The Three Uncles of the Báb

A retelling for children, based on the account of the three uncles of the Báb in Bahá'í Chronicles.

When the Báb was just a young boy, His father passed away. He needed someone to care for Him, to look after Him and watch over Him as He grew. That someone was His uncle — a kind man named Haji Mirza Siyyid Ali.

The Báb had three uncles in all, three brothers. And here is something to remember about them: each one of them came to believe in the Báb in his own way, and in his own time. Their stories are not the same. So let me tell you each one.

The uncle who raised Him

Haji Mirza Siyyid Ali was the middle brother. He was the one who became like a guardian to the Báb after the Báb's own father died. So he knew the Báb not from far away, but up close — he had helped raise Him.

One day, a young man named Quddús came and taught this uncle about the new Faith. Quddús was very special: he was the last of the first followers of the Báb, a group called the Letters of the Living. And after those very first followers, do you know who was the first person in the whole city of Shíráz to believe? It was this uncle. Of everyone in that city, he was first.

He did not only believe quietly to himself, either. When the Báb was arrested and taken away to be kept far off in a lonely mountain prison, this uncle did not abandon Him. He took full responsibility for his beloved Nephew. He even made the long journey to visit Him in that distant place.

But loving the Báb in those days was dangerous. There were powerful people who hated the new Faith and wanted to stamp it out. In the end, Haji Mirza Siyyid Ali gave his very life rather than give up what he believed. He was one of a group remembered ever after as the Seven Martyrs — seven brave souls who would not turn away from the truth, no matter what it cost them. He was the very first of those seven.

The uncle who asked his questions

The eldest brother was named Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad. He was a merchant, a man who bought and sold goods, and long ago he had even done business together with the Báb.

But here is the surprising part. While the Báb was alive, this uncle did not yet believe. And yet — even without believing — he stood up for his Nephew. He defended Him. He supported Him, strongly and faithfully, all through the years the Báb was teaching. Sometimes a person's heart knows what is right even before his mind has finished figuring it out.

Then, after some years had passed, this uncle made a journey with his youngest brother to a holy city. While he was there, he received an invitation he never expected: he was invited to meet Bahá'u'lláh.

Now, this uncle had things on his mind — real questions, the kind that had been holding him back. So when Bahá'u'lláh gently asked him what was standing in the way of his believing, the uncle did a wise thing. He did not pretend he had no doubts. Instead, he wrote his questions down and handed them over.

And then something wonderful happened. In answer to those very questions, Bahá'u'lláh revealed a whole book — written in only two days. It is one of the most treasured books of the Faith, and it began as answers to one honest man who was brave enough to ask. When the uncle read it, his doubts melted away, and at last he believed with his whole heart.

That precious book was kept safe and cared for. Long, long afterward — many years later — this uncle's own great-granddaughter gave it to the Bahá'í archives, so it could be treasured and protected forever.

The uncle who came last

The youngest brother was named Haji Mirza Hassan Ali. He was the one who had traveled with his eldest brother to the holy places.

But when the chance came to meet Bahá'u'lláh, this youngest uncle said no. Not just a soft, unsure no — he refused firmly. He simply was not ready.

And yet his story does not end there. People can change. Hearts can open, even when it takes a long while. Later on, this uncle who had once flatly refused came to believe after all — not only in one of the great Holy Figures, but in both of Them.

Three brothers, three journeys

So there they are: three brothers, three uncles of the Báb.

One believed early and gave everything, even his life. One believed only after his hardest questions were answered, and that answer became a treasured book. And one refused at first, then found his way to belief much later.

It would be easy to think there is only one "right" way to come to believe in something true. But these three brothers show us something kinder. People reach the truth by different roads and at different speeds. What matters is not who gets there first or fastest. What matters is that, each in his own time, every one of them got there in the end.

This is a retelling for children. For the fuller account, see "Haji Mirza Siyyid Ali, Haji Mirza Siyyid Muhammad and Haji Mirza Hassan Ali".

editors, B. C.. *Bahá'í Chronicles*. https://bahaichronicles.org/haji-mirza-siyyid-ali-haji-mirza-siyyid-muhammad-and-haji-mirza-hassan-ali/