Siyyid Muhammad Isfahani was a spy thus he was killed by a group of Baha'is in Akka

When Siyyid Muhammad was sent to Akka with the group of exiles, he acted as a spy for the Ottoman government. He was tasked with monitoring the activities of Baha'u'llah and the Baha'is and reporting them to the central authorities.

In 1288 AH (1871 AD), Siyyid Muhammad and two of his associates (Mirza Aqajan and Mirza Rida-Quli) were killed in Akka by a group of Baha'is.

(Taqrirat-i-Dar Bareh Kitab-i-Aqdas by Abdu'l-Hamid Ishraq-Khavari)

https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/4c0ff5cf-e471-427c-9344-d16bfabc0994

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Main actors during the Constitutional Revolution were Baha'is not Azalis according to Moojan Momen.

It is the thesis of this paper that the evidence presented demonstrates that the main actors in this period [Constitutional Revolution, 1883–1906] were not Azalí Bábís as is usually stated but were either Bahá’ís or persons actively engaged with the Bahá’í community.

(The Reform Movement in Isfahan, Iran: The Role of Bábís and Bahá’ís by Moojan Momen)

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/17/6/717

The Constitutional Revolution was a nationalist and religious movement that arose in response to European interference in Iran's internal affairs. According to Mongol Bayat, it was led by a coalition of patriots, merchants & religious leaders, its primary goal was to replace the arbitrary rule of the Qajar monarchy with a representative government and the rule of law. This struggle eventually led to the establishment of the first Iranian parliament known as the Majles, and the promulgation of a national constitution in 1906.

Azalis contributed to the revolution by acting as secret religious dissidents who shifted their focus from doctrinal reforms to a broader political struggle for national liberation. To avoid persecution and gain public trust, they often practiced Taqiyya (Dissimulation) to hide their true identity while wearing traditional clerical turbans and garb. Key Azali figures and their networks were instrumental in forming secret societies, mobilizing religious students and distributing revolutionary literature that pushed high ranking religious leaders into action.

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Azali Baha'i split according to a Russian Scholar

The split between the followers of Baha'u'llah and Subh-i-Azal, often referred to as the Azali-Baha'i split, was a fundamental rupture within the movement that followed the execution of the Bab. This conflict was characterized by a struggle for influence and leadership among the Bab’s adherents, eventually leading to the emergence of two distinct groups: the Baha'is and the Azalis.

Origins and Personal Enmity

The sources describe the split as the result of a "rupture and personal enmity" between the two half-brothers, Subh-i-Azal and Baha'u'llah. Following the Bab's death, there was a gradual advancement of both figures as they sought to lead the community. While Subh-i-Azal had been a prominent early leader, scholars noted that his authority began to wane; for instance, a historical poem from the early days of Baha'ism depicts the "loss of authority of Subhe Ezel among the sect".

Russian researchers noted several factors regarding Subh-i-Azal’s leadership:

• Seclusion: His role was considered limited by some because he spent nine years in hiding to escape death.
• Declining Following: By the late 19th century, he was described as living a "pitiful existence," with his own children being almost his only acolytes.

Exile and Geographical Separation

The tension between the two factions reached a peak while the Babis were living in Adrianople under Ottoman rule. Baha'u'llah reportedly sent letters to European consuls in the city protesting the "unjust treatment" of the group by the Ottoman Porte.

To resolve the conflict and prevent the movement from influencing the local Muslim population, the Turkish authorities decided to relocate and separate the factions. This resulted in a geographical split:

• Azalis: Supporters of Subh-i-Azal were exiled to the island of Cyprus.
• Baha'is: Supporters of Baha'u'llah were sent to Akka in Syria.

Political and Ideological Divergence

The split also manifested in different approaches to political engagement, particularly during the Iranian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1911.

• The Baha'i Stance: Under the leadership of Abbas Effendi (Baha'u'llah's son), Baha'is were explicitly instructed not to participate in the revolution or seek seats in the Majlis (parliament), emphasizing a focus on spiritual rather than political power.
• The Azali Stance: In contrast, the followers of Subh-i-Azal were active during the revolution, often supporting the movement with "left-wing slogans".

Russian diplomats and scholars were among the first to document these internal struggles in detail. For example, the diplomat F.A. Bakulin wrote a note on the disagreements between Baha'u'llah and Subh-i-Azal as early as 1874, a time when these details were largely unknown in Europe.

(N. A. Kuznetsova's 1963 article, "On the History of the Study of Babism and Baha'ism in Russia")

www.orientalstudies.ru/rus/images/pdf/journals/OIRV_6_1963_02_kuznetsova.pdf

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Baha'i scholars write about the Azali community... Azalis finally integrated into Muslim society

Today, it would appear that there is no longer an Azali leader. Indeed, there does not even seem to be an Azali community. With the exception of isolated efforts exerted by a Cypriot grandson of Mirza Yahya Azal, Jalal Azal, who died in 1971, and by an Azali in Iran called Qasimi, who published a small number of Azali writings between the 1940s and 1960s, there have been no further attempts to promote the cause of Mirza Yahya Azal or to publish Azali books. There is evidently no collection of writings and no Azali archive, as MacEoin’s research has shown. Azal's descendants who still live in Cyprus are Muslims and know little about the history of their family or about their religious past. Riza Ezel, grandson of Mirza Yahya Azal, who tends his grandfather’s grave, regards Mirza Yahya Azal as a Muslim saint. A sociological study has established that the Azalis do not form a distinct, active group, and that a kind of paralysis has set in. No growth is taking place. The Azalis do not present themselves as such, but are integrated into Muslim society, making use of the services provided by and for the wider Muslim community.

(Making The Crooked Straight by Udo Schaefer, Nicola Towfigh, Ulrich Gollmer, p. 630)

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Women are commanded to engrave word Allāhum on their breasts with Henna

Women are commanded to engrave/tattoo (naghsh) the word Allāhum (اللهم) on their breasts. This engraving is to be performed using dyes (khidabāt) such as Henna (ḥinnāʾ) and similar substances. The overall practice of using these substances is permitted as a form of adornment (zīnāt).

(The Bab quoted in Hasht Bishisht. This book written by Shaykh Ahmad Ruhi & Mirza Aqa Khan of Kerman, the son-in-laws of Subh-i-Azal)

Check Page 57 of the PDF, here:

https://bayanic.com/showItem.php?id=hasht

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Yajuj and Majuj (Gog and Magog) according to Baha'u'llah

In the Bahá’í Faith, they also appear with the meaning of those who embody corruption. Among these references, in a metaphorical context, it is stated: “Ya’júj signifieth self and passion” (Bahá’u’lláh, quoted in Áthár-i-Qalam-i-A‘lá, vol. 7, p. 136) and “Ya’júj and Ma’júj, who are the two disbelieving souls” (Bahá’u’lláh, quoted in Má’idiy-i-Ásmání, vol. 4, p. 99), alluding to Mírzá Yaḥyá and Siyyid Muḥammad-i-Iṣfahání.

https://adibmasumian.com/translations/ab00009_excerpt_gog_magog/

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Shoghi Effendi did not translate that part in the Gleanings

Bahá'u'lláh writes in a tablet called Lawh-i-‘Abdu’r-Razzáq [1]:

O people of Bahá, drink this wine of everlasting life openly in the name of the Beloved, the Most Glorious, despite the enmity of the adversaries. Leave these artificial, dung-beetle-like forms to occupy themselves with the impurities of their own loathsome, foul insinuations. By My life, the True One! The nostrils of the cow cannot partake of this most pure fragrance, and this peerless, incomparable stream of the All-Glorious is not, nor will ever be, the portion of the people of error.

Original Persian:

ای اهل بها اين خمر بقا را بر ملا باسم محبوب ابهی بياشاميد رَغْمًا لِأَنْف الأعدآء بگذاريد اين هياکل جَعْليّه جُعَليّه را در خبائث اشارات کثيفهء منتنه خود مشغول شوند * فو نفسی الحق مشام بقر را از اين عطر اطهر نصيبی نه و اين زلال بيمثال سلسال ذوالجلال قسمت اهل ضلال نبوده و نخواهد بود

Shoghi Effendi did not translate that part in the Gleanings, I wonder why!

[1] https://oceanoflights.org/bahaullah-st-021-fa/

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The Bab's teachings bore the marks of fanaticism.

In the context of considerations about the intelligentsia, it should be noted that the Bab was a charismatic leader, but he did not have a thorough education, and the nature of his beliefs and the way they were spread bore the marks of fanaticism. After 1863, two groups emerged that can be associated with two streams of the intelligentsia: radical and prone to immediate action, and motivated by hatred of the Qajars – the Azalis, and more moderate and associating people who were thoroughly educated, for whom the driving force of action was logical conclusions and who were inclined to gradual changes – the Baha'is.

Abassy, Małgorzata. 2010. Irańska inteligencja w XIX wieku i Rewolucja Konstytucyjna (1905–1911). Kraków: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, page 92

https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Ira%C5%84ska+inteligencja+w+XIX+wieku+i+Rewolucja+Konstytucyjna+(1905%E2%80%931911)&author=Abassy,+Ma%C5%82gorzata&publication_year=2010

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Mirza Hadi Dawlatabadi, converted many but

One of Azal’s main supporters in Isfahan, Mirza Hadi Dawlatabadi, converted many but, as in Naraq and Kashan, several of these, such as Aqa ‘Ali Nur (d. c. 1294/1877)’ and Aga Muhammad Kazim, went to Baghdad and returned as supporters of Baha’u'llah.

(Baha'i Communities of Iran 1851 to 1912, Vol. 2, by Dr. Moojan Momen)

Mírzá Hádí Dawlat-Ábádí, one of the divines of Iṣfahán, who became a follower of the Báb, later supported Mírzá Yaḥyá, and was appointed his representative in Írán and his successor. During the persecutions against the Bábís he recanted his faith.

(Tablets of Bahá’u’lláh by Bahá’u’lláh - Kalímát-i-Firdawsíyyih - Words of Paradise)

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In the 1880s Baha’i assemblies included mullas, and antagonism to Babis and Baha’is as heretics did not prevent interaction between Shi’a and alternative views.

The emergence of the Babi movement in the 1840s as an explicitly radical (and anti-‘ulama) alternative, proclaiming a revolutionary and messianic revelation and a break with the Shi’a past, did meet open confrontation and condemnation from the religious leadership, leaving the term ‘Babi’ as a lasting term of abuse for heresy, innovation and unbelief. However, it is notable that Shi’a leaders moved cautiously and gradually to outright condemnation, acting in conjunction with secular authorities, and that senior ‘ulama were divided from lower-ranking mullas and tullab, numbers of whom were attracted to the new movement. Following a period of confrontation and persecution and the expulsion of prominent Babis from Iran in the 1850s, the continuation of the movement rested on the use of taqiyeh (concealment) by sympathisers, which preserved overlaps between members of the ‘ulama and Babi or their successor Baha’i and Azali groups. In the 1880s Baha’i assemblies included mullas, and antagonism to Babis and Baha’is as heretics did not prevent interaction between Shi’a and alternative views. The drive to monopolise and define conformity/‘orthodoxy’ co-existed with pragmatic adaptability and shifting ideological boundaries, rather than establishing binary oppositions between ‘permissive’ and ‘dogmatic’ versions of belief and practice.

(Religion, Culture and Politics in Iran - From the Qajars to Khomeini by Joanna de Groot)

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Another terrible Tablet of Baha'u'llah I wish to nominate is the Lawh-i Istintáq

Another terrible Tablet of Baha'u'llah I wish to nominate is the Lawh-i Istintáq, also known as the Tablet of Inquisition. The reasons are more serious and macabre than for other tablets discussed.

The tablet deals with the murder of 3 Azali's (Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani, Aqa Jan Kaj-Kulah and Mirza Rida-Quli Tafrishi) in Akka by a gang of 7 Baha'is -- the intimate companions of Baha'u'llah -- shortly after their arrival in Akka.

What's striking about this Tablet is that despite all the posturing by Baha'is about this situation, and the suggestion that the 7 Baha'is were not under Baha'u'llah's explicit or implied instruction to commit a triple homicide, Baha'u'llah actually outed himself with this verse: -

"Verily the Mute [al-akhras, Isfahani] called himself 'Quddus' and hath claimed what the Evil Whisperer (al-khannas) claimed for himself. The other one [Aqá Ján] called himself the 'Sword of Truth' (sayfu'l-haqq);; he said: 'I, verily, am the conqueror of the cities'. God hath sent the one who hath smitten upon his mouth, so that all may firmly believe that through this Satan's tail hath been cut off by the sword of the Merciful (sayfu'r-rahmán)." 

(Baha'u'llah, Lawh-i Istintáq)

Clearly, Baha'u'llah was pleased and believed they got what they deserved. This is further evidence that Baha'u'llah was at the very least complicit in serious criminal behaviour throughout his life. He deserved every minute of his jail time and exile and deserved far worse treatment than he actually received.

This is another tablet that Baha'is are ashamed to translate and distribute.

https://oceanoflights.org/bahaullah-pub20-092-fa/

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/10jp5qm/which_are_the_worst_tablets_of_bahaullah/j68iaeo/

In this tablet Baha'u'llah uses numerous severe and condemnatory terms in both Arabic and Persian for  Rida Quli, Áqá Ján, and Sayyid Muḥammad and the general category of opposing persons.

Adjectives and Nouns (Referencing Individuals):

• ظالم (ẓālim, oppressive)
• خبیث (khabīth, vile/wicked)
• خبیثین (khabīthīn, the two wicked ones)
• سید محمد خبیث (Sayyid Muḥammad-i khabīth, vile Sayyid Muḥammad)
• خبیث مردود (khabīth-i mardūd, vile, rejected one)
• اشقیا (ashqīyā, wretched ones)
• ملعون (malʻūn, accursed one)
• غافل پلید (ghāfil-i palīd, negligent, polluted one)
• اخترس (al-akhras, the mute) (Used specifically against the one who called himself Quddús)
• خناس (al-khannās, the slinking/withdrawing evil one) (Used specifically against the one who called himself Quddús)
• کاذبین (kādhibīn, liars)
• ذفراء (adh-dhufarāʼ, stinking ones)
• مشرکین (mushrikīn, associators/polytheists)
• کذاب (kadhdhāb, lying writer/book)

Descriptions of Actions and Character:

• اعمال شنیعه (aʻmāl-i shanīʻe, shameful deeds)
• اعمال خبیث (aʻmāl-i khabīth, vile deeds)
• غبره تیره ظلمانیه (ghubra-yi tīra-yi ẓulmānīyye, dark, obscure cloud) (Used to describe the corrupting influence originating from them)
• نفوس غافله (nufūs-i ghāfile, negligent souls)
• احوال غیر مرضیه (aḥwāl-i ghayr-i marḍīyye, unpleasing conditions)
• شئونات غیر لایقه (shuʼūnāt-i ghayr-i lāʼiqe, unbefitting states)
• اظهرت (اظهار) هستی و خودبینی (iẓhār-i hastī va khūd-bīnī, display of existence and ego)
• اعمال ناشایسته (aʻmāl-i nā-shāyiste, unbefitting deeds)
• اعمال ردیه غیر مرضیه (aʻmāl-i radīyye-yi ghayr-i marḍīyye, rejected, unpleasing deeds)
• شئونات مکرهه نالایقه (shuʼūnāt-i makrūhe-yi nā-lāʼiqe, hateful, unbefitting states)
• ذنب (dhunb, sin/vice)
• فقرات کفر آمیز (fiqarāt-i kufr-āmīz, paragraphs mixed with infidelity/unbelief)
• امر خبیثه کاذبه (amr-i khabīthe-yi kādhibe, vile, lying affair)
• اذ اؤتمن خان (when trusted he betrays)
• و اذا وعد خلف (and when he promises he breaks it)
• اذا حدث کذب (when he speaks he lies)
• روایات کاذبه سقیمه (rivāyāt-i kādhibe-yi saqīme, lying, unsound narrations)
• مجعولات مفتریه (majʻūlāt-i muftarīye, fabricated calumnies)
• کذب صراح (kiḏhbu ṣarāḥ, clear lie)
• قبح افعال و اعمال و ظنون و اوهام (qabḥ-i afʻāl va aʻmāl va ẓunūn va awhām, ugliness of deeds, actions, notions, and illusions)
• اثر جحیم (athar-i jaḥīm, mark of hell/blaze)
• رائحه اهل سجین (rāʼiḥa-yi ahl-i sijīn, odor of the people of Sijjin)

Curses and Maledictions:

• علیه لعنة الله (ʻalayhi laʻnatu’llāh, upon him is the curse of God)
• الا لعنة الله علی القوم الظالمین (al-laʻnatu’llāhu ‘ala’l-qawmi’ẓ-ẓālimīn, the curse of God upon the oppressive people)
• الا لعنة الله علی الکاذبین (al-laʻnatu’llāh ʻala’l-kādhibīn, the curse of God upon the liars)
• علیهما غضب الله (ʻalayhimā ghaḍabu’llāh, upon them both is the wrath of God)

Finally what happened?

The severe curses of Baha'u'llah upon Rida Quli (رضا قلی), Áqá Ján (آقا جان), and Sayyid Muḥammad (سید محمد) paved the way for their tragic end. These men, were not only cursed by Baha'u'llah but had also provoked the "wrath of God" through their betrayal! Baha'u'llah's loyal followers, guided by the intensity of Baha's curses, felt compelled to act. The seven Baha'is, his intimate companions, carried out the killing. Baha'is claim that this act was not merely a human decision but a consequence of the "divine retribution" that had been set in motion by the severe curses of Baha'u'llah, who had warned that "God takes him who turns away from His Cause." Their deaths were the inevitable result of their persistent opposition and defiance!!

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Baha'u'llah - A Serial Murderer

It's known that Baha'u'llah's ambitions for leadership created a trail of homicides across the Middle East, several of which are acknowledged even by Baha'i sources.

Baha'u'llah was involved in upwards of 20 homicides, including prominent Babis who didn't accept his claims to be HWGSMM and Azalis who opposed him. This is not to count Baha'u'llah's involvement in organising military insurgencies where many hundreds died.

Is there a complete list of the known victims of these crimes?

Here are a few I've gathered:

Hajji Mirza Ahmad of Kashan -- murdered in Baghdad, author of the early Babi history Kitab-i Nuqtat al-Kaf, a Babi who was loyal to Subh-i-Azal

Mirza `Alī Muhammad Sarrāj -- murdered in Baghdad by stabbing, author of a book opposing the claim that Baha'u'llah was HWGSMM

Sayyid Ismail Zawareh -- murdered in Baghdad, his throat was cut and the knife placed in his hand to make it look self-inflicted

Aqa Ali Muhammad -- murdered in Baghdad, a brother-in-law of the Bab

Aqa Abul Jasim of Kashan -- murdered in Baghdad, "because he had reported to Subh-i Azal that he heard that Baha’s pretension was that he was the return of the Imam Hussein"

Mullā Rajab `Alī (Qahir) -- murdered in Karbala, brother of Sarraj and a supporter of Subh-i-Azal. He was murdered with a revolver by a Baha'i man called Nasur the Arab.

Aqa Sayyid Ali the Arab -- murdered in Tabriz

Mirza Nasrullah -- murdered in Edirne, the brother-in-law of Subh-i-Azal

Mulla Rajab Ali Qahir -- murdered in Karbala, a brother-in-law of the Bab

Haji Mirza Muhammad Rida -- murdered in Akka, maternal uncle of Haji Sayyid Muhammad of Isfahan

Sayyid Muhammad Isfahani -- murdered in Akka, a supporter of Subh-i-Azal, seven Baha'is were convicted and jailed

Aqa Jan Kaj-Kulah -- murdered in Akka, a supporter of Subh-i-Azal, seven Baha'is were convicted and jailed

Mirza Rida-Quli Tafrishi -- murdered in Akka, a supporter of Subh-i-Azal, seven Baha'is were convicted and jailed

Muhammad Khan -- murdered in Akka, murdered in the Carawansaray of corn-sellers, buried in a shallow grave and discovered by authorities

Hajji Ibrahim -- murdered in Akka, murdered in the Carawansaray of corn-sellers, buried in a shallow grave and discovered by authorities

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/11jgnv4/bahaullah_a_serial_murderer/

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The Tablet of Wrath by Wahid Azal

And know that in the initial Days of this Manifestation, with the Permission of God and Its Authorization and with Its Command, We took a copy of the book of the Most Great Cage (kitāb al-aqfas) [i.e. the kitāb-i-aqdas] of your demonic founder, and We urinated upon it with intense urination until We saturated it in Our urine! Then was poured upon it lighter fluid and We lit it up, and it burned to ashes; and there was with us a witness to this Event, because with God such is its true worth, the true worth of all his writings and all of the writings of his successors from first to last!

https://wahidazal303.blogspot.com/2023/05/the-tablet-of-wrath-qadabiya.html?m=1

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But be vigilant awake lest one there should be a follower of Ezelis or a covenant-breaker!

But be vigilant awake lest one there should be a follower of Ezelis or a covenant-breaker! The instant that you feel that a person among these Persians is an Ezeli or a covenant-breaker, assuredly and immediately avoid his company for he is the essence of evil.

(Aflame with Devotion by Judy Hannen Moe, p 151)

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Badri-Jan, the sister of the murdered Mirza Rida-Quli, sought an interview with Ahmad Big Tawfiq and there accused Baha’u’llah of instigating the murders

A year after the murder of the Azalis, the Governor of ‘Akka, who had remained ill-disposed towards the exiles, was dismissed from office and replaced by Ahmad Big Tawfiq, a wise and compassionate man: Soon after his installation as Governor, Badri-Jan, the sister of the murdered Mirza Rida-Quli, sought an interview with Ahmad Big Tawfiq and there accused Baha’u’llah of instigating the murders and of plotting to rule over all, the kings of the world included. To back up her allegations, she left with the Governor a copy of the Suriy-i-Muluk and some other writings of Baha’u’llah.

Badri-Jan’s efforts backfired. The Governor was so impressed by these writings that he sought out ‘Abdu’l-Baha in order to learn more.

[...]

It was as a result of the repeated requests made by Ilyas ‘Abbud that Baha’u’llah consented to receive Ahmad Big Tawfiq. In this interview Baha’u’llah requested the Governor to review the cases of the Baha’is who were held in captivity. The Governor agreed and carefully reviewed each case. All those except the seven responsible for the murders were released in July of 1873.

(Day of Glory, The Life of Baha’u’llah, by Mary Perkins, George Ronald, p 157)

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Bahaism in Iran

Before the revolution, as many as half a million Iranians were members of this faith; today, officially, the religion does not exist in Iran even though the actual membership totals around 300,000. The reasons for this anomaly are complex and need some historical background to understand. Contemporary Bahaism is a successful missionary religion that has founded Spiritual Assemblies in well over a hundred countries and has its headquarters at the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel; its core message emphasizes pacifism and the brotherhood of mankind. The origins of the religion, however, go back to a very specifically Iranian and Shi‘ite background in the movement known as Babism. In 1844, a certain Sayyid ‘Ali-Mohammad Shirâzi announced that he was the “gate” (bâb) to the Twelfth Imam and gathered a group of eighteen disciples to spread his message throughout the Shi‘ite world. Shirâzi and the Babi movement drew strength from the ideas of the Shaykhi school of Shi‘ism and widespread expectations that the return of the Hidden Imam was imminent as well as from the growing social unease in the country as a whole. The radical nature of Babism was underscored by the fact that one of its most prominent missionaries was a remarkable woman, Qorrat-ol-’Ayn, who considered herself an incarnation of Fâtemeh and preached unveiled before male audiences. Moreover, Shirâzi claimed in 1848 that he himself was the Imam and the existing laws of Islam were abolished. The Shi‘ite clergy was alarmed at the spread of what it saw as a dangerous and seditious heresy, and the Qâjâr government felt obliged to suppress the movement. Consequently, Shirâzi was arrested, brought before an inquisition, and executed in 1850. After some of his followers attempted to assassinate the shah in 1852, the movement was ruthlessly suppressed. One branch, the Azalis (named for its leader Sobh-e Azal), continued to operate more or less covertly in an essentially Iranian and Shi‘ite milieu. The Azalis were quite active during the period of the Constitutional Revolution, but their numbers eventually dwindled. The other branch of the movement, the Bahais (named for its leader Bahâollâh), moved outside Iran, transformed the teachings of the movement dramatically, and proselytized internationally as well as in Iran.

Babis and Azalis might be regarded as marginally acceptable heretics on the fringes of Shi‘ism. Bahaism, however, presents itself as a new world religion which will replace Islam. From the point of view of the Shi‘ite clergy, this is intolerable; Bahaism is a “misguided sect” that has no legitimate claim to be one of the acceptable revealed religions. Non-Muslims who convert to it are not entitled to zemmi status, and Muslim converts are guilty of apostasy—a capital offense in traditional Islamic law. This hostility towards Bahaism on religious grounds has been compounded by the suspicion that its members might be disloyal to Iran and potential spies (since the Bahai headquarters are in Israel) and by the perception that they received privileged treatment during the Pahlavi period. Although Iranian Bahais have often been subjected to harassment and persecution, they could generally practice their religion openly prior to the Islamic Revolution and, when politically feasible, Mohammad-Rezâ Pahlavi did his best to shield their community from harm. The teaching and practice of the faith, however, is forbidden in the Islamic Republic: Bahai buildings have been destroyed or confiscated; individuals cannot declare a Bahai identity on government documents; Bahai marriages are not recognized officially; and known Bahais are barred from government employment, admission to universities, etc.

(Culture and Customs of Iran, Elton L. Daniel, Ali Akbar Mahdi, Greenwood Press)

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Dayyanis and sectarianism among the Babis

The genesis of the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths in Rasht dates back to the Bábí period when apparently a number of its inhabitants embraced the Báb’s movement. By early 1850s, in the confused state following the Báb’s martyrdom, the Bábí community fractured and various pockets of the Bábís turned to different Bábí leaders for inspiration and guidance. It was around 1271 AH [1854] that one of the Rasht’s Bábís, a certain Karbalá’í Ibráhím Samsár [“dealer of second-hand goods”] Rashtí twice went to Adharbayjan and met Mírzá Asadu’lláh Dayyán, and became a staunch follower of him, a sentiment which he shared with other Bábís of the region as well. At the present, not much is known of these Dayyánís and they presumably disappeared as a group.

Around 1270 AH [1853], several Bábís migrated from Qazvin to the nearby Lahijan, which was the major town of Gilan at that time. One of them, Siyyid Javád, had been a Shaykhí in Qazvin – which had a robust Shaykhí-Bábí community – and succeeded in converting a number of residents to the Báb’s Faith. Siyyid Javád however threw his lot with Mírzá Yahyá Azal and tried to keep his group of Bábís isolated from the other Bábís of Lahijan who had become followers of Bahá’u’lláh. On an occasion when Siyyid Javád was away in Qazvín, one of his associates, Mírzá ‘Alí Ashraf (known later as the poet ‘Andalíb), searched out the Bahá’ís and became convinced that Baha’u’llah was the new Manifestation. Soon Mírzá ‘Alí Ashraf succeeded in converting Siyyid Javád as well as the others Azalís.

(Memoirs of a Bahá'í in Rasht 1889-1903: Autobiography of Mírzá Yahyá `Amídu'l-Atibbá Hamadání translated and edited by Ahang Rabbani)

https://bahai-library.com/rabbani_memoirs_bahai_rasht

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Why Baha'u'llah arose, with a divine power and might?

All the powers and nations are convinced that the aim of this community (the Bahais) is the harmony and unity of the world. They never join in corruption. They want to become the cause of the life of the world and the means of safety; awakening the souls and the cause of the spirituality of the creatures; life-givers and not life-takers. In the beginning of the Cause, the Babis (Ezelis) brought affairs to such a state that safety was utterly lost and they put the lives and property of all at stake. What a dilemma it was! What implications, vice and immorality took place! All of the people became assured that the Babis (Ezelis) were the enemies of the lives, property and the honor of humanity and that they were blood-thirsty, immoral and evil-doers. In Teheran, during the incident of the Shah (Nasser-el-Din Shah was shot by a boy), I remember hearing an akhond (Mohammedan priest) crying, 'O people! If you want to worship God and the prophet, if you want to protect your lives, property and honor, kill these Babis. They are the enemies of your possessions and of your honor. They are against the laws and religion.' All of these events took place, because Mirza Yahya (Ezel), Seyed Mohammed, Mullah Djaffar Naraki and such men, held disreputable gatherings every night and day. They were engaged in immorality and vice. This is why, in the history of the people, those calumnies were attributed to the origin of the Cause. They wrote that the Babis allowed each woman to have nine husbands. Therefore the Blessed Beauty arose, with a divine power and might. He removed all of those implications, unfurled the banner of holiness, pitched the tent of universal peace and called the people to faithfulness, good morals and peace.

(Abdul Baha, Star of the West)

https://bahai.works/Star_of_the_West/Volume_9/Issue_3/Text

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The Azalis wanted Abul-Fazl's book very much

The sheikh of Islam, of Caucasia, wrote against the Cause. Some of the friends answered him. Sheikh of Islam wrote a second time a criticism. After that, Agha Mirza Abul-Fazl wrote a full, convincing answer. It surprised the sheikh.

It was amusing and the joke is here, that the Ezelis wanted Abul-Fazl's book very much. Finally, one of the friends asked, "Well, you are Babis; what is in this book that you want so much?" They replied, "For its good arguments in behalf of his highness, the Supreme (the Bab). And for these arguments, we want the book."

(Talk given by Abdul-Baha, in his home, Haifa, January 22, 1914.)

https://bahai.works/index.php?title=File:SW_Volume9.pdf&page=26

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Most of Qurrat al-'Ayn's considerable output of apologetic writing has been destroyed or lost.

Unfortunately, there is good reason to believe that most of Qurrat al-'Ayn's considerable output of apologetic writing has been destroyed or lost. Something of the extent of this output is indicated by Muḥammad Muṣṭafá al-Baghdádí. He says that, when she was in Kirmánsháh in 1263/1847, letters would arrive for her every day from ulama and other enquirers. She would write rapid replies to all of these. The anonymous Azalí history, Qurrat al-'Ayn: bi-yád-i Şadumín sál-i shahádat, states that, while under house arrest in Tehran, 'Izziyya Khánum, Şubḥ-i Azal's eldest sister, would send her younger sister Fátima to visit her, Fátima then being eight or nine years old. The little girl would bring letters for Qurrat al-'Ayn concealed in her pocket and would take replies away in the same manner. Many prayers, poems, homilies, and other pieces reached the Bábís in this way, and many of the originals are still extant. These copies may be in the possession of 'Izziyya Khánum's family, but it is possible that some are in Bahá'í hands as well.

(The sources for early Bábí doctrine and history A survey by Denis MacEoin)

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/m/maceoin_sources_babi_history_proofed.pdf

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