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"Martyrdom of the Bab" Baha'i Holy Day July 9-10th

arthra

Baha'i
Baha'is around the world will be observing a Holy Day "The Martyrdom of the Bab" on July 10th. Work and school are suspended on this Holy Day. The Holy Day begins after sunset July 9th and ends at sunset July 10th. The martyrdom occurred in Tabriz Iran in 1850 in a barracks square which is pictured below:

martyrdom-of-the-bab.jpg


A detailed account of the martyrdom can be found at

Martyrdom of the Bab

A summary can also be found at

https://bahai-library.com/tags/Bab, Martyrdom of

Christopher Buck wrote:

"At noon, the Ba ´b and Anı ´s were brought out into the barracks square, and, bound by ropes, suspended from a spike driven into the wall of the barracks. The surrounding rooftops were thronged with an estimated 10,000 onlookers. The Russian Armenian Sa ´m Kha ´n commanded the Christian Baha ´dura ´n Regiment, which was ordered to carry out the execution. Although accounts of the Ba ´b’s execution vary in details, all agree that, after thick smoke—from the volley of 750 muskets—had cleared, the Ba ´b had vanished, with Anı ´s standing before the astonished multitude, unhurt. The Ba ´b’s escape from the first volley of musket fire is beyond doubt, as his ropes were cut by the shots. One witness to this extraordinary event, Sir Justin Shiel, Queen Victoria’s Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, in Tehran on July 22, 1850, records:
The founder of this sect has been executed at Tabreez. He was killed by a volley of musketry, and his death was on the point of giving his religion a lustre which would have largely increased his proselytes. When the smoke and dust cleared away after the volley, Ba ´b was not to be seen, and the populace proclaimed that he had ascended to the skies. The balls had broken the ropes by which he was bound, but he was dragged from the recess where after some search he was discovered and shot. His death, according to the belief of his disciples, will make no difference as Ba ´b must always exist. (Momen, The Ba ´bı ´ and Baha ´’ı ´ Religions, 1844–1944, 78)
A frantic search ensued, and the Ba ´b was found back in his cell, evidently completing dictation to his secretary that was earlier interrupted. Soldiers swiftly cleared the barracks square, and the Ba ´b was once more suspended by ropes for execution, with Anı ´s placed in front of the Ba ´b. But Sa ´m Kha ´n refused to order his troops to fire again and so the Muslim Na ´dirı ´ Regiment was summoned. On the second attempt, the Ba ´b and Anı ´s were instantly killed. Their bodies, in fact, were fused together by the sheer number of bullets that struck them."

Báb, Martyrdom of the (July 9)
 

arthra

Baha'i
The anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb was commemorated as a Holy Day during the lifetime of Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá added the observance of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh. The following Tablet was published in the "Days of Remembrance":


Tablet to Salman I

"O Salmán! Say: O people! Tread ye in the path of the one true God and ponder the ways and words of Him Who is the Manifestation of His ancient Being, that perchance ye may attain unto the Wellspring of the living waters of the All-Glorious. Were believers and non-believers to occupy the same station, were the worlds of God to be confined to this ephemeral plane, never would My previous Manifestation have surrendered Himself into the hands of His foes or laid down His life as a sacrifice. I swear by the dawning-light of this Cause that were the people to grasp the barest intimation of the fervour and longing which overcame that sovereign Beauty when His celestial Temple was suspended in the air, all would, in the intensity of their own yearning, offer up their souls in the path of this Manifestation of supernal glory. Indeed, sugar is the portion of the parrot, while dung is the share of the beetle; the crow hath no part in the warbling of the nightingale, and the bat fleeth the rays of the sun."


~ Baha'u'llah

Days of Remembrance | Bahá’í Reference Library
 

arthra

Baha'i
A good summary of events surrounding the Martyrdom of the Bab can be found at

http://www.paintdrawer.co.uk/david/folders/spirituality/bahai/Martyrdom of the Bab.pdf

"This account of the Martyrdom of the Bab represents the many accounts of the event rolled into a single short story without additions, and has been written in easy English. Notes are kept to a minimum, but on finding a passage of special interest, readers are encouraged to turn to the analysis and the original sources linked at the end. Those who only know the Dawnbreakers account are particularly encouraged to view those end links. The Martyrdom of the Bab is commemorated in the UK at noon (13:00 BST) on 9 or 10 July."
 

arthra

Baha'i
An excerpt from the Súriy-i-Aḥzán (Súrih of Sorrows) reads:

"Would that I had never been, and that My mother had never borne Me! Would that I had never heard of that which befell Him at the hands of those who worshipped the Names of God and yet slew Him Who is their Author, their Creator, their Fashioner, and their Revealer! Woe betide them for following the promptings of self and passion, and for committing that which caused the Maids of Heaven to faint away in their celestial chambers and the Spirit to cover its face in the dust by reason of that which these wolves have inflicted upon the Lord of Lords. All things weep at the tears I shed for Him; all things lament at the sighs I uttered over Our separation. Such indeed is My sorrow that the melodies of eternity can no longer flow from My lips, nor can the breezes of the spirit waft from My heart. And had I not sought to protect Myself, My body would have been cleft asunder and My life extinguished. …"

Read more of the Surih of Sorrows at
Days of Remembrance | Bahá’í Reference Library
 
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