Who Was the Báb?

The Báb was Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad of Shíráz, the central figure at the opening of The Dawn-Breakers and the revealer whose appearance shattered the expectations of His age.

His title means “the Gate.” In the first phase of the story, that title can sound transitional, almost modest. Nabíl’s narrative makes plain that the reality was not modest at all. The Báb spoke and acted with authority, revealed scripture in extraordinary volume, gathered disciples of exceptional force, and set in motion events the old order could neither absorb nor silence.

Several facts define His place in the chronicle:

1. He declared His mission in Shíráz in 1844.
2. Mullá Husayn was the first to recognize Him.
3. He sent forth the first believers, later remembered as the Letters of the Living.
4. He journeyed to Mecca and Medina, bringing His claim into the sacred center of Islam.
5. He was imprisoned first in Máh-Kú and later in Chihríq.
6. He was publicly examined in Tabríz and martyred there in 1850.

Nabíl’s narrative does not present the Báb as a mere reformer. He appears as a revealer whose words judged the age around Him. That is why the reaction to Him became so intense. Officials feared public disorder. Clerics feared the collapse of religious authority. Ordinary people found themselves compelled either toward devotion or toward hostility.

To enter the story at the moment of His declaration, read Episode V: From Dusk to Divinity. To follow the last public stages of His ministry, continue through Episode XX: Judgment Before the Throne and Episode XXV: The Martyr of Tabríz.