He whom God shall make manifest
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Him Whom God shall make manifest (Arabic: من يظهر الله, Persian: مظهر کلّیه الهی) is a messianic figure in the religion of Bábism. The messianic figure was repeatedly mentioned by the Báb, the founder of Bábism, in His book, the Bayán. The Báb described the messianic figure as the origin of all divine attributes, and stated that his command was equivalent to God’s command. The Báb stated that once the messianic figure had arrived, the perusal of one of his verses was to be greater than a thousand perusals of the Bayán.[1] The prediction is widely recognized as being fulfilled by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith.[2]
Claims
After the Báb's execution in 1850, there were some Bábis who claimed to be He whom God shall make manifest.[1][3] Later in 1863, Bahá'u'lláh privately laid claim to be the messianic figure, and made his claim publicly in 1866–1868. Those who followed him became known as Bahá'ís, and his claim was by far the most successful. The Azalis (those Babis who did not accept Bahá'u'lláh) objected to Bahá'u'lláh's statement,[1] and shortly after Bahá'u'lláh's claim first started to attract attention, Bahá'í historians report that Subh-i-Azal made a claim to the title.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Smith, Peter (2000). "He whom God shall make Manifest". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. pp. 180–1. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ^ Hutter, Manfred (2005). "Bahā'īs". In Lindsay Jones (ed.). Encyclopedia of Religion. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA. pp. 737–40. ISBN 0-02-865733-0.
- ^ Smith, Peter (2000). "Dayyan". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 118. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- ^ Effendi, Shoghi, God Passes By, p. 167,
The Universal House of Justice reiterates this in at least one letter to a Bahá'í, although most likely uses the former as its source
.
Further reading
- Lambden, Stephen (transl.). Extracts from a Tablet of the Báb to Mullá Muhammad Báqir-i Tabrízí.
- Denis MacEoin (1986). "Hierarchy, Authority and Eschatology in Early Bábí Thought". In Iran: Studies in Bábí and Bahá'í History. Vol. 3. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press. ISBN 0-933770-16-2.
- Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 978-1-55458-056-9.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Taherzadeh, A. (1992). The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-344-5.