The Birth and Early Life of Bahá'u'lláh

Bahá’u’lláh was born in Tihrán two years before the Báb was born in Shíráz. Esslemont opens his chapter on Him with the facts of His birth:

Mírzá Ḥusayn-‘Alí, Who afterwards assumed the title of Bahá’u’lláh (i.e. Glory of God), ... was born in Tihrán (Teheran), the capital city of Persia, between dawn and sunrise on the 12th of November, 1817.

His father, Mírzá ‘Abbás of Núr, known as Mírzá Buzurg, was a Vazír, a Minister of State. His family was wealthy and distinguished, Esslemont writes, many of its members having occupied important positions in the Government and in the Civil and Military Services of Persia.

He never attended school or college, and what little teaching He received was given at home. Nevertheless, Esslemont writes, even as a child:

He showed wonderful wisdom and knowledge.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá told Esslemont that from childhood His Father was extremely kind and generous, that He loved the outdoors and spent most of His time in the garden or the fields, and that people of every kind, ministers of the Court and children alike, were drawn to Him. By the age of thirteen or fourteen He was renowned for His learning, and in large gatherings He would discuss intricate religious questions with the leading divines.

When He was twenty-two His father died, leaving Him responsible for His younger brothers and sisters and for the extensive family estates. The Government wished Him to succeed to His father’s position in the Ministry, as was customary in Persia, but He did not accept. The Prime Minister then said:

Leave him to himself. Such a position is unworthy of him. He has some higher aim in view. I cannot understand him, but I am convinced that he is destined for some lofty career.

His daughter Bahíyyih Khánum later told Lady Blomfield about the household of her childhood in Tihrán. No one was ever turned away from their doors, and a table was spread for all who came. The people called Him the Father of the Poor.

When the Báb declared His mission in 1844, Bahá’u’lláh, then in His twenty-seventh year, boldly espoused the Cause of the new Faith. Esslemont writes that He soon became recognized as one of the most powerful and fearless exponents of it.

Bahá’ís observe the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh as a Holy Day. It is the second of the Twin Holy Birthdays, kept on consecutive days each year together with the Birth of the Báb.

A retelling based on Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era by J. E. Esslemont (Project Gutenberg eBook #19241), with the "Father of the Poor" detail from Lady Blomfield's The Chosen Highway. The name Mírzá Buzurg is from H. M. Balyuzi's Bahá'u'lláh, The King of Glory. For the fuller account, see the original.

Esslemont, J. E.. (1923). *Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era*. George Allen & Unwin. https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19241/pg19241-images.html