By: Dr. Mohammed Alam Qurayshi

The theory of the Manifestation of God - a strange theory quite alien to the Islamic world was concocted by the Bab and refined and supported by Bahaullah. According to this theory, the Divine Being would continue to manifest Himself in the form of religious preachers time and again. And each manifestation would be more complete and perfect than the previous one. This would be due to the changing requirements of humanity. Thus Jesus (p.b.u.h) appeared after Moses (p.b.u.h), and Mohammed (p.b.u.h) after Jesus. Bab came after Hazrat Mohammed (p.b.u.h), and each time the Divine Will returned \"with increased strength and fuller utterance.\" Hence all prophets were Manifestations of God and after the Bab, Bahaullah was the next Manifestation of God.

Firstly, it must be clarified that the tenets of Islam are opposed to the Manifestation of God in any manner. It is untenable for a religion that prohibits idol worship in any manner to ascribe or subscribe to a theory of Manifestation. Prophets were prophets, meant to convey the word of God and were in no shape, form or manner the Manifestations of God.

This article aims to critically analyze this Bahai theory in order to see if stands the test of logic and reason and also whether it is supported by Babi and Bahai writings. An objective reading will convince you otherwise. The greatest proof that the Bahais have of Bahaullah\'s prophet hood is this very title of \"He Whom Allah Shall Manifest.\" They claim that this title belongs to Bahaullah. Even Bahaullah claimed thus. However the following article will demonstrate that both were absolutely wrong.

At the outset, Bahai writings compare Adam (p.b.u.h) to an embryo and the Bab to a boy of 12 years, there being a gap of twelve thousand years between Adam (p.b.u.h) and the Bab.

Understanding this concept rationally

There was a gap of 600 years between Jesus (p.b.u.h) and Hazrat Mohammed (p.b.u.h) and a gap of over 1,200 years between Hazrat Mohammed (p.b.u.h) and the Bab. The gap between The Bab and Bahaullah on the other hand was just 15 years. What we would like to know is what changed in those 15 years that necessitated a new Manifestation and a change in religion? Why was a new Manifestation needed so soon?

According to the Babis, the message of the Bab was more complete than that of his predecessor - The Holy Prophet of Islam (p.b.u.h). In other words the world required a new Manifestation after more than 1,200 years after the Quran. During this time the world had witnessed numerous revolutions and mighty upheavals had taken place, the old world order was replaced by the new order and science had made phenomenal progress. While we do not agree with the concept of abrogation of Islam, let us, for sake of argument, accept that the message of the Bab was to replace that of Islam. However between the Bab and Bahaullah there was only a gap of 15 years. There were hardly any perceptible changes in the world. There was no major event that could have changed the world order during this period and civilization had also not progressed to a great extent.

So what was the need for a new Manifestation so soon? Why was the Bab\'s message abrogated in just 15 years? How could a Message, which according to Bab was more perfect than the Quran last only 15 years? And even in this brief period most people remained ignorant of the message, except a fraction of the Persian populace. How could God, in His wisdom, send a new message to the people, only for it to be abrogated even before it becomes known to the world?

Surely Allah in His Infinite Wisdom would have sent a Message which would have been better (again for the sake of argument) than Islam or any other previous religion. Leave aside Islam, the Babi Faith did not even last as long as the religion of Christ (p.b.u.h).

The Babis and the Bahais with this single theory have attacked the foundations of both, the Unity of God, as we Muslims understand it and the Wisdom of God. By claiming that God needed to change his Manifestation, even if He did send a Manifestation, within 15 years does not augur well for His Wisdom.

The Bahais simply have no reply to these objections. Their feeble and pathetic attempts at saving their faces gave birth to a new theory that the Bab was simply a forerunner of Bahaullah - he was to Bahaullah what John the Baptist was to Jesus (p.b.u.h). They claim Bab was sent to announce the good news of the advent of \"Him Whom Allah Shall Manifest.\"

This theory would have held some water only if it were true. The entire Babi history until Bahaullah, every word of the Bayan and the Babi Scriptures belie the Bahai theory of the Bab being a harbinger of Bahaullah. One just needs to study the history of Bab to know that Bab had no intention of announcing the advent of Bahaullah. He simply wanted to be the Gate of the Imam himself. As if this were not enough, he wanted to be the Imam and then to the horror of his followers, promoted himself to divinity and claimed to be God himself. The life history of the Bab gives absolutely no indication of Bab\'s alleged intent to announce the advent of Bahaullah.

Prof. Edward Granville Browne, a historian oft-quoted by the Bahais, says, \"The theory now advanced by the Bahais that the Bab considered himself as a mere forerunner of the dispensation which Bahaullah was shortly to establish, and was to him what John, the Baptist, was to Jesus, is equally devoid of historic foundation. In his own eyes, as in the eyes of his followers, Mirza Ali Mohammed Shirazi innovated a new prophetic cycle, and brought a new revelation, the Bayan, which abrogated the Quran, as the Quran had abrogated the Gospels, and the Gospels the Pentateuch.\"
(Ref: Introduction to Nuqtatul Qaf by Mirza Jani)

Who was the true Man Yozherohullah?

It is true that Bab mentioned the advent of a person after him whom he refers to as \"Man Yozherohullah\" - \"He Whom Allah Shall Manifest.\" Who was this person? What was the basis of this person? What was the role of this person? Bahaullah claimed that this title referred to him. However, as we shall see, the facts prove otherwise.

1. Amma Khanum the sister of Bahaullah was one of the respected ladies of her time. Abbas Effendi, the son of Bahaullah, also known as Abdul Baha, once wrote an epistle to this honorable lady requesting her assistance in the propagation and strengthening of the newly founded religion. This epistle is famous as \"Lauh-e-Amma\" (Epistle of Amma). Amma wrote a very critical and strongly worded reply to Abdul Baha. This reply can be found on page 113-119 of Haji Maftoon\'s book \"Bab-o-Baha ra Beshanaseed\" (Know Bab and Baha). The gist of her reply is produced below.

\"Qurratul Ayn had given Mirza Husain Ali the title of Baha. My brother Mirza Husain Ali was always interested in power and property. For this reason he incited the people to rise against the Shah of Iran, Naseeruddin Shah and finally kill him, so that he could rule over the people. Then due to straitened circumstances he went to Sulaymania. There when he found the conditions unbearable he wrote to his brother Azal (Mirza Yahya Noori) beseeching him. He even stooped so low as to request Azal to consider him an insignificant housefly or mosquito. When Azal pitied his wretched condition and called him to Baghdad, Bahaullah started eliminating the Babis. Deceitfully he cornered all the writings of Bab so as to remove them from the hands of the people. All his life he suffered from fatq. His hands were always trembling. When all his life Bahaullah could not cure himself from these diseases, how can he claim to cure mankind of all its spiritual and physical problems?

And listen O Abdul Baha, your father and my brother\'s (Bahaullah) claim that he is \"The One whom Allah shall manifest\" is a sham. Your father had always considered the \"Nukta\" (i.e. the Bab) a liar. He never believed in him at all, but when he saw that the successorship of Bab had gone to Subhe\' Azal, he revolted. His claim of being the return of Hazrat Sayyedna Husain (p.b.u.h) is also false. He was never tortured or persecuted. His saga of trouble and hardship is without any basis. He was never \"The One Allah Shall Manifest.\"

1. Bab wrote that the \"Promised One\" (He Whom Allah Shall Manifest) would come in the year \"Ghiath\" or \"Mustagheeth\" (Ref: Kaukabe\' Hind, page 82).

The Bahais calculate the year according to Hurufe\' Abjad (In the Arabic language, each alphabet is assigned a number. So we have 1 for Alif, 2 for Be\', 3 for Jeem and so on for Arabic alphabets). According to this method \"Ghiath\" means 1511 and \"Mustagheeth\" means 2001 years. Historians unanimously agree that Bab was executed on 28th Shabaan 1266 AH. Thus according to Bab, the \"Promised One should come in the year 1266+1511 = 2744 AH or maximum 1266+2001 = 3267 AH.

It is here that every claim and every aspiration of Bahaullah comes to dust. Unknown to most Bahais, Bahaullah was born 2 years before the Bab. This also means that the religion of the Bab was meant to be in force for at least 1,500 to 2,000 years. Surely this is not the sign of a person whose primary objective was to herald the coming of Bahaullah. However, unknown to the Bab, as Bahaullah gained in power, he seems that he too forgot this fact and claimed the title for himself.

1. As mentioned earlier the heralded one\'s advent (i.e.Bahaullah) preceded the advent of the heralder (i.e. Bab). That is Bahaullah was born two years before Bab.
2. As mentioned in the \'Bayan\' Wahid 6, chapter 11, Bab warned schoolteachers against beating any student. He says, \"The teacher should not beat the students, lest unknowingly they beat the greatest teacher.\" i.e. \'He Whom Allah Shall Manifest\'. Thus, it becomes apparent that at the time of Bab\'s claim to Prophet hood, \'the Promised One\' was not young enough to go to school and hence the warning. Also this warning implies that \'the Promised One\' should have gone to school. Let us now see if this prophecy fits Bahaullah. Bahaullah, being 2 years older than Bab, was almost 30 years old when Bab made this prophecy. Also do the Bahais not claim that Bahaullah like all the Prophets before him was an \'Ummi\' (that he did not learn from any worldly teacher)? How is it then possible for him to be \'the Promised One\'?
3. Bab has written clearly in the (\'Bayan\' Wahid 6, chapter 11) \"We have made the semen clean so that \'He whom Allah Shall Manifest\' is not born out of impure semen\" Consequently one born out of impure semen cannot claim to be \'the Promised One\'. Bahaullah was born 2 years before Bab, and therefore was from impure semen. This automatically invalidates him from this position. It is interesting to note that the Bahais consider semen to be clean.
4. Bab has written in the \'Bayan\' Wahid 5 \"The new Manifestation would come only after all have been educated with the Bayan.\" Now the Bayan as we all know was incomplete when death overtook the Bab, and he had entrusted Mirza Yahya, his successor with the responsibility of completing it. But this desire of seeing the \'Bayan\' completed remained just a dream for Bab and to this day it remains incomplete. Moreover, the Bayan even to this day is a book unknown to all, nay, even to the \'Bahais\'. It has never gone into print and even it\'s manuscripts are rare. Let alone the world, even the Babis were not educated about the \'Bayan\', when Bahaullah made his claim.
5. Bab had stated in the \'Bayan\' in no uncertain terms, \"Universal acceptance of Babism was a pre-requisite to the appearance of \'the Promised One\'.\" It is a challenge to the Bahais that they prove that, let alone the world, even a city or town had embraced Babism prior to the advent of Bahaullah. Till date such a thing has not come to pass. This automatically makes his claim groundless like all his other claims.
6. The advent of Bab\'s religion was about 1250 years after Islam. Even Bahaullah claims that a new \'Manifestation\' will appear 1000 years after him bringing a new code/religion with him and that this has always been the practice. (Bayan Wahid) How could Bahaullah then claim to be the \'Promised One\' after a period of only 15 years after Bab. Is this not a complete refutation of his own prophecy as well as that of the Bab\'s?
7. E.G. Browne in his book, \'Materials on the Study of Babi Religion\' has mentioned that Bab in his will (written approximately a year before his death) nominated Mirza Yayha Noori (Subh-e-Azal), the step-brother of Bahaullah, as his successor.

It is apparent that not only was Bahaullah repudiated and rebuffed by his own sister but even the above-mentioned arguments dismiss his atrocious claims. This brings to mind the question - why then did Bahaullah make such a claim?

Why did Bahaullah claim to be Man Yozherohullah?

The reason becomes clear when one studies the life of Bahaullah. Bahaullah\'s incessant lust for power and glory coupled with the support he received from Russia and the West drove him to do this. It provided him with just the impetus he needed, helping him realize his ambitions. Russia and the other enemies of Islam, in turn realized their aim of seeing Islam self-destruct itself. Bahaullah\'s claims infused in the Muslims, mayhem and anarchy leading to total chaos. Islam was struck at its very roots and confusion permeated the minds of Muslims about the fundamental beliefs like the finality of Prophet hood, Oneness of God (Tawheed), the advent of Mahdi etc.

The Bahais introduce Bahaullah in a different guise to the people of different religions. To the Muslims he is another prophet like Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h); to the Christians he is introduced as Christ; to the Zoroastrians he is presented as their prophet Zaruthasrtra; to the Buddhists he is the re-incarnation of Lord Buddha and to the Hindus he is another avatar of Lord Krishna.

A shocking incident is highlighted by Haji Maftoon in his book, \"Bab-o-Baha ra Beshanaseed\" page 152. This incident occurred in the lifetime of Bahaullah. Two Bahai missionaries, Haji Akhund and Aga Jamal had an argument regarding Bahaullah\'s divinity. Haji Akhund contended that Bahaullah was God Almighty Himself. Everyone should adhere to him and all prayers and supplications should be addressed to him. Aga Jamal, however, disputed this and said that Bahaullah was merely the \'Manifestation\' of God and not God Himself. To resolve this stalemate they approached Bahaullah. Bahaullah on hearing them smiled and said, \"I am both as well as neither. It does not matter. Just deceive the masses with this.\"

How can the Bahais reconcile this statement rationally? Does it mean that Bahaullah was God and His Manifestation as well as neither God nor His Manifestation? This is exactly how the Bahais present Bahaullah to the people of different religions. They show him to be a personality of that very religion with the sole aim of deceiving the masses. In this regard they are simply following the recommendation of their leader. This scheming approach employed by the Bahais, unfortunately, proves to be most effective. They brag about establishing a world order based on equality, peace, fraternity and justice, which has caught the fancy of people worldwide. However their history is ridden with instances of terror, violence and bloodshed.

Our duty - To read and understand The Bahai Truth

The need of the hour is to understand the reality of the Bahai Faith - that is not a religion - it is an organization, which operates under the guise of a religion. I will, in later articles, prove the hand of Russia and the West in helping to propagate this religion in Islamic countries. As I have mentioned above, the Babi and the Bahai Faith attack the very foundation of Islam. While their primary objective is to deviate Muslims, they have not spared other religions as well.

The Muslims scholars have an instrumental role to play in this age, when the tenets of Islam are being attacked. They can take the initiative in enlivening the true Islam among the Muslims, which will prevent the Muslims from deviation. They can assert their influence and with their speeches and writings protect the faith of thousands of Muslims. The reward for guiding even a single individual is sufficient for one\'s life and Hereafter.

It is difficult for an objective person who reads these facts to accept either the Bab or Bahaullah. The conclusion is simply that nor was the Bab a prophet (how can one accept him as such when his most important prophecy is falsified in such a short period of time), and neither was Bahaullah the \"Promised One.\" If we accept the Bab to be correct - Bahaullah is proved wrong. Alternatively, if we consider that Bab is wrong, then so is Bahaullah since the basic premise of his \"prophet hood\" is the religion of the Bab.

Source:www.TheBahaiTruth.com