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Declaration 14 |
On reaching His twenty-fifth year, in response to divine
command, He declared that “God the Exalted had elected Him
to the station of Bábhood.” In “A Traveller’s Narrative”
1
we
read that:—“What he intended by the term Báb was this,
that he was the channel of grace from some great Person still
behind the veil of glory, who was the possessor of countless
and boundless perfections, by whose will he moved, and to
the bond of whose love he clung.”—A Traveller’s Narrative
(Episode of the Báb), p. 3.
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In those days belief in the imminent appearance of a Divine
Messenger was especially prevalent among a sect known as
the Shaykhís, and it was to a distinguished divine belonging to
this sect, called Mullá Ḥusayn Bushrú’i, that the Báb first announced
His mission. The exact date of this announcement is
given in the Bayán, one of the Báb’s Writings, as two hours
and eleven minutes after sunset on the eve preceding the fifth
day of the month of Jamádiyu’l-Avval 1260 A.H.
2
‘Abdu’l-Bahá
was born in the course of the same night, but the exact hour of
His birth has not been ascertained. After some days of anxious
investigation and study, Mullá Ḥusayn became firmly convinced
that the Messenger long expected by the Shí’ihs had
indeed appeared. His eager enthusiasm over this discovery was
soon shared by several of his friends. Before long the majority
of the Shaykhís accepted the Báb, becoming known as Bábís;
and soon the fame of the young Prophet began to spread like
wildfire throughout the land.
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1. | A Traveller’s Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb with an introduction by E. G. Browne, referred to subsequently as A Traveller’s Narrative (Episode of the Báb). [ Back To Reference] |
2. | i.e. May 23, 1844 A.D. [ Back To Reference] |