July 10. On this date in 1968, Mariette Bolton died. A Canadian who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand as Secretary, she taught the Bahá'í Faith in the Pacific with her husband Stanley Bolton.

 

July 10. On this date in 1968, Mariette Bolton died. A Canadian who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand as Secretary, she taught the Bahá'í Faith in the Pacific with her husband Stanley Bolton.

Mariette G. Roy was born into a Catholic French-Canadian family of farmers. She met Stanley Bolton in 1922 and they were married in 1923. The couple moved to Australia in 1924, arriving in Sydney on September 24. Stanley was still employed by the Fuller Brush Company and worked to establish the company in Australia, travelling across several states in the process.

The Bolton's first heard of the Bahá'í Faith when they met Hyde and Clara Dunn in 1925, but they did not become Bahá'ís until they met Keith Ransom-Kehler when she visited Australia in 1931. Shoghi Effendi acknowledged their declarations personally in a letter written on his behalf:

In closing may I ask you to extend to all our Sydney Bahá'ís & especially to Mrs. & Mr. Bolton, who have newly embraced the Cause, the loving greetings of the Guardian. In his moments of meditation and prayer he will remember them all and ask the Almighty to bless their unceasing efforts for the greater spread of His Message.

The Fuller Brush Company closed down in 1929 due to Australian import restrictions and the Bolton’s moved to the United States in 1931, settling in Detroit where they assisted the local Bahá'í community. Shoghi Effendi approved of this move, having the following written to Mariette on his behalf:

The Guardian wishes me to acknowledge the receipt of your letter dated October 19. He was glad to hear that you have decided to settle for a while in Detroit and lend your valuable assistance to the Bahá'ís there. He is certain that you will help them to spread the Faith and to prepare the people to receive the Message. Shoghi Effendi deeply appreciates the eminent share that you and your husband are having in the services of the Cause; he has a profound and great confidence in your laborious endeavour, and values your assistance to the important task that he has been charged to fulfil by the Master.

In 1933 Bolton’s son Stanley Jr. was diagnosed with poliomyelitis and was unable to walk and required around the clock medical care. Bolton had been treated by a chiropractor for kidney stones while living in Canada and decided to seek Chiropractic treatment for his son. He contacted the Palmer College of Chiropractic who directed him to a chiropractor in Ontario. Stanley Jr.’s symptoms abated after chiropractic treatment and the Bolton’s moved to Davenport so Stanley and Mariette could attend Palmer College. They both became qualified chiropractors, and established a practice in Sydney when they returned to Australia in 1934.

In 1936 the Bolton’s bought three acres of land in Yerrinbool to be used to host Bahá'í Summer Schools. Hyde Dunn laid the cornerstone of the first building on the site on the 11th of October 1936. Siegfried Schopflocher visited the property shortly after the first building was completed and suggested that it be named Bolton Place. The property was officially opened at a ceremony chaired by Stanley during the second Australian and New Zealand National Convention on May 2nd, 1937. The Bolton's did not live on the property, but Stanley or Mariette traveled from Sydney to Yerrinbool every Wednesday from 1940 to 1943.

The first Australian Bahá'í Summer School was held on the property from the 8th to the 23rd of January 1938, and has been held there every year since. Stanley served as Chairman of the Summer School and both he and his wife delivered talks during sessions.Stanley and Mariette personally managed all of the affairs of the Summer School until 1945 when they transferred the responsibilities of management to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand.

Stanley continued to serve as Secretary of the Summer School after the transfer, and he and Mariette were as caretakers of the property until they left Yerrinbool, moving to Orange, in 1963. In 1949 the Bolton's began proceedings to legally transfer ownership of the Yerrinbool property to the National Spiritual Assembly, which were completed in March 1963.

In May 1939 Stanley and Mariette visited New Zealand while Martha Root was in the country. Martha Root was suffering from breast cancer and the Bolton's accompanied her on her trip from New Zealand to Honolulu, caring for her on the journey.

In August 1943 the Bolton's moved to Yerrinbool, and began hosting Summer School attendees in their home. They served as inaugural members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yerrinbool when it was established in 1948. In 1947 the Bolton's invited Frank Khan, a prominent member of the Australian Muslim community, to give a talk on Islam at the Summer School. Frank's family became the first Australian Muslims to become Bahá'í's in December 1948. Frank Khan would serve on the NSA of Australia, as would his children Joy Vohradsky and Peter Khan, who also served on the International Teaching Centre and Universal House of Justice. In 2000, Peter Khan gave a talk to New Zealand Bahá'ís about their reaction to Alison Marshall's excommunication, partially annotated here, which received a rebuttal by Juan Cole.

In 1951 Stanley represented the Faith at a United Nations conference held in Indonesia. From October 21 to December 5 of the same year he undertook a teaching tour of Australia visiting Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. Public meetings were held during this tour, at which video of the Gardens in Haifa were shown before Stanley delivered a talk about the Faith. Stanley also gave a seven minute talk on Ballarat radio, a twelve minute talk on Adelaide radio and spoke at the Australian Church in Melbourne during the tour.

In 1953 he attended the Asian Intercontinental Teaching Conference in New Delhi and delivered a talk. Stanley and Mariette also attended the European Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Stockholm, they visited Davenport while travelling to Stockholm and visited Hugh Chance, who they had first met in Australia in 1945, and discussed the Faith with him. The meeting piqued Chance's interest and he and his wife became Bahá'ís in January 1955. Stanley also attended the dedication of the Wilmette Temple and went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1953. He was given a fez that belonged to 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Shoghi Effendi while on pilgrimage.

Mariette undertook a teaching trip to New Caledonia in February 1952. Her knowledge of French allowed her to teach the Faith effectively, and at least one local became a Bahá'í during her visit. In 1953 she travelled extensively with Stanley, attending Intercontinental Teaching Conferences in Stockholm and Delhi, attending the dedication of the American House of Worship, representing the Australian National Spiritual Assembly at the formation of the first Fijian Local Spiritual Assembly, and making Pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

In 1956 the Boltons undertook a teaching tour of New Zealand, visiting the North and South Islands and travelling approximately 3800 miles. During his tour of the North Island he drove from Whangarei to Wellington with Hugh Blundell. They drove throughout the day and held meetings when they arrived at a destination at night. Thirty-two meetings were held which were attended by seven hundred people in total. Bolton used public transport during his tour of the South Island. The following year an independent National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand was established, and Stanley chaired the Australian National Convention, as the Chairman of the Australian National Spiritual Assembly, Collis Featherstone, attended the first New Zealand National Convention.

She taught in New Zealand, the US and Canada during the late 1950’s and early 1960’s and died in Australia shortly after a visit to New Caledonia in 1968.

The Universal House of Justice cabled the following after her death:

SADDENED NEWS PASSING DEVOTED EARLY AUSTRALIAN BELIEVER MARIETTE BOLTON STOP HER OUTSTANDING SERVICES TEACHER FAITH MEMBER NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CO-DONOR YERRINBOOL SUMER SCHOOL INDELIBILY RECORDED HISTORY FAITH ANTIPODES PACIFIC AREA STOP ADVICE HOLD BEFITTING MEMORIAL SERVICE TEMPLE PRAYING HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HER SOUL EXTEND LOVING SYMPATHY FAMILY.

June 28. On this date in 1987, the Universal House of Justice wrote the NSA of New Zealand, reminding that "when a person claims to accept the station of Bahá’u’lláh but does not accept the authority of the Administrative Institutions...cannot be regarded as members of the Bahá’í community, irrespective of whatever statements they might make concerning the nature of their belief in Bahá’u’lláh...you could well consider advising the believers to avoid association with him."

June 28. On this date in 1987, the Universal House of Justice wrote the NSA of New Zealand, reminding that "when a person claims to accept the station of Bahá’u’lláh but does not accept the authority of the Administrative Institutions...cannot be regarded as members of the Bahá’í community, irrespective of whatever statements they might make concerning the nature of their belief in Bahá’u’lláh...you could well consider advising the believers to avoid association with him."

The Universal House of Justice Department of the Secretariat
28 June 1987
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of New Zealand
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
Your letter of 25 May 1987 concerning Mr.… has been received by the Universal House of Justice, which has directed us to reply as follows.
In considering the status of believers such as Mr.… , it is necessary to review the requirements for membership in the Bahá’í community. The basic considerations are set out by the Guardian in his statement:

… I would only venture to state very briefly and as adequately as present circumstances permit the principal factors that must be taken into consideration before deciding whether a person may be regarded a true believer or not. Full recognition of the station of the Forerunner, the Author, and the True Exemplar of the Bahá’í Cause, as set forth in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Testament; unreserved acceptance of, and submission to, whatsoever has been revealed by their Pen; loyal and steadfast adherence to every clause of our Beloved’s sacred Will; and close association with the spirit as well as the form of the present day Bahá’í administration throughout the world—these I conceive to be the fundamental and primary considerations that must be fairly, discreetly and thoughtfully ascertained before reaching such a vital decision.…

(Bahá’í Administration, p. 90, October 24, 1925)
This specification was restated by the Universal House of Justice in addressing the issue of acceptance of new believers, when it wrote:

Those who declare themselves as Bahá’ís should become enchanted with the beauty of the teachings, and touched by the love of Bahá’u’lláh. The declarants need not know all the proofs, history, laws, and principles of the Faith, but in the process of declaring themselves they must, in addition to catching the spark of faith, become basically informed about the Central Figures of the Faith, as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an administration they must obey.

(From a letter to all National Spiritual Assemblies, 13 July 1964)
It follows that individuals who do not satisfy these requirements cannot be regarded as members of the Bahá’í community, irrespective of whatever statements they might make concerning the nature of their belief in Bahá’u’lláh. Such a situation arises, in some instances, when a person claims to accept the station of Bahá’u’lláh but does not accept the authority of the Administrative Institutions. The Guardian clarified this matter in a letter written on his behalf, stating:

… To accept the Cause without the administration is like to accept the teachings without acknowledging the divine station of Bahá’u’lláh. To be a Bahá’í is to accept the Cause in its entirety. To take exception to one basic principle is to deny the authority and sovereignty of Bahá’u’lláh, and therefore is to deny the Cause.…

(Letter to a National Spiritual Assembly, 30 May 1930)
If you feel that Mr.… does not accept “the authority and sovereignty of Bahá’u’lláh” as explained above, despite the statements he might make asserting his acceptance of the Bahá’í Faith, you should remove his name from the list of members and regard him as being a non-Bahá’í.
If you feel that the continued association of the Bahá’ís with Mr.… is potentially damaging to their belief or is detrimental to the unity of the community, you could well consider advising the believers to avoid association with him.
The House of Justice advises you to deal with this matter in a straightforward way, avoiding any actions which might serve to increase Mr.…’s sense of his own importance or which might needlessly antagonize him and hence provoke him into active opposition of the Institutions.
The House of Justice will offer its prayers at the Sacred Threshold for your guidance in resolving this matter.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat

June 27. On this date in 1957, Shoghi Effendi wrote "These original discoverers of New Zealand are of a very fine race, and they are a people long admired for their noble qualities; and special effort should be made, not only to contact the Maoris in the cities, and draw them into the Faith, but to go to their towns and live amongst them and establish Assemblies in which at least the majority of the believers will be Maoris, if not all. This would be indeed a worthy achievement."

June 27. On this date in 1957, Shoghi Effendi wrote "These original discoverers of New Zealand are of a very fine race, and they are a people long admired for their noble qualities; and special effort should be made, not only to contact the Maoris in the cities, and draw them into the Faith, but to go to their towns and live amongst them and establish Assemblies in which at least the majority of the believers will be Maoris, if not all. This would be indeed a worthy achievement."

As you formulate your plans and carry them out for the work entrusted to you during the next six years, he wishes you to particularly bear in mind the need of teaching the Maoris. These original discoverers of New Zealand are of a very fine race, and they are a people long admired for their noble qualities; and special effort should be made, not only to contact the Maoris in the cities, and draw them into the Faith, but to go to their towns and live amongst them and establish Assemblies in which at least the majority of the believers will be Maoris, if not all. This would be indeed a worthy achievement.
(From a letter dated 27 June 1957 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand)

June 13. On this date in 1956, Shoghi Effendi wrote a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand stating "Repercussions of the Chicago Temple are felt everywhere, and the same is becoming increasingly true of the Shrine. One single edifice, raised to the glory of Bahá'u'lláh, shines like a beacon and attracts the hearts of the people; no doubt many seeds are sown just through the act of people visiting these edifices - seeds which in the future will germinate. It is because of this that he is very eager to have the Australian one commenced as soon as circumstances permit."

June 13. On this date in 1956, Shoghi Effendi wrote a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand stating "Repercussions of the Chicago Temple are felt everywhere, and the same is becoming increasingly true of the Shrine. One single edifice, raised to the glory of Bahá'u'lláh, shines like a beacon and attracts the hearts of the people; no doubt many seeds are sown just through the act of people visiting these edifices - seeds which in the future will germinate. It is because of this that he is very eager to have the Australian one commenced as soon as circumstances permit."

The Bahá’í Administrative Order uses news stories of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár very astutely to generate media attention. A Google News search for the term "Bahá’í" shows a predominance of news stories regarding Bahá’í temples and discrimination. Otherwise, the Bahá’í Faith generates little to no interest.

The same letter, written by Shoghi Effendi's wife Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, also states "Regarding the question of capital punishment, provision is made for it in the Aqdas, but this is not the time to go into details. When the Aqdas is promulgated and the House of Justice comes into being will be the time to go into these matters in greater detail. For the present they should be given no publicity.

In 1973 a "Synopsis and Codification" of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the central book of the Bahá'í Faith written by Bahá'u'lláh, was published in English by the Universal House of Justice, with 21 passages of the Aqdas that had already been translated into English by Shoghi Effendi with additional terse lists of laws and ordinances contained in the book outside of any contextual prose.

The Aqdas was only officially translated into English in 1992, by which time other translations, such as one by the Royal Asiatic Society published in 1961, were becoming increasingly available through dissemination via the internet. My personal opinion is that the material in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas is so objectionable that the Bahá'í authorities wished to shield Western believers from its contents, as they do from Bahá'u'lláh's other works by not providing translations.

13 June 1956 [National Spiritual Assembly]
Dear Bahá'í Brother:
Your letters of November 17, and December 12 and 31, 1955, and January 6, February 22, April 24, and May 27, (two), with enclosures have been received by the beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer you on his behalf.
He was happy to receive the pamphlets which you have had translated and forwarded to him, and which is certainly a welcome addition to the teaching work in the Pacific area.
He was also pleased to see that you have found a friendly architect [John Brogan] , who will cooperate in submitting plans for the future Temple in Sydney. He is eagerly looking forward to receiving them. Since writing this, they have been received. He was also glad to hear that another site had been procured.
Repercussions of the Chicago Temple are felt everywhere, and the same is becoming increasingly true of the Shrine. One single edifice, raised to the glory of Bahá'u'lláh, shines like a beacon and attracts the hearts of the people; no doubt many seeds are sown just through the act of people visiting these edifices - seeds which in the future will germinate. It is because of this that he is very eager to have the Australian one commenced as soon as circumstances permit.

As regards the question the Auckland Assembly has asked about vivisection, there is nothing on this subject in the Bahá'í teachings. At a future date such matters will no doubt be taken up by the International House of Justice.
He is very anxious to have as many Local Assemblies incorporated as possible; and was hence very pleased to hear that your Assembly is energetically prosecuting this part of the Ten Year Plan in both Australia and New Zealand.
The visits of the Australian friends to different centers in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Mr. Featherstone's trip to some of the Pacific Islands, have been much appreciated, and he feels sure that marked results will be forthcoming. Although you who labour in that distant continent may often feel that your work is progressing but slowly, the Guardian, from the prospective that he has here at the World Center, is well pleased with the perseverance, the devotion and the achievements of the Australian and New Zealand friends; and he is proud of their spirit, and feels sure that they will accomplish their goals.
He was very happy to hear that Mr. Marques has obtained permission to remain in Timor. His background makes him a very important pioneer for that area; and he is happy that your Assembly was able to make it possible for him to remain.
The matter of the areas under the jurisdiction of a Local Spiritual Assembly is one which the National Assembly must study, and apply the principles laid down by the Guardian; namely, that within a municipal area, where the people resident in the area pay taxes and vote, the Assembly can be elected, and holds jurisdiction. Anyone living outside of that area is not a member of that Community, and cannot enjoy the administrative privileges of that Community. Although this will effect your Assembly roll, it will place the work of the Faith on a much sounder basis, and increase the number of Centers where Bahá'ís reside throughout Australia, which is an important phase of the work in any case. It will challenge the friends to work harder to create new Assemblies and make up for those dissolved; and he feels sure that in the near future the Bahá'ís will be very proud of the results they have achieved through this change.
He is delighted to hear that the New Zealand friends are so eagerly carrying on their work in preparation for their National Assembly next year. Their coming of age, so to speak, will be a source of pride to all their fellow National Assemblies, and they will form a welcome addition to the pillars which must ultimately sustain the International House of Justice.
Regarding the question of capital punishment, provision is made for it in the Aqdas, but this is not the time to go into details. When the Aqdas is promulgated and the House of Justice comes into being will be the time to go into these matters in greater detail. For the present they should be given no publicity.
Assuring you all of his loving prayers for the success of the work you are doing.
With warmest greetings, R. Rabbani.

Dear and valued co-workers:
My heart overflows with gratitude, and my admiration is heightened, as I contemplate the range and quality of the achievements of the devoted and valiant adherents of the Faith in the Antipodes, who have in recent years so greatly embellished the record of their services and contributed so remarkably to the progress of the institutions of a divinely appointed Administrative order in that far-away continent.
The entire Bahá'í World beholds with pride and admiration the great victories won by the Australian and New Zealand communities, both in their homelands and in so many islands of the Pacific Ocean, and shares my confidence that their historic accomplishments, particularly since the inception of the Ten-Year Plan, are but a prelude to still nobler exploits and still mightier victories.
Their exemplary loyalty to the Faith they have so eagerly embraced, their keen enthusiasm, their persistent endeavours, their willingness to sacrifice, their inflexible resolve to surmount every obstacle, their unity and solidarity, their optimism and courage, are assets which I greatly value, and for which I cannot but feel deeply grateful.
Much indeed has been achieved by these stalwart defenders and promoters of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh! To an extent which they themselves cannot estimate their individual and collective achievements, in both the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá'í activity, have compensated for the enforced inactivity and the disabilities suffered by their sorely tried brethren in Persia. The first and second phases of the Ten-Year Plan owe, to a very notable degree, their success to the impetus which the splendid initiative and remarkable resourcefulness displayed by the members of these communities has lent to the onward march of the Faith in that continent..
In more than one way these communities, through their consecrated efforts and the tangible results they have achieved, have set an inspiring example to their sister communities in both the East and the West. The Author of the Divine Plan, Himself, who during the closing years of His ministry, witnessed the awakening of that vast continent, rejoices over and applauds the rapidity with which the light of His Father's Faith has spread over and enveloped that continent and its neighbouring islands.
Much, however still remains to be achieved before the laurels of total and complete victory are claimed.
The precarious situation in some of the newly opened territories allotted to your Assembly must be given first consideration and should be speedily remedied. Any, and every nucleus formed in those islands must be vigilantly safeguarded, and, if possible, constantly enlarged and consolidated.
Special attention, during the opening year of the third phase of the Plan, must be prayerfully accorded to the extension and consolidation of the homefront, with particular emphasis on the rapid increase in the number of the adherents of the Faith, and the multiplication of isolated centres, groups and Assemblies. The process of incorporation, so long held in abeyance, must be accelerated by every means possible.
A supreme effort must be made, in the course of the current year, in conjunction with the Indian National Spiritual Assembly, to bring to an early and successful conclusion the translation of Bahá'í literature into the languages listed in the Plan, thereby assuring the attainment of one of its vital objectives.
Particular attention should be devoted to the urgent needs of the New Zealand Bahá'í community, through the formulation of a plan which will enable it to swell the number of its administrative institutions, enlarging and reinforcing thereby the foundations on which its forthcoming National Assembly must ultimately rest.
The goals which both communities are called upon, at this crucial hour in the evolution of the Plan, to achieve have been clearly defined and repeatedly emphasised. The task, however, is vast and arduous. The effort that must needs be exerted by the rank and file of the believers is immense. The challenge that must needs be met is severe. The promise of eventual victory, if the army of Bahá'u'lláh's Crusaders persevere in their mission, is clear and unmistakable.
The need of the present hour, as these communities enter upon the third, and, what promises to be, the most brilliant phase of a World Spiritual Crusade, is a still greater consecration to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh in all its aspects, and a renewed dedication in all the divers fields of Bahá'í activity.
That the members of the Australian and New Zealand communities will unanimously rise to the present occasion, that they will not allow any consideration whatever to deflect them from their high purpose in the days to come, that they will expend every ounce of energy for the attainment of these shining goals, is the deepest longing of my heart and the object of my ardent prayers. Shoghi.

March 13. On this date in 1925, the first group of Bahá'í pilgrims from Australia and New Zealand arrived in Haifa. The party consisted of Effie Baker, Margaret Stevenson, and the Blundells (Sarah, Ethel, and Hugh).

Australian Baha'i Pilgrims, Effie Baker in top right, Margaret Stevenson in bottom right March 1925

March 13. On this date in 1925, the first group of Bahá'í pilgrims from Australia and New Zealand arrived in Haifa. The party consisted of Effie Baker, Margaret Stevenson, and the Blundells (Sarah, Ethel, and Hugh).
 
Effie Baker was an Australian photographer who became a follower of the Bahá'í Faith in 1922. Some of the pictures she took of the Bahá'í monuments in Iraq and Iran were included in Shoghi Effendi's translation of Nabíl-i-A`zam's The Dawn-Breakers.

 On September 3, 1892, a few months after Bahá'u'lláh's death, Nabíl-i-A’ẓam, the author of The Dawn-breakers, died. Parts of his body and clothing were found washed up on the coast in Acre. While Bahá'í sources attribute his death to suicide, other sources claim he was murdered.

Sources that allege Nabíl-i-A’ẓam was murdered base their claim on the allegation that he became a victim due to his support of Mírzá Muhammad `Alí in his conflict with 'Abdu'l-Bahá...

According to the memoirs of Baha’s son Mirza Badiullah surnamed the Most Luminous Branch (غصن انور) by Baha: One year after Baha’s death, Nabil visited Badiullah in Haifa. He was distressed. Nabil said to Badiullah: “I can no longer stay at Acre. The situation there has deteriorated. By dint of violence, abusive language and cursing, one has to act against his own faith, has to regard and hold the Most Mighty Branch [Ghusn-i Azam, i.e. Abdul Baha Abbas] superior in station to the Blessed Beauty [Janab-i Mubarak, i.e. Baha] has to write corrupted [versions of] all the holly writings and epistles, and has to vilify and excommunicate [Baha’s] sons, [Baha’s] words and [Baha’s] family [i.e. all the members of Baha’s household in opposition to Abdul Baha Abbas], failing which one is branded as covenant-breaker [Naqiz] or Vacillator [Mutezalzil, i.e. opposed to Abdul Baha Abbas and partisan of Muhammad Ali] and becomes the object of untold calumnies and falsehoods.” Nabil requested Badiullah to find him a suitable room at the foot of Mount Carmel. He went back to Acre to fetch his things. Nothing was heard of him for sometime. Later “limbs of his body and his clothing” were discovered near the see shores at Acre. These were collated together and buried. Abdul Baha Abbas “shed crocodile tears” during the burial service of Nabil, “although he was exceedingly annoyed with him.”

From the Encyclopædia Iranica article titled "NABIL-E AʿẒAM ZARANDI, MOLLĀ MOḤAMMAD"...

NABIL-E AʿẒAM ZARANDI, MOLLĀ MOḤAMMAD (ملّا محمد نبیل اعظم زرندی), Persian Bahai poet, teacher, and chronicler of Babi history (b. Zarand, 18 Ṣafar 1247/29 July 1831; d. ʿAkkā, Palestine, 10 Ṣafar 1310/3 September 1892).

Nabil converted to Babism around 1847 and in 1858 accepted the faith of Bahāʾ-Allāh. Born into a humble family in Zarand, he received traditional education in his childhood and worked as a shepherd in his youth, when he converted to Babism (Zarandi, p. 434).  Later in his life, he studied the writings of the Bāb and became well versed in both Islamic and Bahai literature. 

During his years as a Babi, Nabil traveled to Lorestan, Kermanshah, Tehran, and Khorasan; he met with the Babis and Babi leaders in those provinces to foster the Babi ideology and inspire the believers to arise, consolidate, and expand the new Babi communities.  He also transcribed and distributed Babi literature among the rank and file of the society to promote the Babi faith.  He was jailed in Sāva for four months because of his pro-Babi activities.  In September 1854, he set out for Baghdad and Karbala, where he stayed until October 1856. During late 1856 to July 1858, he traveled to Hamadan, his hometown Zarand, and many major Babi communities in the capital province and returned to Baghdad on 19 July 1858 (Rafati, pp. 30-31).

Nabil was one of the Babi leaders who claimed to be the promised messianic figure according to the Bāb’s prophecies, but he withdrew his claim when he recognized Bahāʾ-Allāh’s status as the fulfillment of the Bāb’s predictions and the leader of the Babis (Taherzadeh, p. 202).  Nabil became one of Bahāʾ-Allāh’s earliest followers, in 1858 in Baghdad.

Nabil’s life as a Bahai is summed up in his extensive travels throughout Iran, Iraq, Turkey, the Caucasus, Egypt, and Palestine.  In his early travels as a Bahai, he met with the Babi communities to invite them to the Bahai faith; he attracted the Babi leaders to the recognition of Bahāʾ-Allāh as the fulfillment of the Bāb’s prophecies concerning the promised messianic figure and helped reinforce the belief of the new Bahais in the teachings and principles that were being advanced by Bahāʾ-Allāh.  Through these activities, Nabil turned into an outstanding teacher, defender, and promulgator of the Bahai faith.

While Nabil was in Khorasan in spring 1866, at his suggestion, the greeting Allāho abhā (God is the most glorious) was adopted by the followers of Bahāʾ-Allāh, replacing the old salutation of Allāho akbar (God is the greatest), which was common among the Babis (Shoghi Effendi, p. 176).  This was a significant action that gave group identity to the Bahais and was a sign of their independence from the Babis and the Azalis, a Bābi faction that considered Mirzā Yaḥyā Ṣobḥ-e Azal (d. 1912) as the legitimate successor to the Bāb.

Nabil was the first Bahai to perform pilgrimage (ḥajj) to the house of the Bāb in Shiraz in fall 1866, in accordance with the rites prescribed in the Surat al-ḥajj revealed by Bahāʾ-Allāh.  He also went to Baghdad and performed the pilgrimage to the House of Bahāʾ-Allāh in spring 1867, according to another sura witten by Bahāʾ-Allāh for that purpose (Rafati, p. 36).  Nabil’s pilgrimage to those two houses marked the inception of pilgrimage laws ordained by Bahāʾ-Allāh later in his Ketāb-e aqdas (Shoghi Effendi, pp. 176-77).

Another historic mission undertaken by Nabil under Bahāʾ-Allāh’s instruction was his travel to Egypt to appeal to the officials for the release of several Bahais who had been imprisoned in Cairo at the instigation of their enemies (Shoghi Effendi, p. 178).  Nabil’s mission resulted in his own imprisonment for two months in Cairo in spring 1868 and then in the Alexandria jail for a few more months.  After being released, Nabil traveled to Cyprus and Beirut, and then he joined Bahāʾ-Allāh’s exiled community in Acre (ʿAkkā) in late October 1869. He spent much of the last two decades of his life in Acre and its surrounding areas. 

After the passing of Bahāʾ-Allāh in 1892, Nabil was chosen by ʿAbd-al-Bahāʾ to prepare a text for recitation in his tomb (Shoghi Effendi, p. 222).  Nabil selected four passages from Bahāʾ-Allāh’s own works and composed the text, which is known as the Ziārat-nāma (ʿAndalib 18/71, summer 1999, pp. 19-20). The impact of the passing of Bahāʾ-Allāh on Nabil was so great and inconsolable that he drowned himself in the sea at Acre circa 10 Ṣafar 1310/3 September 1892.  He is buried in the Acre cemetery.

Nabil was the recipient of a number of Bahāʾ-Allāh’s best-known works, including Surat al-damm (1866), Surat al-ḥajj, for the house of the Bāb in Shiraz (1866), and Surat al-ḥajj, for the house of Bahāʾ-Allāh in Baghdad (1867).

When Shoghi Effendi (d. 1957) designated nineteen prominent early Bahais as the “Apostles [Ḥawāriyun] of Bahāʾ-Allāh,” Nabil was one of them (The Baháʾí World III, pp. 80-81).  The title signifies the recognition of distinguished services that those nineteen loyal and devoted Persian Bahais have rendered to their faith.

Nabil’s works are in poetry and prose.  He was a gifted, prolific poet, who devoted most of his poetry to the historical events in the Babi and Bahai faiths.  His most famous poem in couplet form (maṯnawi) about the history of the Bahai faith was published as Maṯnawi-e Nabil Zarandi in Cairo in 1924 in 65 pages and reprinted in Langenhain in 1995.  In this maṯnawi he describes major historical events from the early days of the Babi movement to the year 1869.  His second maṯnawi, in 666 verses, deals with Bahāʾ-Allāh’s banishment from Edirne to Acre. Other historical poetry of Nabil consists of his maṯnawi titled “Maṯnawi-e weṣāl wa hejr” in 175 verses (pub. in Rafati, 2014, Chap. 6; Ḏokāʾi, p. 416) and his maṯnawi on the life of Āqā Moḥammad Nabil Akbar Qāʾeni in 303 verses (Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 13, pp. 108-16).  In addition to those maṯnawis, Nabil left behind a great collection of poetry in different forms, only a fraction of which has been published.

Nabil’s works in prose include a treatise on the Babi-Bahai calendar, a treatise on Bahai inheritance laws (Fāżel Māzandarāni, IV pp. 1, 214), and his account on the event of the passing of Bahāʾ-Allāh (Nabil Zarandi, Maṯnawi-e Nabil Zarandi, Langenhain, 1995, pp. 67-108).  But Nabil’s most celebrated work is Maṭāleʿ al-anwār, an extensive historical narrative of the Babi faith, written in Acre in 1888-90, which was edited and translated into English by Shoghi Effendi as The Dawn-Breakers. The work was first published in the United States in 1932.

Maṭāleʿ al-anwār, the most authentic and the main primary source on the early history of the Babi movement in Iran, is regarded by the Bahais as the definitive account of the Bāb’s dispensation.  The work has been translated into many languages, and it has played a major role in familiarizing the Bahais around the world with the historical background of their faith and helping them understand its link to the socio-religious climate of the Persian society in the early days of its development.  The original Persian manuscript of Maṭāleʿ al-anwār, preserved at the International Bahai Archives in Haifa, comprises 1,014 pages of 22-24 lines.

Bibliography: 

ʿAbd-al-Bahāʾ, Memorials of the Faithful, tr. and annotated Marzieh Gail, Wilmette, 1971, pp. 32-36.

Abu’l-Qāsem Afnān, Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 7, 1996, pp. 58-75.

Bahāʾ-Allāh, Āṯār-e qalam-e aʿlā, Tehran, 1996, IV, pp. 59-67, 75-99. 

The Baháʾí World: A Biennial International Record III, New York, 1928-30. 

H. M. Balyuzi, Baháulláh the King of Glory, Oxford, 1991 (see index). 

Idem, Materials for the Study of the Babí Religion, Cambridge, 1918, pp. 351-57.  Neʿmat-Allāh Ḏokāʾi Bayżāʾi, Taḏkera-ye šoʿarā-ye qarn-e awwal-e Bahāʾi,” 4 vols., Tehran, 1970-73, III, pp. 410-35. 

ʿAbd-al-Ḥamid Ešrāq Ḵāvari, Tasbiḥ wa taḥlil, Tehran, 1973, pp. 77-90. 

Fāżel Māzandarāni, Amr wa ḵalq, Langenhain,  1986. 

Hušang Goharriz, Ḥawāriyun-e Ḥażrat-e Bahāʾ-Allāh, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 176-91. 

Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 7, 1996, pp. 293-98. 

Moojan Momen, “The Apostles of Bahāʾ-Āllāh” in H. M. Balyuzi, Eminent Baháís in the Time of Baháulláh: With Some Historical Background, Oxford, 1985. 

Mollā Moḥammad Nabil Zarandi, Maṭāleʿ al-anwār: Tāriḵ-e Nabil Zarandi, ed. and tr. Shoghi Effendi, as The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Baháʾí Revelation, Wilmette, 1974, pp. 433-45. 

Ṣadri Nawwābzāda Ardakāni, “Maṭāleb-i dr bāra-ye tāriḵ-e- Nabil Zarandi,” Moṭālaʿa-ye maʿāref-e Bahāʾi, Tehran, 1977. 

Payām-e Bahāʾi, no. 126, May 1990, pp. 13-16. 

Vahid Rafati, “Nabíl-e-Aʿẓam Zarandí,” Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa Honar 7, 1996, pp. 29-57.  Idem, “Tāriḵ-e Nabil Zarandi,” ibid, pp. 76-87.  Idem, “Maṯnawi-e Nabil-e Aʿẓam Zarandi: Dar šarḥ-e ḥālāt-e Janāb Āqā Moḥammad Nabil Akbar Qāʾeni,” Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 13, 2002, pp. 107-19. Idem, ed., Yād-nāma-ye Ešrāq Ḵāvari / Remembrance of Ishráq Khávarí, Madrid, 2014.  Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Wilmette, 1999. 

Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford, 1974, pp. 202-6.

(Vahid Rafati)

March 4. On this date in 1926, Shoghi Effendi's sister Ruhanguise Rabbani wrote a letter to Margaret Stevenson on his behalf.

 Ruhanguise Rabbani with Shoghi Effendi as children.

 

 Top left: Mirza Hadi Shirazi (father of the Shoghi Effendi). Top right with Zia Khanum and Riaz Rabbani. 
Bottom right in Karm with Ruhanguise Rabbani

Munírih K͟hánum, wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá with her daughter Zia Khanum and her granddaughter Ruhanguise

Ruhanguise with Nayer Afnan in 1928

 

Back row: Hassan Afnan, Maliheh Afnan, Bahiyeh Afnan
Front row: Ruhanguis Afnan, Hussein Afnan, Mehranguise Afnan

March 4. On this date in 1926, Shoghi Effendi's sister Ruhanguise Rabbani wrote a letter to Margaret Stevenson on his behalf.

4 March 1926 [Margaret Stevenson]
Dear Bahá'í Sister,
Your letter to Shoghi Effendi and the enclosed one to Ruhi with the postal order for £10 have been received and read with keen interest and pleasure.
We are all very happy to know that you have had such a pleasant journey back home and that you had the opportunity of delivering the message on so many occasions. We hope and pray that the seed you have sown has fallen on fertile soil and that in time it will grow and bear abundant fruit.
We hope that now through your sustained zeal and effort new life will be infused into your small Bahá'í group, and that it will in the near future grow sufficiently in number to enable you to form an Assembly the first to be established in that land. We shall all pray at the Holy Threshold for your guidance and the success of your work.
The Greatest Holy Leaf and the Holy Mother remember you well, and they and the other members of the family send their loving greetings to you.
You will be interested to know that the new pilgrim house is being completed, and it will be all ready in a month's time for the new pilgrims that will come.
We still have our dear sister Effie Baker with us, and we all love her so, she is so sweet and helpful.
We have just now two American lady friends with us, Auntie Victoria Bedekian 18 and Mrs R. Kehler 19 - very fine Bahá'ís they are and we are expecting some more soon.
I always remember the happy day I spent with you and Effie in London and shall look forward to the pleasure of meeting you again some day - perhaps here in Haifa or in New Zealand, who knows?
I am back at home now for the present, and am trying to help Shoghi Effendi a little in his enormous task.
He is keeping in good health I am glad to say in spite of his many activities and heavy and manifold responsibilities.
To you he sends his brotherly love and the assurance of his prayers for your welfare and happiness.
With all good wishes and loving greetings,
Your sister in His service, Ruh-Anguiz Rabbani
My dear and precious Bahá'í sister,
I cannot but add a few words personally expressing my deep appreciation of your persistent self-sacrificing services to the Cause. I have donated your gift towards the Fund for the Western Pilgrim House and I wish to assure you that when I visit the Holy Shrines I tenderly supplicate for you Divine Guidance and strength in your labours for our beloved Cause.
Your true brother, Shoghi
18 Victoria Bedikian (d.1955), from Montclair, New Jersey, promoted the education of Bahá'í children. In the 1920s she produced The World Fellowship Magazine and The Magazine of the Children of the Kingdom, and was in close correspondence with the Australian and New Zealand Bahá'ís.
19 Mrs Keith Ransom-Kehler was a New York Bahá'í who travelled widely and was a most effective public speaker. She visited New Zealand and Australia 1931-32. She died in Iran in 1933 while on assignment for Shoghi Effendi.
 

February 17. On this date in 1941, Hyde Dunn died in Sydney. Posthumously appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi in 1952, Englishman John Henry Hyde Dunn and his Irish wife Clara Holder Davis Dunn were the first Bahá’ís in Australia and among the earliest Bahá’ís in New Zealand.

February 17. On this date in 1941, Hyde Dunn died in Sydney. Posthumously appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi in 1952, Englishman John Henry Hyde Dunn and his Irish wife Clara Holder Davis Dunn were the first Bahá’ís in Australia and among the earliest Bahá’ís in New Zealand.

In 1907 John Henry Hyde, then married to Fannie Dunn, met Clara in Walla Walla, Washington, when he and Nathan Ward Fitzgerald sought to place an advertisement for a Bahá'í meeting they were holding in the medical office she was working at. She attended the meeting and later became a Bahá’í. John and Clara met again when attending a talk given by 'Abdu'l-Bahá when he visited California in 1912, and the two would get married.

On April 10, 1919, Englishman John Henry Hyde Dunn and his Irish wife Clara Holder Davis Dunn disembarked from their ship in Sydney, opening Australia to the Bahá'í Faith.

Perhaps the most famous Australian Bahá'í is Cathy Freeman, an Aborigine who in the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics had the honor of lighting the stadium’s Olympic flame in the cauldron within a circle of fire. She also carried the Australian Flag and Aboriginal flag after winning the 400 meter race at the Sydney Olympic Games.

Cathy Freeman had her Bahá'í administrative rights suspended for political activism on behalf of Aboriginal Australians.

It is worth remembering 'Abdu'l-Bahá's views on native, indigenous people and cultures.
'Abdu'l-Bahá gave a talk in the Montreal home of William Sutherland Maxwell (later named a Hand of the Cause by Shoghi Effendi in 1951) and May Maxwell, the parents of Mary Maxwell, the future Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum, wife of Shoghi Effendi.

Nature is the material world. When we look upon it, we see that it is dark and imperfect. For instance, if we allow a piece of land to remain in its natural condition, we will find it covered with thorns and thistles; useless weeds and wild vegetation will flourish upon it, and it will become like a jungle. The trees will be fruitless, lacking beauty and symmetry; wild animals, noxious insects and reptiles will abound in its dark recesses. This is the incompleteness and imperfection of the world of nature. To change these conditions, we must clear the ground and cultivate it so that flowers may grow instead of thorns and weeds—that is to say, we must illumine the dark world of nature. In their primal natural state, the forests are dim, gloomy, impenetrable. Man opens them to the light, clears away the tangled underbrush and plants fruitful trees. Soon the wild woodlands and jungle are changed into productive orchards and beautiful gardens; order has replaced chaos; the dark realm of nature has become illumined and brightened by cultivation.
If man himself is left in his natural state, he will become lower than the animal and continue to grow more ignorant and imperfect. The savage tribes of central Africa are evidences of this. Left in their natural condition, they have sunk to the lowest depths and degrees of barbarism, dimly groping in a world of mental and moral obscurity. If we wish to illumine this dark plane of human existence, we must bring man forth from the hopeless captivity of nature, educate him and show him the pathway of light and knowledge, until, uplifted from his condition of ignorance, he becomes wise and knowing; no longer savage and revengeful, he becomes civilized and kind; once evil and sinister, he is endowed with the attributes of heaven. But left in his natural condition without education and training, it is certain that he will become more depraved and vicious than the animal, even to the extreme degree witnessed among African tribes who practice cannibalism. It is evident, therefore, that the world of nature is incomplete, imperfect until awakened and illumined by the light and stimulus of education.
In these days there are new schools of philosophy blindly claiming that the world of nature is perfect. If this is true, why are children trained and educated in schools, and what is the need of extended courses in sciences, arts and letters in colleges and universities? What would be the result if humanity were left in its natural condition without education or training? All scientific discoveries and attainments are the outcomes of knowledge and education. The telegraph, phonograph, telephone were latent and potential in the world of nature but would never have come forth into the realm of visibility unless man through education had penetrated and discovered the laws which control them. All the marvelous developments and miracles of what we call civilization would have remained hidden, unknown and, so to speak, nonexistent, if man had remained in his natural condition, deprived of the bounties, blessings and benefits of education and mental culture. The intrinsic difference between the ignorant man and the astute philosopher is that the former has not been lifted out of his natural condition, while the latter has undergone systematic training and education in schools and colleges until his mind has awakened and unfolded to higher realms of thought and perception; otherwise, both are human and natural.
God has sent forth the Prophets for the purpose of quickening the soul of man into higher and divine recognitions. He has revealed the heavenly Books for this great purpose. For this the breaths of the Holy Spirit have been wafted through the gardens of human hearts, the doors of the divine Kingdom opened to mankind and the invisible inspirations sent forth from on high. This divine and ideal power has been bestowed upon man in order that he may purify himself from the imperfections of nature and uplift his soul to the realm of might and power. God has purposed that the darkness of the world of nature shall be dispelled and the imperfect attributes of the natal self be effaced in the effulgent reflection of the Sun of Truth. The mission of the Prophets of God has been to train the souls of humanity and free them from the thralldom of natural instincts and physical tendencies. They are like unto Gardeners, and the world of humanity is the field of Their cultivation, the wilderness and untrained jungle growth wherein They proceed to labor. They cause the crooked branches to become straightened, the fruitless trees to become fruitful, and gradually transform this great wild, uncultivated field into a beautiful orchard producing wonderful abundance and outcome.
If the world of nature were perfect and complete in itself, there would be no need of such training and cultivation in the human world—no need of teachers, schools and universities, arts and crafts. The revelations of the Prophets of God would not have been necessary, and the heavenly Books would have been superfluous. If the world of nature were perfect and sufficient for mankind, we would have no need of God and our belief in Him. Therefore, the bestowal of all these great helps and accessories to the attainment of divine life is because the world of nature is incomplete and imperfect. Consider this Canadian country during the early history of Montreal when the land was in its wild, uncultivated and natural condition. The soil was unproductive, rocky and almost uninhabitable—vast forests stretching in every direction. What invisible power caused this great metropolis to spring up amid such savage and forbidding conditions? It was the human mind. Therefore, nature and the effect of nature’s laws were imperfect. The mind of man remedied and removed this imperfect condition, until now we behold a great city instead of a savage unbroken wilderness. Before the coming of Columbus America itself was a wild, uncultivated expanse of primeval forest, mountains and rivers—a very world of nature. Now it has become the world of man. It was dark, forbidding and savage; now it has become illumined with a great civilization and prosperity. Instead of forests, we behold productive farms, beautiful gardens and prolific orchards. Instead of thorns and useless vegetation, we find flowers, domestic animals and fields awaiting harvest. If the world of nature were perfect, the condition of this great country would have been left unchanged.
If a child is left in its natural state and deprived of education, there is no doubt that it will grow up in ignorance and illiteracy, its mental faculties dulled and dimmed; in fact, it will become like an animal. This is evident among the savages of central Africa, who are scarcely higher than the beast in mental development.
The conclusion is irresistible that the splendors of the Sun of Truth, the Word of God, have been the source and cause of human upbuilding and civilization. The world of nature is the kingdom of the animal. In its natural condition and plane of limitation the animal is perfect. The ferocious beasts of prey have been completely subject to the laws of nature in their development. They are without education or training; they have no power of abstract reasoning and intellectual ideals; they have no touch with the spiritual world and are without conception of God or the Holy Spirit. The animal can neither recognize nor apprehend the spiritual power of man and makes no distinction between man and itself, for the reason that its susceptibilities are limited to the plane of the senses. It lives under the bondage of nature and nature’s laws. All the animals are materialists. They are deniers of God and without realization of a transcendent power in the universe. They have no knowledge of the divine Prophets and Holy Books—mere captives of nature and the sense world. In reality they are like the great philosophers of this day who are not in touch with God and the Holy Spirit—deniers of the Prophets, ignorant of spiritual susceptibilities, deprived of the heavenly bounties and without belief in the supernatural power. The animal lives this kind of life blissfully and untroubled, whereas the material philosophers labor and study for ten or twenty years in schools and colleges, denying God, the Holy Spirit and divine inspirations. The animal is even a greater philosopher, for it attains the ability to do this without labor and study. For instance, the cow denies God and the Holy Spirit, knows nothing of divine inspirations, heavenly bounties or spiritual emotions and is a stranger to the world of hearts. Like the philosophers, the cow is a captive of nature and knows nothing beyond the range of the senses. The philosophers, however, glory in this, saying, “We are not captives of superstitions; we have implicit faith in the impressions of the senses and know nothing beyond the realm of nature, which contains and covers everything.” But the cow, without study or proficiency in the sciences, modestly and quietly views life from the same standpoint, living in harmony with nature’s laws in the utmost dignity and nobility.
This is not the glory of man. The glory of man is in the knowledge of God, spiritual susceptibilities, attainment to transcendent powers and the bounties of the Holy Spirit. The glory of man is in being informed of the teachings of God. This is the glory of humanity. Ignorance is not glory but darkness. Can these souls who are steeped in the lower strata of ignorance become informed of the mysteries of God and the realities of existence while Jesus Christ was without knowledge of them? Is the intellect of these people greater than the intellect of Christ? Christ was heavenly, divine and belonged to the world of the Kingdom. He was the embodiment of spiritual knowledge. His intellect was superior to these philosophers, His comprehension deeper, His perception keener, His knowledge more perfect. How is it that He overlooked and denied Himself everything in this world? He attached little importance to this material life, denying Himself rest and composure, accepting trials and voluntarily suffering vicissitudes because He was endowed with spiritual susceptibilities and the power of the Holy Spirit. He beheld the splendors of the divine Kingdom, embodied the bounties of God and possessed ideal powers. He was illumined with love and mercy, and so, likewise, were all the Prophets of God.

February 11. On this date in 1941, Margaret Stevenson died. She was the first New Zealand member of the Bahá'í Faith. She served on the NSA of Australia and New Zealand from 1934 to 1939 and was in the first group of Bahá'í pilgrims to Haifa from Australia and New Zealand.

February 11. On this date in 1941, Margaret Stevenson died. She was the first New Zealand member of the Bahá'í Faith. She served on the NSA of Australia and New Zealand from 1934 to 1939 and was in the first group of Bahá'í pilgrims to Haifa from Australia and New Zealand.

On February 10, 1925, the first group of Bahá'í pilgrims to Haifa from the Australia and New Zealand left Melbourne, arriving in Haifa on March 13. The party consisted of Effie Baker, Margaret Stevenson, and the Blundells (Sarah, Ethel, and Hugh). Effie Baker was an Australian photographer who became a follower of the Bahá'í Faith in 1922. Some of the pictures she took of the Bahá'í monuments in Iraq and Iran were included in Shoghi Effendi's translation of Nabíl-i-A`zam's The Dawn-Breakers.

 On September 3, 1892, a few months after Bahá'u'lláh's death, Nabíl-i-A’ẓam, the author of The Dawn-breakers, died. Parts of his body and clothing were found washed up on the coast in Acre. While Bahá'í sources attribute his death to suicide, other sources claim he was murdered.
Sources that allege Nabíl-i-A’ẓam was murdered base their claim on the allegation that he became a victim due to his support of Mírzá Muhammad `Alí in his conflict with 'Abdu'l-Bahá...

According to the memoirs of Baha’s son Mirza Badiullah surnamed the Most Luminous Branch (غصن انور) by Baha: One year after Baha’s death, Nabil visited Badiullah in Haifa. He was distressed. Nabil said to Badiullah: “I can no longer stay at Acre. The situation there has deteriorated. By dint of violence, abusive language and cursing, one has to act against his own faith, has to regard and hold the Most Mighty Branch [Ghusn-i Azam, i.e. Abdul Baha Abbas] superior in station to the Blessed Beauty [Janab-i Mubarak, i.e. Baha] has to write corrupted [versions of] all the holly writings and epistles, and has to vilify and excommunicate [Baha’s] sons, [Baha’s] words and [Baha’s] family [i.e. all the members of Baha’s household in opposition to Abdul Baha Abbas], failing which one is branded as covenant-breaker [Naqiz] or Vacillator [Mutezalzil, i.e. opposed to Abdul Baha Abbas and partisan of Muhammad Ali] and becomes the object of untold calumnies and falsehoods.” Nabil requested Badiullah to find him a suitable room at the foot of Mount Carmel. He went back to Acre to fetch his things. Nothing was heard of him for sometime. Later “limbs of his body and his clothing” were discovered near the see shores at Acre. These were collated together and buried. Abdul Baha Abbas “shed crocodile tears” during the burial service of Nabil, “although he was exceedingly annoyed with him.”

From the Encyclopædia Iranica article titled "NABIL-E AʿẒAM ZARANDI, MOLLĀ MOḤAMMAD"...

NABIL-E AʿẒAM ZARANDI, MOLLĀ MOḤAMMAD (ملّا محمد نبیل اعظم زرندی), Persian Bahai poet, teacher, and chronicler of Babi history (b. Zarand, 18 Ṣafar 1247/29 July 1831; d. ʿAkkā, Palestine, 10 Ṣafar 1310/3 September 1892).

Nabil converted to Babism around 1847 and in 1858 accepted the faith of Bahāʾ-Allāh. Born into a humble family in Zarand, he received traditional education in his childhood and worked as a shepherd in his youth, when he converted to Babism (Zarandi, p. 434).  Later in his life, he studied the writings of the Bāb and became well versed in both Islamic and Bahai literature. 

During his years as a Babi, Nabil traveled to Lorestan, Kermanshah, Tehran, and Khorasan; he met with the Babis and Babi leaders in those provinces to foster the Babi ideology and inspire the believers to arise, consolidate, and expand the new Babi communities.  He also transcribed and distributed Babi literature among the rank and file of the society to promote the Babi faith.  He was jailed in Sāva for four months because of his pro-Babi activities.  In September 1854, he set out for Baghdad and Karbala, where he stayed until October 1856. During late 1856 to July 1858, he traveled to Hamadan, his hometown Zarand, and many major Babi communities in the capital province and returned to Baghdad on 19 July 1858 (Rafati, pp. 30-31).

Nabil was one of the Babi leaders who claimed to be the promised messianic figure according to the Bāb’s prophecies, but he withdrew his claim when he recognized Bahāʾ-Allāh’s status as the fulfillment of the Bāb’s predictions and the leader of the Babis (Taherzadeh, p. 202).  Nabil became one of Bahāʾ-Allāh’s earliest followers, in 1858 in Baghdad.

Nabil’s life as a Bahai is summed up in his extensive travels throughout Iran, Iraq, Turkey, the Caucasus, Egypt, and Palestine.  In his early travels as a Bahai, he met with the Babi communities to invite them to the Bahai faith; he attracted the Babi leaders to the recognition of Bahāʾ-Allāh as the fulfillment of the Bāb’s prophecies concerning the promised messianic figure and helped reinforce the belief of the new Bahais in the teachings and principles that were being advanced by Bahāʾ-Allāh.  Through these activities, Nabil turned into an outstanding teacher, defender, and promulgator of the Bahai faith.

While Nabil was in Khorasan in spring 1866, at his suggestion, the greeting Allāho abhā (God is the most glorious) was adopted by the followers of Bahāʾ-Allāh, replacing the old salutation of Allāho akbar (God is the greatest), which was common among the Babis (Shoghi Effendi, p. 176).  This was a significant action that gave group identity to the Bahais and was a sign of their independence from the Babis and the Azalis, a Bābi faction that considered Mirzā Yaḥyā Ṣobḥ-e Azal (d. 1912) as the legitimate successor to the Bāb.

Nabil was the first Bahai to perform pilgrimage (ḥajj) to the house of the Bāb in Shiraz in fall 1866, in accordance with the rites prescribed in the Surat al-ḥajj revealed by Bahāʾ-Allāh.  He also went to Baghdad and performed the pilgrimage to the House of Bahāʾ-Allāh in spring 1867, according to another sura witten by Bahāʾ-Allāh for that purpose (Rafati, p. 36).  Nabil’s pilgrimage to those two houses marked the inception of pilgrimage laws ordained by Bahāʾ-Allāh later in his Ketāb-e aqdas (Shoghi Effendi, pp. 176-77).

Another historic mission undertaken by Nabil under Bahāʾ-Allāh’s instruction was his travel to Egypt to appeal to the officials for the release of several Bahais who had been imprisoned in Cairo at the instigation of their enemies (Shoghi Effendi, p. 178).  Nabil’s mission resulted in his own imprisonment for two months in Cairo in spring 1868 and then in the Alexandria jail for a few more months.  After being released, Nabil traveled to Cyprus and Beirut, and then he joined Bahāʾ-Allāh’s exiled community in Acre (ʿAkkā) in late October 1869. He spent much of the last two decades of his life in Acre and its surrounding areas. 

After the passing of Bahāʾ-Allāh in 1892, Nabil was chosen by ʿAbd-al-Bahāʾ to prepare a text for recitation in his tomb (Shoghi Effendi, p. 222).  Nabil selected four passages from Bahāʾ-Allāh’s own works and composed the text, which is known as the Ziārat-nāma (ʿAndalib 18/71, summer 1999, pp. 19-20). The impact of the passing of Bahāʾ-Allāh on Nabil was so great and inconsolable that he drowned himself in the sea at Acre circa 10 Ṣafar 1310/3 September 1892.  He is buried in the Acre cemetery.

Nabil was the recipient of a number of Bahāʾ-Allāh’s best-known works, including Surat al-damm (1866), Surat al-ḥajj, for the house of the Bāb in Shiraz (1866), and Surat al-ḥajj, for the house of Bahāʾ-Allāh in Baghdad (1867).

When Shoghi Effendi (d. 1957) designated nineteen prominent early Bahais as the “Apostles [Ḥawāriyun] of Bahāʾ-Allāh,” Nabil was one of them (The Baháʾí World III, pp. 80-81).  The title signifies the recognition of distinguished services that those nineteen loyal and devoted Persian Bahais have rendered to their faith.

Nabil’s works are in poetry and prose.  He was a gifted, prolific poet, who devoted most of his poetry to the historical events in the Babi and Bahai faiths.  His most famous poem in couplet form (maṯnawi) about the history of the Bahai faith was published as Maṯnawi-e Nabil Zarandi in Cairo in 1924 in 65 pages and reprinted in Langenhain in 1995.  In this maṯnawi he describes major historical events from the early days of the Babi movement to the year 1869.  His second maṯnawi, in 666 verses, deals with Bahāʾ-Allāh’s banishment from Edirne to Acre. Other historical poetry of Nabil consists of his maṯnawi titled “Maṯnawi-e weṣāl wa hejr” in 175 verses (pub. in Rafati, 2014, Chap. 6; Ḏokāʾi, p. 416) and his maṯnawi on the life of Āqā Moḥammad Nabil Akbar Qāʾeni in 303 verses (Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 13, pp. 108-16).  In addition to those maṯnawis, Nabil left behind a great collection of poetry in different forms, only a fraction of which has been published.

Nabil’s works in prose include a treatise on the Babi-Bahai calendar, a treatise on Bahai inheritance laws (Fāżel Māzandarāni, IV pp. 1, 214), and his account on the event of the passing of Bahāʾ-Allāh (Nabil Zarandi, Maṯnawi-e Nabil Zarandi, Langenhain, 1995, pp. 67-108).  But Nabil’s most celebrated work is Maṭāleʿ al-anwār, an extensive historical narrative of the Babi faith, written in Acre in 1888-90, which was edited and translated into English by Shoghi Effendi as The Dawn-Breakers. The work was first published in the United States in 1932.

Maṭāleʿ al-anwār, the most authentic and the main primary source on the early history of the Babi movement in Iran, is regarded by the Bahais as the definitive account of the Bāb’s dispensation.  The work has been translated into many languages, and it has played a major role in familiarizing the Bahais around the world with the historical background of their faith and helping them understand its link to the socio-religious climate of the Persian society in the early days of its development.  The original Persian manuscript of Maṭāleʿ al-anwār, preserved at the International Bahai Archives in Haifa, comprises 1,014 pages of 22-24 lines.

Bibliography: 

ʿAbd-al-Bahāʾ, Memorials of the Faithful, tr. and annotated Marzieh Gail, Wilmette, 1971, pp. 32-36.

Abu’l-Qāsem Afnān, Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 7, 1996, pp. 58-75.

Bahāʾ-Allāh, Āṯār-e qalam-e aʿlā, Tehran, 1996, IV, pp. 59-67, 75-99. 

The Baháʾí World: A Biennial International Record III, New York, 1928-30. 

H. M. Balyuzi, Baháulláh the King of Glory, Oxford, 1991 (see index). 

Idem, Materials for the Study of the Babí Religion, Cambridge, 1918, pp. 351-57.  Neʿmat-Allāh Ḏokāʾi Bayżāʾi, Taḏkera-ye šoʿarā-ye qarn-e awwal-e Bahāʾi,” 4 vols., Tehran, 1970-73, III, pp. 410-35. 

ʿAbd-al-Ḥamid Ešrāq Ḵāvari, Tasbiḥ wa taḥlil, Tehran, 1973, pp. 77-90. 

Fāżel Māzandarāni, Amr wa ḵalq, Langenhain,  1986. 

Hušang Goharriz, Ḥawāriyun-e Ḥażrat-e Bahāʾ-Allāh, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 176-91. 

Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 7, 1996, pp. 293-98. 

Moojan Momen, “The Apostles of Bahāʾ-Āllāh” in H. M. Balyuzi, Eminent Baháís in the Time of Baháulláh: With Some Historical Background, Oxford, 1985. 

Mollā Moḥammad Nabil Zarandi, Maṭāleʿ al-anwār: Tāriḵ-e Nabil Zarandi, ed. and tr. Shoghi Effendi, as The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Baháʾí Revelation, Wilmette, 1974, pp. 433-45. 

Ṣadri Nawwābzāda Ardakāni, “Maṭāleb-i dr bāra-ye tāriḵ-e- Nabil Zarandi,” Moṭālaʿa-ye maʿāref-e Bahāʾi, Tehran, 1977. 

Payām-e Bahāʾi, no. 126, May 1990, pp. 13-16. 

Vahid Rafati, “Nabíl-e-Aʿẓam Zarandí,” Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa Honar 7, 1996, pp. 29-57.  Idem, “Tāriḵ-e Nabil Zarandi,” ibid, pp. 76-87.  Idem, “Maṯnawi-e Nabil-e Aʿẓam Zarandi: Dar šarḥ-e ḥālāt-e Janāb Āqā Moḥammad Nabil Akbar Qāʾeni,” Ḵušahā-i az ḵarman-e adab wa honar 13, 2002, pp. 107-19. Idem, ed., Yād-nāma-ye Ešrāq Ḵāvari / Remembrance of Ishráq Khávarí, Madrid, 2014.  Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, Wilmette, 1999. 

Adib Taherzadeh, The Revelation of Baháulláh, Oxford, 1974, pp. 202-6.

(Vahid Rafati)
Originally Published: June 29, 2016