Martyrdom of Mulla Hussain Bushru’i in Fort Tabarsi

February 2, 1849

The ‘Letters of the Living’ is a title given to the first group of people who believed in Báb’s claim of being the Gate in May 23, 1844 (Jamadi-ul-Awwal 5, 1260). All of these people were Shaykhi and after Sayyid Kazim Rashti’s death, they were looking for his successor (the fourth pillar of faith). Mulla Hussain was one of the Letters of the Living.

Because of the great role of Mulla Hussain in the Bábi history, knowing his actions and beliefs will help our view on Bahá’ism.

Báb’s claim and belief

Ishráq-Khávari quotes that in that night (May 23, 1844), Mirzá `Ali Muhammad, wrote his interpretation of the first verses of Surah Yusuf of Quran in the book ‘Qayyum al-Asma’, he knew himself as the servant of Imam Zaman and the gate of the occulted Imam. Also in the book of ‘A Traveler’s Narrative’, `Abdu’l-Bahá talks about Báb’s wish for servitude and devotion to Imam Zaman and his wish to be martyred in his way.

Mulla Hussain’s role in Báb’s uprising

A few years later, when Báb was imprisoned, Quddus and Mulla Hussain went to Mazandaran. Their goal was to occupy the fort Tabarsi in Mazandaran, while benefiting from the disordered period after Mohammad Shah Qajar’s death, and started the uprising for Imam Mahdi’s appearance.

After some small battles, the main battle came at Muharram 5, 1265. After a period of battle and the resilience of the occupants of the fort, the battle cooled down with the death of Mulla Hussain (Gate of the Gate) and was ended with the remainder and Quddus’s surrendering.

The belief of the Bábis in the fort

The people who were in the fort, all believed that Báb was the gate of Imam Zaman and none believed that Islam has become outdated. Therefore they were following Islam’s mores. They had Jama’at prayers, Azan, Quran recitation.

Some events

…So Quddus ordered that they prepare sooner (than other nights) for Azan and praying and Quran recitation, since it was their custom that before the morning, they would rise and recite Quran and supplications out loud^.

In the heat of the battle, Mulla Hussain was setting up Jama’at prayers and as answering to some objections he was saying: “Have we altered any of God’s halal into haram, or any haram to halal?!

Regarding the above historical facts, is it possible to conclude that people in the fort, believed that Báb was Imam Zaman?

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