Who is The Bab and what is His station in the Bahai Faith?
Baha’is believe that The Bab (literally, The Gate) is the first of two prophets in the Baha’i Revelation. The Bab was born Mirza ‘Ali Muhammed, a sayyid, that is, a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammed (Peace be upon Him). ‘Ali Muhammed worked as a merchant for his uncle in the city of Bushihir in Persia, now modern day Iran. His ministry, brief though it was, had the most powerful effect on the Islamic clergy and government of the time. The Bab was persecuted, imprisoned, and eventually martyred. His crime was His declaration of His Mission and His teachings of The One God would manifest after Him, e.g. Baha’u’llah. The Bab upheld all the eternal teachings of previous religions, in other words, the recognition and worship of God, prayer, obedience to God, obedience to ones government, nonviolence, love for ones fellowman, unity, and so on. His followers were likewise persecuted, and more than 20,000 of them martyred in their turn.
