The Lineage and Birth of the Báb

A retelling based on chapter 3 of The Dawn-Breakers, Nabíl's narrative of the early days of the Bahá'í Revelation, translated and edited by Shoghi Effendi. Words in quotation marks are from that book.

The Báb, whose name was Siyyid 'Alí-Muḥammad, was born in the city of Shíráz on the first day of Muḥarram in the year 1235 of the Islamic calendar. In his notes to Nabíl's narrative, Shoghi Effendi gives the date as 20 October 1819.

Nabíl writes: "He belonged to a house which was renowned for its nobility and which traced its origin to Muhammad Himself." Both His father and His mother were descendants of the Prophet, and both "were loved and respected by the people."

His father, Siyyid Muḥammad-Riḍá, was "known throughout the province of Fars for his piety and virtue, and was held in high esteem and honour." He died in the Báb's early childhood. A note in the book adds that, according to Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl, the Báb was still an infant, not yet weaned, when His father passed away.

The Báb was reared by His maternal uncle, Ḥájí Mírzá Siyyid 'Alí, who would later give his life for the Faith. The uncle sent Him to school as a child, and afterwards took Him into his own work as a merchant.

Nabíl links the date of the Báb's birth with a saying traditionally attributed to the Imám 'Alí: "I am two years younger than my Lord." Its meaning, he writes elsewhere, "remained unrevealed except to those who sought and recognised the truth of the new Revelation."

"Twenty-five years, four months, and four days had elapsed since the day of His birth," Nabíl records, "when He declared His Mission."

This is a retelling. For the fuller account, see The Dawn-Breakers by Nabíl-i-A'ẓam.

Nabíl-i-A'ẓam. (1932). *The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Revelation*. Bahá'í Publishing Trust. https://www.bahai.org/library/other-literature/historical/dawn-breakers/