An Epistle of the Báb to Mullá Ḥusayn Bushrú'í, Revealed at Bushíhr:

Abstract: This study presents a provisional English translation and contextual analysis of a pivotal Epistle revealed by the Báb and addressed to Mullá Ḥusayn Bushrú’í, situating it at a decisive juncture in the early history of the Bábí Revelation. Within this Epistle, the Báb announces the suspension of further revelation for a period of five years, a decree reiterated in contemporaneous writings and explicitly recorded in the Kitáb al-Fihrist revealed in Bushihr on 15 Jumádí al-Thání 1261 A.H. (21 June 1845). Read in conjunction with this work, the internal evidence of the Epistle permits it to be dated with confidence to the same time and place.

The Epistle affirms Mullá Ḥusayn’s steadfast faith and appoints him as the designated intermediary during the period of withdrawal, thereby safeguarding the continuity of guidance. Rich in Qur’ānic allusion, the text presents the cessation of revelation as both chastisement and trial, implicitly identifying the Báb’s Revelation as the locus of divine utterance in this age.

Based on INBA Vol. 91, pp. 1–3, this translation seeks fidelity to the original Arabic and to the elevated, scriptural register of the Báb’s words.