Bab: Persian Bayan

Questions for Further Study

• 1. Explain the relationship between the Bab and Babism, on the one hand, and Baha’u’llah and the Baha’i faith on the other. For reference, see the latter’s Kitab-i-aqdas. Specifically, how did the Persian Bayan lay the groundwork for Baha’u’llah?
• 2. Both the Bab and, later, Baha’u’llah wrote many of their documents from prison. Again, referring to the entry on the latter’s Kitab-i-aqdas, why were these two men imprisoned? What threat did they represent?
• 3. Imagine that Muhammad, the founder of Islam (see the entry on the Qur’an), were to engage in a conversation with the Bab. What do you think his reaction to the Bab’s beliefs would be? Explain.
• 4. Babism was a heretical sect of Islam, and, indeed, various religions have had to contend with heresy and offshoots that claimed their version of the faith was truer than the original parent faith. What do you think motivates this tendency toward abrogating the parent faith in favor of a new one, not only in Islam but also in Christianity (see, for example, the entry on Canons and Decrees of the Council of Trent or the Nestorian Book of the Bee) and Buddhism (see, for example, the entry on Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path)?
• 5. What comparisons might you draw between the Persian Bayan and the New Testament book of Revelation?