- 1830-01-00 — Birth of Hájí Mírzá Muhammad Taqí Afnán (Vakílu'd-Dawlih), maternal uncle of the Báb, who supervised and largely paid for the building of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in `Ishqábád.
- 1902-11-28 —
Construction began on the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of `Ishqábád with the laying of its cornerstone. [BFA2:116-17; YSxvii]
- BBRXXX says this was 12 December. The discrepancy may lie in the use of two different calendars.
- The foundation stone was laid in the presence of General Subotich, governor-general of Turkistan. [BFA2:116–17; GPB300; see discussion of Krupatkin vs Subotich in The City of Love:
Ishqábád and the Institution of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár by Bruce Whitmore] Also see BBR442-443 for the account of a Russian official, A D Kalmykov who says it was General Subotich.
- `Abdu'l-Bahá commissioned Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-Taqí, the Vakílu'd-Dawlih, son of Hájí Siyyid Muhammad, the uncle of the Báb for whom Bahá'u'lláh had revealed The Kitáb-i-Íqán, to be in charge of the project. He largely paid for it. [AB109]
- `Abdu'l-Bahá Himself delineated the general design and a Russian architect, Volkov, planned and executed the details of the construction. [AB109–10; Universal House of Justice 20 June 1991 para 8]
- A meeting hall and some of its dependencies had been built before 1900.
- The dependencies included two Bahá'í schools, a travellers' hostel, a medical dispensary and Hazíratu'l-Quds. [BBD122; BBR442; BBRSM:91]
- For a Western account of this see BBR442–3.
- See jacket of BBR for a photograph of work on the Temple.
- See the message of the Universal House of Justice dated 1 August, 2014 for more on the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in `Ishqábád.
Specifics
Location: In the heart of the city of `Ishqábád
Foundation Stone: Late 1902 by General Subotich, the governor-general of Turkistan who had been delegated by the Czar to represent him.
Construction Period: Initial step had been undertaken during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh. Superstructure: 1902 – 1907. External Ornamentation: 1919
Site Dedication: No record of a dedication ceremony on completion of the building can be found although the external ornamentation was completed in 1919 it is probable that the building had been in use for some years by this time.
Architects: `Abdu'l-Bahá Himself delineated the general design. More specific design was by Ustad Ali-Akbar-i-Banna and a Russian architect, Volkov, planned and executed the details of the construction under the supervision of Hájí Mírzá Muhammad-Taqí, the son of Hájí Siyyid Muhammad, the uncle of the Báb for whom Bahá'u'lláh had revealed The Kitáb-i-Íqán. [AB109]
Seating:
Dimensions:
Cost:
Dependencies: two Bahá'í schools, a travellers' hostel, a medical dispensary and Hazíratu'l-Quds
Expropriation:1928
Lease period: – 1938
Seizure; the building was turned into an art gallery
Earthquake: 1948
Demolition: August 1963 the Universal House of Justice announced that it had been demolished by the authorities and the site cleared.
References: AB109, BW14p479-481, GPB300-301, CEBF236, EB266-268, MF126-128
- 1911-08-00 —
Hájí Muhammad-Taqí Afnán, Vakílu'd-Dawlih, the cousin of the Báb largely responsible for the building of the House of Worship in `Ishqábád, was buried in the newly acquired Bahá'í cemetery in Haifa, the earliest recorded burial in the cemetery. [BBD51; DH182]
- He was appointed as one of the Apostles of Bahá'u'lláh.
- 1925-11-22 —
John Esslemont, Hand of the Cause of God, Disciple of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, passed away in Haifa. [BW3p84-85, BBD81, SETPE1p108-110]
- For letters of Shoghi Effendi announcing his death and giving details of his life and funeral see BA97–8 and UD40–3.
- For an obituary see BW1:133–6 and BW8:929–35.
- He was buried next to the grave of Vakílu'd-Dawlih, the chief builder of the House of Worship at 'Ishqábád. [DJEE37]
- Shoghi Effendi elevated him to the station of Hand of the Cause of God on his death. The announcement was made on November 30th. [BA7-98; BWT3:333; DJEE40; PP92; UD403, MoCxxii
- See also Moojan Momen, Dr John E. Esslemont (BPT UK 1975) and BW8p929-935 for "John Ebenezer Esslemont: His Life and Service" by Jesse E. Revell.
- In addition to the publication of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era in Britain by George Allen and Unwin in 1923 he also published a booklet called
Bahá'u'lláh and His Message in New York by the Bahá'í Publishing Committee in 1921. (32 p). It was reprinted in London by the National Bahā'i Assembly of England, 1924. (23 p.), and a revised and edited publication was done by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles. London, 1938.
- The Message of Bahá'u'lláh: (Based on "Bahá'u'lláh and His Message") was published in London by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust in 1945. (30 p.). [DJEE28; RG77; The Story of J. E. Esslemont and his Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era: Bibliography by Jan Jasion]
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