In order to adjust his claim with the Islamic narrations, Seyyed Ali Muhammad Shirazi traveled to Boushehr city to travel to Mecca then[1]. During this trip, just Mulla Muhammad Qoddous and Bab’s Ethiopian slave accompanied him[2]. The fact that Bab went to Mecca or not and what did he do in Mecca are being disputed among the historians. Anyway, Mulla Sadeq Khorasani included the phrase “اشهد ان علیا قبل نبیل باب بقیه الله” which means: “I testify that Ali is the remainder of Allah before Nabil (Ali Muhammad)[3] ordered directly by Bab in the call of Islam in one of the city mosques.[4]
The first repentence
Hussein Khan, the new ruler of Shiraz city, became aware of the story of the new call of Islam and sent some agents to Boushehr city to arrest Bab.[5] Contrary to Babi and Baha’i resource attempts to pretend Bab to be resistant in his claim Bab rejected his claims as the mere way to save himself out of problem. Without any resistance he rejected his claims in Vakil mosque in Shiraz city in public. Nabil Zarandi writes:
The Excellency Bab looed the crowd and said: May God damn a person who call me th4e deputy of Imam of the time, May God damn a person who considers me as Imam’s gate. May God damn the one who consider me as the one who rejected the Excellency messenger. Amy God damn the one who assume me as the one who rejected the divine prophets. May God damn a person who considers me as the one who rejected the Imamate of the commander of the faithful and other holy Imams.[6]”
After that he was imprisoned and supervised in his father house; although he didn’t relinquish his claims at that situation.
It is interesting to be noted that Bab had already written for his followers that he would gone to the Holy Shrines after traveling to Mecca. So, a group of Babis were waiting for him there. However, on Norouz 61, he wrote to them he couldn’t go there. He asked them to stay in Isfahan.
[1] Of course, he couldn’t go to Mecca.
[2] Nosratullah Muhammad Husseini, the Excellency Bab, the Baha’i knowledge institute, Canada 1995/153 Bdi’a, p. 222.
[3] Nabil and Muhammad are the same based on Abjad numbers.
[4] The summary of Nabil Zarandi history, p. 122.
[5] Nabil Zarandi, the faith press institute, p. 126.
[6] The summary of Nabil Zarandi history, p. 135.