The Third Epistle Revealed by the Báb to Mírzá Áqásí

Abstract: This study presents a provisional English translation of the third Epistle of the Báb addressed to Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí, Prime Minister to Muḥammad Shāh Qájār. The Báb revealed four such Epistles over the course of His ministry. The first, composed in Shíráz in 1844, exhorts Áqásí to uphold justice and shun worldly ambition. The second, written in 1847 at Siyyáh-Dihán, counsels detachment from power and expresses the Báb’s sorrow at His exile. The fourth, known as Tawqīʿ-i-Qahriyyih ("the Epistle of Divine Wrath"), revealed at Chihríq, conveys a thunderous proclamation of Divine wrath. The focus of this paper is the third Epistle, revealed at Chihríq circa April–June 1848 C.E., shortly after the Báb’s arrival there. Composed in Arabic, it denounces Áqásí in searing terms, likening his obstinacy to Pharaoh’s and characterizing him as a rebellious tyrant devoid of shame or insight. The translation is based primarily on the version published in Zuhúr al-Ḥaqq, vol. 3, pp. 85–89, and situates this Epistle within the unfolding arc of the Báb’s rebukes to Áqásí.