- 1891-05-19 —
The execution of the Seven Martyrs of Yazd. [BBRXXIX, BW18:384]
Seven Bahá'ís were executed on the order of the governor of Yazd, Husain Mírzá, Jalálu'd-Dín-Dawlih (the grandson of the shah and the son of Zillu's-Sultán) and at the instigation of the mujtahid, Shaykh Hasan-i-Sabzivárí. [BW18p384]
- For their names see BW18:384.
- For details of the executions see GBP201–2.
- For Western reports of the episode see BBR301–5.
- Bahá'u'lláh stated that a representative of Zillu's-Sultán. Hájí Sayyáh, visited Him in 'Akká in the hope of persuading Him to support his plot to usurp the throne. He was promised freedom to practice the Faith should He support him. Hájí Sayyáh was arrested in Tehran in April of 1891 and Zillu's-Sultán, afraid that he would be implicated in the plot to overthrow the king, inaugurated vigorous persecution of the Bahá'ís in Yazd in order to draw attention from himself and prove his loyalty to the crown and to Islam. Had Bahá'u'lláh reported this incident to the Shah, Zillu's-Sultán would have paid dearly for his disloyalty. [BBR357-358]
- See also RB3:194–6 and SBBH2:77.
- See Persecutions of Babis in 1888-1891 at Isfahan and Yazd by various witnesses and translated by E G Browne.
- "The tyrant of the land of Yá (Yazd) committed that which has caused the Concourse on High to shed tears of blood." from the Lawḥ-i-Dunyá (Tablet of the World) Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 85
- 1891-05-20 — Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Lawh-i-Times, Tablet to the Times in which He recounted the circumstances of the martyrdoms in Yazd. [RB4:348–50, BW18p976-7]
- 1891-10-03 — Mullá Muhammad-`Alíy-i-Dihábádí was martyred, one of the Seven Martyrs of Yazd who were killed at the hands of Jalálu'd-Dawlih and Zillu's-Sultan. [BW18:384]
- 1903-06-14 —
- 1903-09-00 — At the request of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Hájí Mírzá Hadar-'Alí wrote Bahá'í Martyrdoms in Persia in the Year 1903 AD.
- 1904-00-00 — The publication of Bahá'í Martyrdoms in Persia in the Year 1903 AD by Hájí Mírzá Haydar-Alí Isfaháni* and translated by Youness Afroukhteh. A second edition was published in 1917. [Collins 7.1147-7.1149]
When the persecutions throughout Iran were at their peak, in midsummer of 1903, 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a proclamatory treatise outlining events leading to these pogroms, the motives and actions of the principle persecutors, and the intense sufferings of the Bahá'í community.
In retrospect, it appears that 'Abdu'l-Bahá intended this treatise to be published in the West, galvanizing the support of prominent individuals, Bahá'í communities of the United States and Europe in general, and, the public at large. Towards this end, he instructed one of his secretaries, Dr. Younis Khan Afroukhtih, to translate this treatise, which presumably was done in collaboration with some English-speaking Bahá'ís visiting 'Akká at the time. This work was further assisted by an English-speaking pilgrim of Jewish-descent from Hamadan, Dr. Arastoo Hakim, and was completed on 19 September 1903.
*The translated treatise was then sent to the United States It was received in Chicago on 29 October 1903 and its publication took place through the work of Bahá'í Publishing Society in 1904. However, for reasons not clear, it was published as a document prepared by Hájí Mírzá Haydar-'Alí, a prominent Bahá'í residing in Haifa at that time. In this reference can be found a 2007 translation by Ahang Rabbani [Bahá'í Studies Review Vol 14 2007 p53-67]
- 1904-00-00 — In the summer of 1903, the Bahá’í community of Iran faced a series of brutal campaigns of attempted genocide in several cities, including Rasht, Isfahán and Yazd. When these persecutions reached their peak in the midsummer of that year, `Abdu’l-Bahá wrote a treatise outlining events leading to these pogroms, the motives and actions of the principle persecutors, and the intense sufferings of the Bahá’í community. Like all His communications on such subjects, `Abdu’l-Bahá was full of praise for the patience, forbearance and the conduct of the Bahá’ís, young and old.
In retrospect, it appears that `Abdu’l-Bahá intended this Tablet to be published in the West, galvanizing the support of prominent Bahá’ís, and Bahá’í communities in general, in the United States and Europe. Towards this, He instructed one of His secretaries, Dr. Younis Khan Afroukhtih, to translate this Tablet, which presumably was done in collaboration with some English- speaking Bahá’ís visiting `Akká at the time. This work was further assisted by an English-speaking pilgrim of Jewish-descent from Hamadan, Dr. Arastoo Hakim, and was completed on 19 September 1903.
The translated treatise was then sent to the United States to be published there under the title Bahai Martyrdoms in Persia in the Year 1903 AD”. It was received in Chicago on 29 October 1903 and its publication took place through the work of Bahá’í Publishing Society in 1904. However, for reasons which are not clear, it was published as a document prepared by Hájí Mírzá Haydar-`Alí, a prominent Bahá’í residing in Haifa at that time.
Ahang Rabbani did a translation in May of 2005. A PDF of his translation can be obtained here. - 1911-08-28 —
In the morning 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visitor was Sultán-Husayn Mírzá, the eldest son of Zillu's-Sultán. Between 1879 and 1906 he had served as either governor or deputy governor of Khuzestán, Lorestán, Yazd, Fárs, Burujerd and Kurdistan. He was responsible for the martyrdoms in Yazd in 1891 and again in 1903. He had been exiled with his father in 1908.
- As a footnote, in his latter years he became a devoted Bahá'í. [DJT206]
- Later He gave a talk in Arabic that was published in its entirety by the leading Egyptian newspaper, Al-Ahram. [ABF45-48, SoW vol 5 no 10 8 September 1914 p155; Far Stretching River (translation by Mohsen Enayat)]
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