‘Dazzling splendour’ of the Declaration of the Báb

The Anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb is to be commemorated at about two hours after sunset on 23 May. The period from sunset on 23 May to sunset on 24 May is one of the nine Bahá’í Holy Days on which work is suspended.

Shoghi Effendi tells of the impact of the Báb’s declaration on Mullá Husayn, the seeker who heard Him utter it on the night of 23 May, 1844:

“This Revelation,” Mullá Ḥusayn has further testified, “so suddenly and impetuously thrust upon me, came as a thunderbolt which, for a time, seemed to have benumbed my faculties. I was blinded by its dazzling splendor and overwhelmed by its crushing force. Excitement, joy, awe, and wonder stirred the depths of my soul. Predominant among these emotions was a sense of gladness and strength which seemed to have transfigured me. How feeble and impotent, how dejected and timid, I had felt previously! Then I could neither write nor walk, so tremulous were my hands and feet. Now, however, the knowledge of His Revelation had galvanized my being. I felt possessed of such courage and power that were the world, all its peoples and its potentates, to rise against me, I would, alone and undaunted, withstand their onslaught. The universe seemed but a handful of dust in my grasp. I seemed to be the voice of Gabriel personified, calling unto all mankind: ‘Awake, for, lo! the morning Light has broken. Arise, for His Cause is made manifest. The portal of His grace is open wide; enter therein, O peoples of the world! For He Who is your promised One is come!’”

— Shoghi Effendi, in God Passes By

Some other resources

Bahá’u’lláh’s “Tablet of the Bell”, in which he expounds on the significance of the Declaration of the Báb can be found in the book Days of Remembrance.

A succinct summary of the life of the Báb is published on the official website of the worldwide Bahá’í community. See The Life of the Báb.

Featured photo: The House of the Báb, where the Báb declared His mission on 23 May 1844 in Shíráz, Iran, before its destruction in 1979. Source: Bahá’í Media Bank, copyright © Bahá’í International Community.