What this is
A narrative history podcast about the early Bahá'í Faith in 19th-century Persia, following the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and the first believers through upheaval, persecution, and sacrifice.
Immerse yourself in The Dawning Light, a riveting journey into the trials, triumphs, and faith of the early Bahá’ís, set against the tumultuous backdrop of 19th-century Persia, brought to life with a fresh and engaging perspective.
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Episode I
Episode I: Nabíl's Narrative
Before memory could fail, Nabíl gathered the first witnesses and took up the burden of a history too holy to vanish.
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Episode II
Episode II: Opulence and Oppression
Qajar Persia glittered on the surface, but beneath it lay a world of corruption, fear, and power waiting for a reckoning.
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Episode III
Episode III: Awakening the Dawn
Across Persia and 'Iráq, Shaykh Ahmad stirred a waiting remnant and taught them to watch for a dawn not yet seen.
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Episode IV
Episode IV: In Pursuit of the Promised
After Shaykh Ahmad's death, the trust passed into urgent hands, and the search for the Promised One drew near.
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Episode V
Episode V: From Dusk to Divinity
In a quiet house in Shíráz, a long search reached its appointed hour, and the history of a new age began to turn.
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Episode VI
Episode VI: Secrets of Tihrán
Mullá Husayn carried a message north to Tihrán under cover of night, where one guarded meeting opened onto a destiny still hidden.
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Episode VII
Episode VII: The Prince of Núr
As Bahá'u'lláh set out for Mázindarán, quiet signs gathered around a mission few yet understood.
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Episode VIII
Episode VIII: The Eastern Summons
Before the pilgrimage, word from Khurásán drew the Cause eastward into a hard proving ground of faith and resolve.
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Episode IX
Episode IX: Pilgrimage of the Gate
The Báb journeyed to Mecca and Medina, carrying His claim into the heart of Islam beneath the shadow of sacrifice.
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Episode X
Episode X: The Fire Returns to Shíráz
When the Báb returned to Shíráz, the space for silence narrowed and the cost of the Cause came closer into view.
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Episode XI
Episode XI: The City Turns Hostile
As pressure closed around the believers in Shíráz, every attempt to contain the Cause only deepened the trial.
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Episode XII
Episode XII: Splendor and Siege in Isfahán
In Isfahán, welcome and danger met in the same streets as the Báb entered a city alive with rumor, power, and expectation.
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Episode XIII
Episode XIII: Three Nights in Káshán
A dream prepared Káshán for a brief visit whose spiritual weight far exceeded its few passing nights.
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Episode XIV
Episode XIV: Road to a Darker Prison
On the road from Káshán to Tabríz, signs of devotion appeared in unexpected hearts even as the way darkened ahead.
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Episode XV
Episode XV: The Prison on the Mountain
At the remote fortress of Máh-Kú, the prison meant to isolate the Báb became charged with a presence no walls could quiet.
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Episode XVI
Episode XVI: Mullá Husayn to Mázindarán
Mullá Husayn left comfort behind and rode toward Mázindarán, drawn onward by a promise not yet understood.
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Episode XVII
Episode XVII: Táhirih Unbound
Pressed by enemies and hemmed in on every side, Táhirih moved toward Khurásán beneath gathering peril and unseen protection.
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Episode XVIII
Episode XVIII: Badasht, Where the Veil Was Torn
At Badasht, the Cause reached a threshold where old forms could no longer contain what had begun.
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Episode XIX
Episode XIX: The Grievous Mountain
In the harsher prison of Chihríq, confinement tightened, yet the warning carried by the Báb only grew harder to ignore.
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Episode XX
Episode XX: Judgment Before the Throne
At Tabríz, the Báb was summoned before princes and divines, and a public reckoning laid bare far more than His judges intended.
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Episode XXI
Episode XXI: Under the Black Standard
In Mázindarán, the Black Standard was raised, and a gathering of believers moved toward a trial that would test everything.
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Episode XXII
Episode XXII: Blood at Shaykh Tabarsí
At Shaykh Tabarsí, the siege closed tighter, and the cost of steadfastness rose toward one of the darkest passages of the Bábí struggle.
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Episode XXIII
Episode XXIII: Seven Who Would Not Bend
In Tihrán, seven believers were led into a final public test, and their witness gave the city something it could not forget.
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Episode XXIV
Episode XXIV: Flames Over Nayríz
When Vahíd reached Nayríz, a city already under strain moved toward a reckoning charged with fervor, fear, and betrayal.
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Episode XXV
Episode XXV: The Martyr of Tabríz
In Tabríz, the state prepared its gravest blow against the Cause, yet the hour that followed passed into sacred memory.
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Episode XXVI
Episode XXVI: The Long Siege of Zanján
In Zanján, devotion and power met in a siege of uncommon length and terrible cost.
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Episode XXVII
Episode XXVII: After the Blood, Karbilá
After years of upheaval, Bahá'u'lláh stepped quietly onto a road that would gather the scattered Cause toward its future.
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Episode XXVIII
Episode XXVIII: The Black Pit Opens
A desperate act against the Sháh opened the way to one of the fiercest persecutions the believers had yet faced.