the center for their population. Subh-i Azal concealed himself from the eye of the public due to the strict orders from the Primal Point to protect himself. He was told: “Verily, O Azal! Protect yourself even if there was no one who was a believer in you”. He made Baha to be his front-man (to run the affair of the Babis) acting as an intermediary person between himself and the Babis.

8.2    Baha's Sudden Leave For Suleymanieh
Baha became the object of criticism at the beginning of his arrival in Baqdad, and was reprimand due to his shortcomings in the affair of the faith. As a result, he felt hurt at the hands of his fellow-believers and took to Suleymaniyeh where he spent two years and during which time no one knew his whereabouts; until he wrote a letter to Subh-i Azal. In response, Subh-i Azal, called on him to return to Baqdad, which he did and was made to run the affairs of the Babis.

8.3    Other Claimants
After the return of Mirza Husayn Ali from Suleymaniyeh. Mirza Asadullah Dayyan who was one of the Point’s disciples, claimed to be He-Whom-God-Will-Make-Manifest. Before him, others such as Hussayn Milani, Mula Hashim of Kashan, Abdul-Karim of Tabriz and Ismail of Isfahan and etc. claimed to be new manifestations. There were also others who had identical claims including Mulla Muhammad of Zarand known as Nabil. Subh-i Azal rejected the claims of all these individuals and branded them as liars.

8.4    Bahs's Previous History of His Claim
The thought of this claim got into the head of Mirza Husayn Ali who at the time was in Baqdad and witnessed these affairs and sought to prepare for it. According to one of the Bayani elders Mulla Muhammad Jafar of Naraq the author of ‘The reminder For the Ignorant’ writes: “at the time, we heard about Mirza Husayn Ali’s claims in an on-and-off manner from some of his close companions, but he himself would not say it.”

8.5    Pressure From Iranian Government
Anyhow, the increase in the Babi population at Baqdad and the presence of the religious scientists at the blessed shrines in their close proximity had worried the government of Iran. The Iranian government requested from the Ottoman government through her ambassador Mirza Husayn Khan Mushir-al-Dowlah to either surrender the Babis to the Iranian government or send them to one of the remote places in the ottoman territory. Four month later, the Ottoman government accepted the later option and sent the Babi community to Istanbul and then to Edirne.

8.6    Baha Finally Makes His Claim Public
It was in this town that finally Mirza Husayn Ali made public his claim to the office of He-Whom-God-Will-Make-Manifest. He called himself the Promised One and called the Primal Point who according to Bayan had identified himself with a new universal manifestation with new teachings and laws as his ‘harbinger’.

His claim was neither consistent with the teachings in Bayan nor with the time of appearance that is announced in Bayan for the manifestation HWGSMM. Subh-i Azal vehemently rejected the claim of his half-brother and conveyed the falsehood of his claims to his followers in Iran and Iraq.

The majority of the Babis at Edirne followed Mirza Husayn Ali. A small number of them including Mirza Ahmad of Kashan the brother of Hajji Mirza Jani and Hajji Sayyed Muhammad of Isfahan who was one of the learned Bayanis remained faithful to Subh-i Azal. This marked the division amongst the Bayanis and the creation of Bahaism.

8.7    Baha's Commitment to Removal Of Subh-i Azal From the Stage
At Edirne, Baha left no stone unturned in his efforts against Subh-i Azal and his followers. As a sample, we quote part of an article written by Aqa Ali-Muhammad Muvahed in a Persian monthly magazine called ‘Book Guide’ under the subject ‘Documents from the Istanbul Archives”. [9] [10]

8.8    Baha Passes (Mis) Information To Ottomans on Subh-i Azal & His Followers
After reading of the article, it becomes obvious that what initiated the affair (expelling of Subh-i Azal to Cyprus and Mirza Husayn Ali to Acre) and the reason for the arrest and interrogation of the Babis was a letter written by Baha and addressed to the governor of Edirne.

In his letter, Baha accused Subh-i Azal and his followers to have conspired against the (Ottoman) government. Baha gave (to the ottoman officials) the names of some of close companions of Subh-i Azal accusing them of being party to its implementation.

In his letter, Baha writes: “The expectation of this servant is that these items (accusations) are thoroughly investigated and the individuals whose names are offered to be interrogated such that it is known who is the initiator of these foul plays?
It has been repeatedly and frequently brought to your attention that this Sayyed Muhammad and Yahya have no objective but foul play. Now, that it is clear (to you), it will become apparent with little investigation.”

8.9    Ottoman's Decree
After the Ottoman government came to know about the affair of the Babis, it decreed on 26th Safar 1288 that the Babis should be expelled. Mirza Husayn Ali and his followers together with four of the Subh-i Azal’s followers by the names of Hajji Sayyed Muhammad of Isfahan who was one of the virtuous Bayanis and a disciple of the Primal Point, Aqa Jan Beyk of Kashan, Mirza Reza Quli of Tafresh, and his brother Mirza Nasrullah of Tafresh were sent to Acre, and Subh-i Azal and his followers together with four of the Mirza Husayn Ali’s followers by the names of Mushkin Qalam of Khurasan, Mirza Ali the traveler, Muhammad Baqer of Isfahan and Abd-al-Qafar to Cyprus.

8.10  Assassination of Bayani Figures By Bahais
Mirza Nasrullah was poisoned and subsequently died just before his departure from Edirne. The other three were murdered during an attack at night by the Bahais after their arrival at Acre. The four Bahais who accompanied Subh-i Azal spent a few years in Maqoosa and were later freed to go where they wished. This was the account of the Babis sent from Baqdad to Istanbul and then on to Edirne.

There were still other virtuous Bayanis and disciples of the Primal Point such as Akhund Mulla Rajab-Ali Qahir, his brother Mirza Ali-Muhammad (Seraj), Akhund Mulla Muhammad Jafar of Naraq and Hajji Sayyed Javad of Karbala and some of Mirza Husayn Ali’s followers who were still in Iraq and Karbala.

These Bayanis had rejected Mirza Husayn Ali’s claim and had remained faithful to Subh-i Azal. Some of them including Qahir, Seraj and Akhund of Naraq wrote books in refutation of Mirza Husayn Ali and distributed them. Mirza Husayn Ali saw them standing in his way in furtherance of his claim and instructed his followers to eliminate them:

-  Hajji Mirza Ahmad of Kashan who was sent to the Arab Iraq to inform the believers and was actively proselytizing against Mirza Husayn Ali’s claim was murdered in Baqdad;

-  Seraj in Baqdad,

-  Qahir in Karabala,

-  Sayyed Ali Arab who was one of the Letters of the Living in Tabriz,

-  Aqa Abul-Qasem of Kashan


9.    NOTES

[1] Refer to Tazkerat-al Ghafelin of Mulla Muhammad Jafar of Naraqeh.

[2] اجتهاد

[3] Qahir has same numerical value as Rajab-Ali.

[4] Biography of Lady Fatima and Muhammad Sadeq Muhajer the son of Seraj
We find it here noteworthy to include the biography of two other well-known members of this family. One is lady Fatima mentioned before and the other is Haji Muhammad Sadeq Muhajer the son of Seraj.

According to Mirza Mustafa, a very well known Bayani scribe lady Fatima was twelve years old when she was married to the Primal Point. This marriage occurred nineteen days before His departure from Isfahan.

Apparently, after the martyrdom of the Primal Point in Tabriz, this lady remained in Isfahan until 1270 A.H (1853 AD), after which she joined Qahir in Baqdad. According to Lady Fatima herself, she was received to the presence of Subh-i Azal and asked for direction. According to Subh-i Azal’s instructions, she was re-married to the virtuous and well-known Bayani Hajji Sayyid Muhammad of Isfahan.

After the expelling of the Babis including Hajji Sayyid Muhammad of Isfahan to Istanbul, Lady Fatima remained in Karbala with her brother (Qahir). Apparently, she returned to Iran after the killing of her brothers and (her husband) Hajji Sayyed Muhammad of Isfahan (also killed by Bahais) and spent the rest of her life in Iran. Her death is noted by Mirza Mustafa to have occurred on the Sunday 14th of the month of Safar in the year 1335 A.H (November 1916 A.D) at the age of 85. She was buried in Imamzadeh Masum.

Hajji Muhammad Sadeq was the son of Seraj and a well known Bayani scriber who works hard in collecting and transcribing of the works of the Primal Point and Subh-i Azal and suffered much because of his belief. When he was in Isfahan, some violent gangs stormed into his home at the instructions of the then cruel governor of Isfahan and destroyed his books and writings which he had collected with much trouble. He was forced to flee and spent years in hiding in villages around Isfahan. He had also traveled to Mecca and succeeded in visiting Subh-i Azal in Cyprus on his return.

He settled in Teheran towards the end of his life and died in the year 1336 AH and was buried in a grave next to Lady Fatima.

[5]  A large state in Eastern Iran.

[6]  Based on the information provided by their surviving families and the historical notes of Bayani elders. Also see ‘Materials for the study of the Babi religion’ by Prof. Browne, P. 220, Hasht-Bihisht P. 308, and the introduction to ‘Awakening of the Sleepers’.


[7]  Part of this letter is reproduced in ‘Awakening of the Sleepers’.

[8]  See the Persian introduction to Nuqtat-al Kaf.

[9]  See issues 1 and 2 of the sixth year of the magazine ‘Book Guide’ in which the text of the decree is also included.

[10] Baha’s Letter To The Governor of Edirne
Extract from the article: Proceedings of determination and interrogation of a number of followers of Subh-i-Azal and Mirza Husayn Ali Baha in Istanbul in A.H. 1285. (1968), which resulted in the exile of Subh-i-Azal and Baha from Edirne to Famagusta in Cyprus, and to Acre in Palestine respectively. are kept in the Ottoman archives in the governorate at Istanbul.

It appears from the perusal of the relevant file that the detention and interrogation of these persons were initiated by consequent upon an information lodged by Baha with the governor general of the Edirne province in which he accused Subh-i-Azal and his followers of having conspired together against the Ottoman government, The information was accompanied by a list containing the names of the Subh-i-Azal’s followers who were to implement the conspiracy. The file of proceedings is marked No. 1475, in which are filed the information and the list bearing No. 12 and 13 respectively. The governor General forwarded Baha’s information with the list to Baghdad accompanied by a covering letter.

Translation of Baha’s letter:
The submission of the servant at the service of the most mobile and the most illustrious governor general, may his exalted shadow endure! Is that last year Sayyid Muhammad of Isfahan [murdered by Baha’s men at Acre, section 12.4.4], proceeded to Istanbul, where he met with Aqa Jan Beg [Kaj Kulah, murdered by Baha’s men at Acre, section 12.4.4] and Haji Muhammad Nevres Effendi [whose names appears in the list] and deceived them with many promises.

After Sayyid Muhammad’s return to Edirne, Hajji Muhammad Nevres, and also one named Ismat Effendi [whose name appears in the list] came to Edirne and visited Yahya [Subh-i-Azal] and Sayyid Muhammad, who manufactured a document of circular terms and gave it to Hajji Muhammad Nevres and Ismet Effendi for display to the public, as an instance of this, at Edirne Hajji Muhammad Nevres gave that document to a person, which received your blessed attention.

Later these two persons returned to Istanbul and held out some sort of promise to any body & everybody; they took with them a writing from Yahya and distributed copies of it, their promises were to the effect that on a certain date Mirza Yahya shall rise and display such loving-kindness towards them, and by their abjured statement he [i.e. Subh-i-Azal] allied himself with a number of persons whose names are inscribed in the list in the list attached hereto, little by little their boldness waxed high.

It is reported that they wrote a number of seditious letters and left them at the doors of the houses. Now the authorities are out hunting after the author of these letters and my dependents have also been questioned by them. The expectation of this servant is that an investigation with the utmost careful attention be held into the matter, and that the persons whose names are entered in the list be examined so that it may become known who is the source of these mischiefs. Time after time, and over and over again it has been submitted to you that this Sayyid Muhammad and Yahya have no aim other than mischief making.

It has now come out into the open and a brief investigation will disclose it During this period this servant wrote no letters to anyone of the inhabitants of these dominions and sought no association and intercourse with anyone. Please hold an investigation so that truth may be distinguished from falsehood.”

“And finally [I await] your most eminent supreme command, obedience to which is mandatory.”

Consequences of Baha's Letter
The document of circular form referred to is the information is marked No. 26 in the file.

The five persons detained for interrogation were:
1) Aqa Jan Beg [Kaj Kulah] follower of Subh-i-Azal
2) Ali Sayyah of Maraghah
3) Muhammad Bqir of Isfahan; follower of Baha
4) Darvish Ali of Gazvin
5) Muhammad Ali of Isfahan

There were four interrogations or examining magistrates. Their report is dated Safar 26, A.H. 1285 (June 18, 1868) and was submitted to the premiere for appropriate action.

On the strength of the proceeding of the investigation, examination of Subh-i-Azal and Baha’s writings, and Baha’s information against Subh-i-Azal, the interrogators in their request held that:

a)  Subhi-Azal had a pretension to “prophethood”

b)  Shaykh Mirza Husayn Ali [i.e. Baha had a pretension to some sort of Mahdi-hood which implied “prophethood”

c)  Such men of error could not be left at long to conduct their disruptive activities unchecked and to mislead ignorant and weaklings;

d)  Subh-i-Azal’s and Shaykh Mirza Husayn Ali’s brothers, Mirza Musa and Mirza Muhammad Quli were privy and parties to the collusion as they all lived together; and recommended their transportation for life to remote penal places subject to them being kept under surveillance or open arrest.

The premiere submitted the report to Sultan accompanied by his recommendations. An imperial warrant of exile dated Rabi-al-Thani 5, A.H 1285 (July 26, 1868) was accordingly issued.

The BآBi exiles were removed from Edirne en route for their respective destinations on Rabi-al-Thani 16, A.H. 1285 (August 5, 1865):- Materials for the study of the BآBi Religion by Prof. Browne. P.29

Conclusion
It does not stand to reason that a person who intends to rise against an established authority should give advance notice in writing of his intended rising by circulating leaflets to the public as alleged by Baha in his information against Subh-i-Azal.

Baha overreached himself. The Ottoman authorities would not swallow this bluff and in the end Baha was hoist with his own petard.

What is to be deplored is that Baha n his Epistle to the Son of the Wolf of 1890, with his foot in the grave and in his wake, Sir Abbas Effendi, in his Will and Testament with his foot in grave should seek to hoist Baha’s misfortunes of which Baha was in reality himself the author, on Subh-i Azal.

Facsimile of Baha’s information lodged against Subh-i-Azal is reproduced in the journal. [Facsimile of the information is attached below. It is not penned in Baha’s handwriting but one of his scribes, it is sealed by Baha, Baha’s name.]



Transcription of Baha’s Letter To The Governor of Edirne
عرض این بنده در خدمت وزیر اکرم افخم دام ظله المتعالی آنکه سنه قبل که سیّد محمّد اصفهانی باسلامبول رفته آقا جان بک و حاجی محمد نورس را دیده بوعدهای زیاد فریب داده و بعد از آمدن سید محمّد به ادرنه حاجی محمد نورس و عصمت افندی نامی نیز بادرنه آمدند و نزد یحیی و سید محمد رفته و بعد دائرة که مشتمل بر فتنه و فساد بود درست کرده و بحاچی محمد نورس و عصمت افندی داده اند که بناس بنمائید از جمله حاجی محمد نورس در ادرنه بشخصی آن دائره را داده بود که به نظر مبارک رسید بعد آن دو نفر مراجعت باسلامبول نموده و بهر کس وعدها دادند و نوشتة از یحیی برده و داده اند در وعدهاشان اینکه در فلان تاریخ میرزا یحیی خروج خواهد کرد و چنین محبت ها بشما خواهد نمود و باین مزخرفات چند نفری که ثبت اسامیشان تقدیم شد با خود متحد نموده تا آنکه جسارتشان کم کم زیاد شد از قراریکه مذکور شد چند مکاتیب فتنه آمیز نوشته در خانها انداخته اند حال از باب حکومت در جستجوی کاتب مکاتیب افتاده اند و از بستگان بنده هم سئوال نموده اند توقع بنده اینست که این فقره بکمال دقت تجسس شود و از نفوسیکه ثبت اسماشان تقدیم شد تحقیق بفرمائید تا معلوم شود که منشأ این فساد ها کیست و بکرات و مرات عرض شد که این سید محمد و یحیی مقصودی بجز فساد ندارند حال واضح شد باندک تفتیش ظاهر میشود و در این مدت این بنده باحدی از اهالی این مملکت مکتوبی ننوشتم و معاشرت و مؤانست نجسته ام تفحص بفرمائید تا معلوم شود صدق از کذب باقی امرکم الا شرف الاعلی
مطاع حسینعلی

 

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