A Bahá'í Glossary
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Bahá'í Chronology - The Ministry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá - 53 B.E. (A.D. 1896-1897)
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< 52 B.E. | 54 B.E. >
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[ 14 Articles ]
• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• 19 April A.D. 1896
• A.M.
Násiri'd-Dín S̲h̲áh is assassinated on the eve of the celebration of his jubilee. He ascended the throne in 1848 and by the Islamic lunar calendar it marked the 50th year of his reign. [BKG455]
  • BBRXXIX and BBRSM219 say it was 1 May.
  • His assassin, Mírzá Ridá-yi-Kirmáni, a Pan-Islamic terrorist, was a follower of Jamálu'd-Dín-i-Afg̲h̲ání, one of the originators of the Constitutional movement in Iran and an enemy of the Faith. [BBRSM87; GBP296]
  • For an account of his assassination see PDC67–8.
  • See BKG430–55 for a history of his reign.
  • He is succeeded by his son Muzaffari'd-Dín. [GPB296]
  • See also CBM54-56.
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• 1 May A.D. 1896
• A.M.
The martyrdom of Hand of the Cause of God Varqa (‘Dove'), Mírzá ‘Ali-Muḥammad. (b.1856) He and his young son, Ruhu'lláh, were killed by one of the Qajar courtiers in the aftermath of the assassination of Nasir'd-Din S̲h̲ah. [GPB296, BBRXXIX]
  • See World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p.43 for contribution by Kazem Kazemzadeh on the martyrdom of Varqá and Ruhu'lláh.
  • For the story of their lives see MRHK405–22 and World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p29-44.
  • For a Western account of the episode see BBR361–2.
  • He was posthumously named a Hand of the Cause of God by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • ‘Abdu'l-Bahá named him posthumously as a Hand of the Cause and Shoghi Effendi designated him as one of the Apostles of Bahá-u-lláh. [EB75-97 LoF42-49, BBR361-362, SoBSNBp225-229]
  • See World Order: Winter 1974-1975, Vol. 9 No.2 p.43 for contribution by Kazem Kazemzadeh on the martyrdom of Varqá and Ruhu'lláh.
  • See Varqá and Son: The Heavenly Doves by Darius Shahrokh.
  • See also Bahá'í Chronicles.
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• 13 May A.D. 1896
• A.M.
Birth of Dr Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause of God, in Palermo, Sicily.
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• june / July A.D. 1896
• A.M.
Several Bahá'ís are beaten and four are imprisoned in Turbat-i-Haydarí when two mujtahids stir up the townspeople against them. [BW18:384]
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• 21 July A.D. 1896
• A.M.
Ḥájí Muḥammad Sádiq is stabbed to death in Turbat-i-Haydarí. [BW18:384]
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• 24 July A.D. 1896
• A.M.
Four Bahá'ís are executed in Turbat-i-Haydarí on the order of the mujtahid. [BW18:384; BBR405]
  • BBRXXIX says the four Bahá'ís were martyred in August.
  • These four together with Ḥájí Muḥammad Sádiq are known as the S̲h̲uhadáy-i-K̲h̲amsih (Five Martyrs). [GPB296]
  • Their martyrdom is the result of the assassination of the S̲h̲áh, for which the Bahá'ís are erroneously blamed. [GPB296]
  • For Western accounts of the episode see BBR405–6.
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• c. October A.D. 1896
• A.M.
`Abdu'l-Bahá rents the former Governorate of `Abdu'lláh Pás̲h̲á in the northwest corner of the city of `Akká at the inner moat. [BBD13, 108; DH60]
  • He establishes it as His residence and as the home for His daughters, their husbands and families. [DH60-4, BW16:104]
  • See also BW16:104–6, DH60–4.
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• In the year A.D. 1897
• A.M.
The passing of Hand of the Cause Mullá Muḥammad-Ridá in a Tehran prison.
  • born in Muḥammad-Ábád in the province of Yazd into a well-known family in about 1814. He is provided a good education and he becomes a divine known for his piety, eloquence and courage.
  • Becomes a follower of the Báb in the early days of the Revelation. He recognizes Bahá'u'lláh as the Promised One of the Bayan some time after 1855 upon reading Qasídiy-i-Varqá'íyyih, "Ode of the Dove". (Bahá'u'lláh had composed this ode while still in Sulaymáníyyih.)
  • He became well-known for his courage in teaching and his endurance in withstanding abuse. He was found to be picking his teeth while being bastinadoed and, while a elderly man, withstood a brutal flogging on his bare back in the prison yard. (A witness to this flogging, G̲h̲ulám-Ridá K̲h̲án, a notable of Tehran who happened to be imprisoned at the same time, became a believer upon seeing his steadfastness under the lashing.) [RoB1p84-91, EB89-111, LoF21-27]
  • 'Abdu'l-Bahá referred to a few of the believers posthumously as being Hands of the Cause (see MF5 and BW14p446) Adib Taherzadeh points out that "since there are one or two others by the same name (S̲h̲ayk̲h̲-Ridáy-i-Yazdí) it is not possible to identify him. However, some believe strongly that he is Mullá Muḥammad-i-Ridáy-i-Muhammmad-Ábádí. [RoB4p186n]
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• A.D. 1897
• A.M.
The passing of Hand of the Cause of God S̲h̲ayk̲h̲ Muḥammad-Ridáy-i-Yazdí (Mullá Ridá) while incarcerated in the Síyáh-C̲h̲áh. He was born in Muḥammadábád, Yazd in 1814. [LoF21-27]
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• c. A.D. 1897
• A.M.
Mírzá Áqá Ján, Bahá'u'lláh's amanuensis for 40 years, throws in his lot with Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí and becomes a Covenant-breaker. [CB181]
  • For the story of his downfall see CB181–92.
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• In the year A.D. 1897
• A.M.
Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-`Alí, the first Bahá'í to have settled China, dies in Bombay on his way back to S̲h̲íráz. [PH24]

The Hands of the Cause appointed by Bahá'u'lláh are instructed by `Abdu'l-Bahá to gather to begin the consultations regarding the future organization of the Bahá'í community in Ṭihrán.

  • This gathering leads to the formation of the Central Spiritual Assembly of Ṭihrán in 1899. [BBD98, 114, 115; EB268]
Fifteen Bahá'ís are arrested in Saysán, Ád̲h̲arbáyján. They are taken to Tabríz, imprisoned and fined. [BW18:384]

Three Bahá'ís are arrested in Nayríz on the orders of Áqá Najafí, the `Son of the Wolf'. [BW18:384]

The homes of several Bahá'ís in Hamadán are looted and ransacked after complaints by Jews of the town against Bahá'ís of Jewish background. [BW18:384]

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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• February A.D. 1897
• A.M.
Six Bahá'ís are arrested in Mamaqán, Ád̲h̲arbáyján. Three are bastinadoed and three are imprisoned in Tabríz. [BW18:384]
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• 53 B.E.
• A.H.
• 24 February A.D. 1897
• A.M.
Birth of Jalal Khazeh (Jalál K̲h̲ádih), Hand of the Cause of God, in Ṭihrán.
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• Kamál 4 Ayyám-i-Há 53 B.E.
• Yawm al-Ithnayn 27 Ramaḍān  A.H. 1314
• Monday 1 March A.D. 1897
• Yom Sheni 27 Adar Beit A.M. 5657
The birth of Shoghi Effendi, in the house of `Abdu'lláh Pás̲h̲á. [BBD208; BKG359; DH60, 214; GBF2]
  • He is descended from both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh: his mother is the eldest daughter of `Abdu'l-Bahá; his father is an Afnán, a grandson of Ḥájí Mírzá `Abu'l-Qásim, a cousin of the mother of the Báb and a brother of His wife. [CB280; GBF2]
  • He is the G̲h̲usn-i-Mumtáz, the Chosen Branch. [BBD87]
  • `Shoghi' means `one who longs'. [CB281]
  • `Abdu'l-Bahá commands everyone, even Shoghi Effendi's father, to add the title `Effendi' after his name. [CB281; GBF2]
  • `Abdu'l-Bahá gives him the surname Rabbání in the early years of his study in Haifa so that he will not be confused with his cousins, who are all called Afnán. Rabbání is also used by Shoghi Effendi's brothers and sister. [BBD191–2; DH60–1]
  • See GBF6 for the schools he attends.
  • See also Rabbani, The Priceless Pearl;

    Rabbani, The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith;

    Giachery, Shoghi Effendi: Recollections.

 
[ABBC Online] [ABBC #]
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< 52 B.E. | 54 B.E. >
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Most of the Gregorian Calendar dates, A.H. 1166 (A.D. 1753) to 153 B.E (A.D. 1996), are from the original book, A Basic Bahá'í Chronology. From 153 B.E (A.D. 1996) to present the Gregorian Calendar dates are from A Basic Bahá'í Chronology online. The Hebrew, Islamic and Bahá'í dates were calculated by the ABG staff and may be subject to error, despite the great care that was taken. When the Gregorian date is "In the year", "c. Mar 1797", etc., we list the nearest approximate Hebrew, Islamic and Bahá'í dates.
 
Notes:
  • The dates in the left column do not always match the dates in the text. This is due to the plethora of calculations and calculators available. We use the calendar conversions from Calendar Home - Convert a date.
  • Continuous time periods, e.g., Monday thru Friday or June thru August, are annotated as Monday / Friday and June / August rather than Monday-Friday and June-August in all four calendars. This is to avoid confusion with Islamic days and months which contain a hyphen (or dash), e.g. Yawm ath-Thulatha', Jumadá al-akhirah.
  • Date Format = Day of the Week Name, Day of the Month Number, Month Name, Year Number -
  • c. = circa - meaning: "Around, round about, about. The prep. is often used in Eng. with dates, as circa 1400 (c 1400)." (Oxford English Dictionary)
  • Items with a greenish background are publications 
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© 156 - 181 B.E. (A.D. 1999 - 2024; A.H. 1419 - 1445; A.M. 5759 - 5784)
A Bahá'í Glossary
 
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