An Introduction to Tablet of Mulla Baqir

Him Whom God shall make manifest is immeasurably exalted above every divine name and attribute and above any one’s coming into existence by His bidding! Before discussing the substantive response and message of the Bab to Mulla Baqir, it is befitting to remember the structural parallel of this tablet with the way the Bab interprets the structure of the tradition of Kumayl. Tradition of Kumayl, or tradition of truth, recounts the conversation between Imam ‘Ali and his disciple Kumayl who asks his master about truth. At first ‘Ali chastises Kumayl for such question, and teaches him humility. Once Kumayl arrives in the mode of humility and is somehow prepared to understand truth, ‘Ali defines truth through five statements. Kumayl repeatedly asks for more explanation and after the fifth statement ‘Ali ends the conversation. 14 Tablet to Mulla Baqir is endowed with the same structure in a more explicit way. The questioner this time is not an ordinary believer. He is one of the letters of the living, namely one who is endowed with the highest spiritual authority in Babi religion. Yet the Bab goes beyond implicit teaching of humility to Mulla Baqir. He says that were he not a letter of the Living he would have ordained a punishment for him. He chastises Mulla Baqir’s illegitimate question by saying: “ How supremely exalted is the One of Whom thou dost enquire, and how insignificant is thine essence! ” 15 Then to bring this awareness to Mulla baqir he orders him the two stages of spiritual ritual of humility and detachment in order to make him prepared for realizing the truth about Him Whom God shall make manifest. Yet, there is a major difference between the two conversations. The tradition of kumayl ends in a pessimistic note, indicating the limits of Kumayl’s understanding of the message of ‘Ali. However, the opposite is the case in the Tablet to Mulla Baqir. As we will see later, the Bab is giving the glad tiding to Mulla Baqir that at the end of the year eight and the beginning of the year nine he would attain the presence of Him Whom God shall make manifest. The recognition of the Promised one is not dependent on his acceptance by anyone . This fundamental principle which is a call for independent thinking of his believers is a necessary implication of the principle of divine unity. One should not become dependent on recognition of the Promised One by anyone. The obvious reference of this point are the religious leaders and scholars. For example, the Bab says: Wert thou to recognise Him, in the Days of His Revelation, through the most learned of the Dispensation of the Bayán, thou hast failed to recognise Him; and wert thou to find him hesitant in recognizing His Cause and yet thou hast called him by the name “human,” thou hast not repudiated the letter of negation to affirm the Manifestation of Transcendent Unity… For all that pertaineth to all things hath been created by Him. Verily, too sanctified is God to be known through His creation. Nay, rather, His creatures are to be known through Him. 16 But the Bab goes far beyond such idea and emphasizes even something that is unthinkable. What he says is that in searching for Him Whom God shall make manifest one should not be veiled by even the Unity of the Bayan (the Váhid of the Bayan.) This unity consists of the Bab himself together with his 18 letters of the unity. In other words, if someone make a claim to be the Promised One at a time when the Bab and all letters of the living are present, and then both the Bab and all the 18 letters reject the truth of the claimant, a true Babi should ignore the rejection of these 19 exalted ones, and judge the claimant

14 See Saiedi, Nader. Gate of the Heart, Ch.6. 15 The Bab, Tablet to Mulla Baqir. 16 Ibid.