The Báb's Epistle Refuting the Claims to the Station of Bābiyyat (Gatehood)

Abstract: This luminous Epistle of the Báb, revealed in Persian in Shíráz upon His return from pilgrimage in the latter part of 1845, offers profound insight into the wisdom underlying His early declarations and the measured manner in which He unveiled His Cause. Written a year after His initial announcement to Mullá Ḥusayn in May 1844, this Epistle emerged amidst fierce opposition in Shíráz, provoked by the hostility of Ḥusayn Khán and the city’s clerical establishment. In it, the Báb addresses the expectations of the Shí‘í populace concerning the promised Qá’im, refutes the erroneous standards by which they sought to test divine authority, and discloses the true proof of His mission — the spontaneous revelation of the Word of God. Free from guile or dissimulation, this Epistle exemplifies the divine wisdom by which the Manifestations of God progressively disclose Their station, ensuring the preservation and ultimate triumph of Their Cause. This sacred Epistle is extant in Iran National Bahá’í Archives, vol. 91, pp. 169–170.