The Position of Bab

Imran Sheikh

• Bab was the \"Point around whom the realities of the Prophets and the Messengers revolve\". (page 3). This implies that he was their centre.
• \"Bab styled Himself as the Primal Point from which generated all created things. (Page 7) (i.e. He is the source of all created things.)
• \"Bab claimed to be no less than the mouthpiece of God Himself promised by the prophets of the bygone ages\" (page 9)
• \"The first Huruf-al-Hayy (Letters of the Living) generated from the Primal Point (Bab) are the company of angels arrayed before God on the Day of His coming...These luminaries that have, from everlasting, bowed down and will everlasting continue to bow down before the Celestial Throne (Arsh).... These elders sitting before God on their seats\" (page 10).
• \"The city of Shiraz where Bab was born is \'The House of God\'\" (page 11)
• \"God had from time memorial entered into a covenant with Prophets of all ages regarding the revelation of the Bab.\" (Page 22).
• \"The Point of the Bayan Himself (Bab) believed in Him Whom God shall manifest before all things were created\" (pages 23 and 62). Thus there were initially only three personalities, God, He whom God shall manifest, and Bab. And then began the entire process of creation.
• \"Bab had covenanted with all living things regarding Baha\" (page 62), i.e he existed before all created things. What right does Bab have over the creation that he takes a covenant from them. As we find in Quran only God can take a covenant from the creation. Is Bab claiming to play God?
• \"Baha says that Bab was the point from Whom God has caused to proceed the knowledge of all that was, and shall be\" (page 40) (i.e. whatever knowledge that was, is and will be has come from Bab. But Bab and Baha themselves were so ignorant that they could not write a single simple Arabic sentence correctly. (Traveller\'s Narrative) How does Baha explain that?
• \"Baha claims that Bab\'s rank excels that of all Prophets.\"(page 40) i.e. Bab was superior to Baha only if we assume that Baha was a Prophet. But did\'nt Baha claim to be God?
• \"Bab claimed that he was the great announcement (Naba-il-Azeem, Chapter 78), the Flame of the supernatural light (noor) that glowed over Sinai (incident f Hazrat-e-Musa and Allah), and concerning whom a separate covenant has been established with each and every prophet and his advent at once fulfilled the promise of all ages and ushered in the consummation of all revelation\" (page 40). This clearly means that Bab was the last prophet of God. i.e. he was Khatamin Nabiyyeen. But later in history we find Baha claiming the same position for himself. (Bahaullah: Prophet or God?)
• \"He the “Qá’im” (He Who ariseth) promised to the Shí’ahs, the “Mihdí” (One Who is guided) awaited by the Sunnís, the “Return of John the Baptist” expected by the Christians, the “Ushídar-Máh” referred to in the Zoroastrian scriptures, the “Return of Elijah” anticipated by the Jews, Whose Revelation was to show forth “the signs and tokens of all the Prophets”, Who was to “manifest the perfection of Moses, the radiance of Jesus and the patience of Job” had appeared, proclaimed His Cause, been mercilessly persecuted and died gloriously. The “Second Woe,” spoken of in the Apocalypse of St. John the Divine, had, at long last, appeared, and the first of the two “Messengers,” Whose appearance had been prophesied in the Qur’án, had been sent down. The first “Trumpet-Blast”, destined to smite the earth with extermination, announced in the latter Book, had finally been sounded. “The Inevitable,” “The Catastrophe,” “The Resurrection,” “The Earthquake of the Last Hour,” foretold by that same Book, had all come to pass. The “clear tokens” had been “sent down,” and the “Spirit” had “breathed,” and the “souls” had “waked up,” and the “heaven” had been “cleft,” and the “angels” had “ranged in order,” and the “stars” had been “blotted out,” and the “earth” had “cast forth her burden,” and “Paradise” had been “brought near,” and “hell” had been “made to blaze,” and the “Book” had been “set,” and the “Bridge” had been “laid out,” and the “Balance” had been “set up,” and the “mountains scattered in dust.” The “cleansing of the Sanctuary,” prophesied by Daniel and confirmed by Jesus Christ in His reference to “the abomination of desolation,” had been accomplished. The “day whose length shall be a thousand years,” foretold by the Apostle of God in His Book, had terminated. The “forty and two months,” during which the “Holy City,” as predicted by St. John the Divine, would be trodden under foot, had elapsed. The “time of the end” had been ushered in, and the first of the “two Witnesses” into Whom, “after three days and a half the Spirit of Life from God” would enter, had arisen and had “ascended up to heaven in a cloud.” The “remaining twenty and five letters to be made manifest,” according to Islamic tradition, out of the “twenty and seven letters” of which Knowledge has been declared to consist, had been revealed.\" (page 40)
• \"While writing a commentary on the verse \'All food was allowed to the children of Israel\', Baha wrote a tablet identifying the children of Israel as Bab and his flowers.(page 116-117). A new aspect to Bab\'s personality. Also please note that no food was unlawful for the Babis.

Until now, we have seen Bab as God himself or as a prophet of God. Not as a simple prophet, but as the mightiest of them all. You may have noticed that the Baha’is, whenever they refer to Bab and Baha and any other prophet, they write his pronoun in block alphabets, a feature usually used to refer to God. Thus they can always go back and forth from man to God and vice-versa.

Anyhow, now Shoghi brings some new dimensions to Bab\'s personality.

• \"Bab claimed to be the Promised Qaem, the Sahebuzzaman\" (page 7).
• \"Bab assumed the rank that excelled even that of Sahebuzzaman\" (page 11). This is a clear contradiction. The ball is now left in the Bahai court to explain which is right.
• \"He claimed to be the Gate of the Hidden Imam.\" (page 11)
• \"Bab claimed to be the precursor of the one incomparably greater than Himself.\" (page 11)
• \"Bab claimed to be the inheritor of the earth and all that is therein.\" (page 11)
• \"Bab claimed to the Qaem, promised to the Shiahs.\" (page 40)
• \"Bab claimed to be the Mahdi, awaited by the Sunnis\" (page 40)
• \"Bab claimed to be the return of John the Baptist (Hazrat-e-Yahya) expected by the Christians\" (page 40)
• \"Bab claimed to be the Ushidar-Mah, referred to by the Zoroastrian scriptures.\" (page 40)
• \"Bab claimed to be the return of Eliah\" (page 40)
• \"Bab claimed to be the perfection of Moses, the radiance of Jesus and the patience of Job (Hazrat-e-Ayyub).\" (page 40)
• \"Bab claimed to be the Second Woe spoken of in the Apocalypse of St. John the Baptist.\" (Page 40)
• \"Bab accomplished the cleansing of the sanctuary prophesized by Daniel and confirmed by Christ.\" (page 40)
• \"Bab claimed to be the manifestor of the remaining 25 letters of knowledge out of the total 27 as per the traditions in Islam.\" (Page 40) However a study of his writings shows that he was not aware of even two letters that the people of his time knew.
• \"Bab claimed to be the One by whose advent the Day of Resurrection had taken place.\"(page 40)
• \"Bab claimed to be the \'Man Child\' mentioned in the book of revelation, destined to rule the world with a rod of iron\" (page 40). It is ironical that Bab did not know even the most basic rules of Arabic grammar!

Thus the million dollar question is that: WHO WAS BAB? I believe that no one call tell with precision simply because no one, not even Bab himself knows the answer. Mind you all these claims are only those which have been recorded in this single book. Allah alone knows how many more positions he may have claimed for himself. To know more about Bab, please refer to my articles on The Bab.

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