after hearing the news of Badasht, Mulla Husayn vowed that if he had been present he would have punished the transgressors with sword.

...a march to Mazandaran was undertaken under the joint leadership of Qurrat al-'Ayn and Quddus, in order to establish a Babi foothold in his home town, Barfurush. This venture however, ended in total disaster when the Babis were raided by a band of villagers in the nearby Niyala. The local mulla who led the aggressive crowd was apparently outraged by the sight of the unveiled Qurrat al-'Ayn sitting inside a huda next to Quddus and chanting poems out loud, together with her companions. The assailants must have seen the Babi party as no more than a group of libertine infidels worthy of death. Even for the Babis, who witnessed with amazement, perhaps horror, the unrestrained conversation between a daring woman and her male traveling companion, perhaps even her unspoken affection for him, it was hard not to perceive the prevailing climate of emancipation as “abuse of liberty” and excesses from “bonds of moderation.” Reportedly, after hearing the news of Badasht, Mulla Husayn vowed that if he had been present he would have punished the transgressors with sword.

(Resurrection and Renewal - The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran, 844-850 by Abbas Amanat, p. 328)

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Ṭáhirih in the words of Qajari Historians

In Nasikh al-Tawarikh, Qurratu’l-ʿAyn (Zarrín Táj, later titled Ṭáhirih) is mentioned as acting in opposition to the Islamic law and the social customs of Iran of that period.

Qurratu’l-ʻAyn was the daughter of Ḥájí Mullá Sáliḥ of Qazvín, a well-known jurist. She was admired for her beauty, knowledge, and expertise in Arabic sciences. After becoming a follower of Mírzá Muḥammad ‘Alí, the Báb, she carried out the following actions:

• Public Appearance and Removing the Veil:
  She was famous for her beauty and hair scented like musk. She believed that the veil (hijab) for women was a source of suffering. She would prepare herself and her gatherings and then appear unveiled in front of Bábí followers.

• Abolishing Islamic Law and Encouraging Immoral Practices:
  She declared that the era of the Báb was a time of suspension (fitrah) in which all religious duties—such as prayer and fasting—were cancelled.

  • She taught that one woman marrying nine men was encouraged in the Bábí laws.

  • She urged her followers to share their partners and property with each other, promising that there would be no punishment for doing so.

• Inciting Murder:
  Her uncle, Mullá Muḥammad Taqí, a Mujtahid, opposed this behavior. Qurratu’l-ʻAyn issued a religious ruling (fatwá) calling for his killing. As a result, her followers murdered her uncle in the mosque at dawn during prayer.

• Immoral Conduct at Badasht and Hezar Jarib:
  While traveling in Mázandarán with Ḥájí Muḥammad ‘Alí of Bárfurúsh, she developed affection for him. The camel driver who carried them in one litter sang verses comparing their union to “the conjunction of the sun and moon.” It is reported that she and Ḥájí Muḥammad ‘Alí went to a bathhouse together and cohabited in the village of Hezar Jarib. When the villagers discovered this and learned of their beliefs, they attacked them and looted their belongings.

• Blasphemous Claims and Behavior:
  She sat on a throne and delivered sermons, saying that anyone who touched her (or smelled her) would be protected from the fire of hell. Those present kissed her breasts and lips—features she herself described as “ruby-like.”

In addition to these specific actions, the sources also describe the general behavior of Bábí women in their gatherings:

• Participation in Immoral Assemblies:
  Bábí followers held gatherings where they drank wine and performed acts forbidden by Islamic law.

• Serving Wine and Appearing Unveiled:
  Women were instructed to enter gatherings of unrelated men without a veil and to serve wine to them.

• Encouraging Violence:
  Before the attempted assassination of the Shah in Niyávarán, Ḥájí Sulaymán Khán held gatherings with women—including his sister and daughters—where wine was drunk. These meetings ended with the decision to attack the Shah.

Qurratu’l-ʻAyn’s extreme actions—abolishing Islamic law, promoting polyandry and cohabitation, appearing unveiled publicly, and calling for the killing of her cleric uncle—were an assault on the core principles of Islamic Shariah. According to these accounts, she acted like a “wrecking ball,” not merely modifying religious norms but attacking fundamental pillars of society such as modesty, marriage, and the authority of religious scholars, which led to social disorder and violence.

(Extracted from Nasikh al-Tawarikh by Sepehr. He was a court historian during the reigns of two Qajar kings).

About Nasikh al-Tawarikh, check Bijan Masumian's introduction, here:

https://bijanmasumian.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/nasikh-al-tawarikh-introduction.pdf

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Everyone wears robes of mourning on that day, ... Tahirih publicly bedecked herself in festive clothes.

There was much interest in the new religion and the new teachings, and it did not please the divines. They became worried, and above all afraid that they would lose their influence over the people of Karbila. That must definitely not happen. Angry, the mullas complained to the authorities. But Tahirih did not let it stop her. Not even during Ashura, the day on which Shia Muslims commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn every year. Everyone wears robes of mourning on that day, and mourns the death of Imam Husayn. However, according to the Muslim calendar, the Birth of the Bab falls on the same day. While everyone was wearing robes of mourning, Tahirih publicly bedecked herself in festive clothes. How incredibly brave would you have to be to dare to do that! You can be very sure that you will then find yourself in trouble. And, predictably, that happened. The local authorities ordered her to be arrested.

(The Herald and His Heroes: Stories about the Báb by Hitjo Garst)

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Quddus’s own claims to divine status for himself are reinforced by many of the Bab’s statements about him.

As in the case of claims of Qāʾimiyya, it seem to have been Muḥammad ʿAlī Bārfurūshī, Quddūs, who was the Bāb’s chief rival in respect of claims to some form of divinity. Abbas Effendi ʿAbd al-Bahāʾ, maintains that Quddūs’s commentary on the letter sād ̣ of the word al-samad ̣ (Qurʾān 112:2) which he “revealed” (nāzil farmūdand) at Shaykh Tabarsī, was ̣ “from beginning to end . . . (filled with the words) “Verily, I am God.” There certainly appears to be confirmatory evidence that, in the course of the Shaykh Tabarsī siege, Quddūs did, in fact, make claims of this ̣ kind. Zawāraʾī refers to him as a “place of God’s manifestation” (mazhar-i ̣ khudā) while a Bābī apostate who encountered him in Bārfurūsh after the end of the siege is said to have rebuked him with the words: “You claimed . . . that your voice was the voice of God.” Quddūs’s own claims to divine status for himself are reinforced by many of the Bāb’s statements about him. In a Tablet of visitation (ziyārat) written at some point after Quddūs’s death in 1849, the Bāb writes:

from all eternity you have existed in the exaltation of holiness and majesty, and unto all eternity you shall exist in the exaltation of holiness and majesty. You are the one who is manifested through the manifestation of your Lord (anta ’l-zāhir bi-z ̣ uhūri rabbika ̣ ) and the one who is concealed through the concealment of your Lord. In the beginning when there was no beginning but you, and in the end when there will be no end save you; you ascended through all creation to a horizon unto which none preceded you.” In a section of the Kitāb-i Panj shaʾn written for Mullā Shaykh ʿAlī Turshīzī, the Bāb explicitly declares that “the last name of God has shone forth and flashed and gleamed and become manifest; well is it with him who sees in him nothing but God.

Within the context of such statements, it may be possible to suggest a fresh dimension to our understanding of the events which occurred at the Bābī assembly at Bidasht in 1848, which is generally associated with the abrogation of the Islamic laws (sharīʿa), the proclamation of the inauguration of a new age of inner truth (though not, I am inclined to think, at this stage the implementation of a Bābī sharīʿa), and the announcement of the imminent appearance of the Qāʾim. (A secondary objective of the meeting was to draw up plans for the release of the Bāb from prison in Azerbaijan.) In what is in some respects a curious letter, ʿAbd al-Bahāʾ states that “many have manifested divinity (ulūhiyyat) and lordship (rubūbiyyat). . . . At Bidasht, her excellency Tahirih [Qurrat ̣ al-ʿAyn] to the highest heaven the cry of “Verily, I am God,” as did many of the friends at Bidasht.” Brief as it is and lacking in direct evidence, this theologically uncharacteristic statement is nonetheless extremely suggestive and may prove an important starting point for fresh inquiries into the significance of the Bidasht gathering. It may well be the case, for example, that the recorded divisions between the participants in the meeting, in particular that between Qurrat al-ʿAyn and Quddūs, relate in some way to the advancement of competing claims of this kind.

Certainly a number of Bābī texts of the post-Bidasht period contain what would only a few years previously have been regarded as pure blasphemy. Some of the Bāb’s later writings, including numerous sections of the Kitāb-i Panj shaʾn, contain exordia such as “this is a letter from God, the Protector, the Self-subsisting, to God, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting,” or ‘this is a letter from God to him whom God shall manifest.” Even more direct is the following passage from a letter of the Bāb to Mullā Ibrāhim Qazvīnī, Raḥīm: “ ʿAlī before Nabīl [i.e., ʿAlī Muḥammad, the Bāb] is the Self of God (nafs Allāh). . . and the name of al-Azal, al-Waḥīd [i.e., Mīrzā Yahyā Nūrī, Subh ̣ ̣-i Azal] is the Essence of God (dhāt Allāh).” In a letter also written to Qazvīnī after the Bāb’s death, the latter’s former amanuensis, Sayyid Ḥusayn Yazdī, declares “were it not for the existence of God in my beloved, the Eternal, the Ancient (al-azal al-aqdam)[i.e., Qazvīnī], I should not have addressed these words to you, my beloved,” and goes on to refer to the Bāb’s death as “the disappearance of God” ( ghaybat Allāh) and “the ascension of God” (suʿūd Allāh).”

(The Messiah of Shiraz, Dennis MacEoin, Page 333-335)

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Tahirih was definitely somewhat of a cult leader

MacEoin's Messiah of Shiraz has details, my recollection of it is that since the Bab was almost immediately arrested the Babi community for the most part had no access to anything written by him. Because of this his disciples basically just invented their own religions, so Tahirih's Babi Faith was entirely different to Quddus's Babi Faith and arguably neither really had much to do with the Bab beyond using his claim to be the Qa'im to justify breaking from established Islamic theology (unless one subscribes to the idea of the Bab communicating through telepathic dreams as Dawn-Breakers suggests). The Conference of Badasht was called to try and unify the Babi religion under a single theology since it had become a loose collection of almost unrelated revolutionary movements aiming to reform Islam.

Quddus and Tahirih were the most prolific writers out of the Letters of the Living so had the most vested interest in the Conference of Badasht endorsing their opinions on the reformation of Islam. Tahirih remained highly controversial even after the conference (perhaps simply due to being a woman) so it is conceivable to me the henna story (wiping men's faces with henna-covered breasts) is polemical propaganda that was used to damage her reputation, or it could be true. MacEoin's book does note surviving writings of Tahirih do state she had Babi's present food to her to be blessed before eating and other odd things so she was definitely somewhat of a cult leader regardless of if the henna story is true or not.

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/1jzew2x/reincarnation_of_fatimah_etc/

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The Bábí movement developed out of a school of Twelver Shiism known as Shaykhism, Mírzá Husayn 'Alí took as his Bábí title the divine name Bahá' (Splendor).

The Bábí movement developed out of a school of Twelver Shiism known as Shaykhism, so called after its founder Shaykh Ahmad al-Ahsá'í (d. 1826), which contained millenarian emphases. Many prominent Bábís were converts from Shaykhism which came under the leadership of Sayyid Kázim Rashtí, al-Ahsá'í's successor….

Mírzá Husayn 'Alí quickly became a prominent figure in the Bábí movement, and increasingly played a low-key leadership role after the government's incarceration of the Báb in Azerbaijan in 1847. When the Báb declared himself the Qá'im, the messianic return of the Twelth Imám, Bahá'u'lláh organized a conference of Bábí leaders in the hamlet of Badasht to publicize this claim and obtain a consensus about it. There, the Bábí disciple and poetess, Țáhirah Qurratu'l-'Ayn, scandalized some of the faithful by casting aside her veil to symbolize the advent of a new dispensation. At this conference, Mírzá Husayn 'Alí took as his Bábí title the divine name Bahá' (Splendor). In the late 1840s, fighting broke out between Bábís and Shí'ís in Mazandaran, Zanján and Nayríz. Bahá'u'lláh was not present when government troops besieged the shrine of Shaykh Ṭabarsí in Mazandaran, where hundreds of Bábís had gathered, because Shí'í adversaries imprisoned him in the town of Amul. They at length released him, but they stripped him of at least some of his property.

(From Iran East and West, edited by Juan Ricardo Cole, Moojan Momen)

https://books.google.com/books?id=7xbzoJ5wFG4C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3

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Hamid Dabashi employs the qualifier “militant” nine times to refer to Ṭáhirih and her companions.

...in the span of twenty-seven pages, Hamid Dabashi employs the qualifier “militant” nine times to refer to Ṭáhirih and her companions. Hamid Dabashi, Shi’ism: A Religion of Protest (Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2011), 170–97.

(The Bab and the Babi Community of Iran, edited by Fereydun Vahman)

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The "manifestation" (mazhar), or re-incarnation, of Kurratu'l-'Ayn.

Thursday, 18th July, 9th Dhi'l-ka'da.--Towards evening I went into the town and called at the post-office, where the postmaster lent me a poem in praise of Beha, composed by one Na'im of Abade, a poor man of no education, whose power of verse-writing is regarded by his co-religionists as a divine gift, and little short of miraculous. His verses are partly in Persian, partly in Arabic, and of the latter, at any rate, it may truly be said that they are of the most miraculous character. Usta Akbar, the pea- parcher, was also there. He was, after his wont, very mysterious, and informed me that a relation of the postmaster's, who was a "Mulla," and who possessed some of Kurratu'l-'Ayn's poems, was anxious to see me, but that I must not mention this to the postmaster, as he might be displeased. I was somewhat surprised at what appeared to me so unnecessary a stipulation, but attributed it to Usta Akbar's love of mystery. It was only afterwards (for the pronouns in Persian do not distinguish gender) that I discovered that the "Mulla" in question was a lady, who regarded herself as a "manifestation" (mazhar), or re-incarnation, of Kurratu'l-'Ayn. It was accordingly arranged that I should meet this "Mulla" on the next day but one, at the house of one of the officials of the post-office. As I did not know where he lived, I enquired as to how I should find my way thither. Usta Akbar naturally selected the most cumbrous and mysterious method he could think of. I was to walk slowly past his shop at a certain hour on the Saturday in question, and he would tell his apprentice to be on the look-out for me, and, as soon as he saw me, to run out, pass me, and precede me at a distance of twenty or thirty yards to the rendezvous.

This plan was duly carried out, and on the afternoon of the appointed day I found myself in a room in the house of Haydaru'llah Beg, the postman, where, besides my host, were seated the "Manifestation of Kurratu'l-'Ayn" and a Babi dervish, the former engaged in smoking a kalyan, the latter an opium-pipe. I was filled with astonishment at seeing a lady in the room, and my astonishment was increased when I heard the others address her as "Mulla," and ascertained that she was the learned Babi who had expressed a wish to make my acquaintance. She greeted me very politely, bowing repeatedly as she exclaimed, "Musharraf! Muzayyan! Chasm-i-ma rawshan!" ("[You have made the house] honoured [and] adorned! Our eyes are brightened!") and then asking me how long it was since I had believed. I was somewhat embarrassed by this question, and tried to explain that I was an enquirer only, whereupon she began to give a long and rather garbled version of Christ's prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, which she concluded by bidding me not be like that disciple who denied his Master.

By this time eight or nine other persons had joined us, including Sheykh Ibrahim and his friend 'Abdu'llah, in consequence of which the recitation of Kurratu'l-'Ayn's poems, which I had been so eager to hear, was postponed. Several Babi books, however, were shown to me, induding one containing the Kalimat-i-Maknuna, or "Hidden Words of Fatima,"[See vol.ii of my Traveller's Narrative, pp. 123-6 and n.2 at foot of p.123; and Catalogue and Description of 27 Babi MSS. (J.R.A.S. for 1892), pp. 671-4.] of which the surpassing eloquence was greatly praised by all present.

"Will you not smoke a kalyan?" enquired Sheykh Ibrahim, turning suddenly to me. I signified assent, and he called for one to be brought. "A good one, mind, for the Sahib," he cried, as the servant left the room.

In a minute or two the kalyan was brought, and as I took it, and, according to the customary etiquette, offered it in turn to all present before putting my lips to it, I fancied that I was watched with a certain attention and subdued amusement for which I could not account. The first whiff of smoke, however, explained the cause of this. My experience with Cannabis Indica while I was a student at St Bartholomew's Hospital had not been altogether fruitless, since it had indelibly impressed on my memory the taste of this hateful drug, which now again, for the third time in my life, struck on my palate. "Oh," thought I to myself, "so this is the trick you thought to play on me, is it?" But I continued to smoke on slowly and deliberately till the Sheykh, unable any longer to control his curiosity, asked me how I found the kalyan.

"Nice enough," I answered, "but I fear it somewhat, for unless I am much mistaken, you have put 'Master Seyyid' [Hashish is thought so badly of in Persia that it is usually spoken of, even by those who use it, by some nickname, such as Aka-yi- Seyyid ("Master Seyyid"), Tuti-i-asrar ("The Parrot of mysteries"), or simply Asrar ("Mysteries"), the first two alluding to its green colour. One of the odes of Hafiz, beginning "Alaya tuti-yi guya-yi asrar, Mabada khaliyat shakkar zi minkar" ("O Parrot, who discoursest of mysteries, may thy beak never want sugar!"), is addressed to the drug.] into it."

I do not think that during the whole time I was in Persia I ever scored so great a success as by this simple remark. That I --a mere European--should be able to recognise the taste of hashish was much, but that I should know it, so to speak, by its pet name, was indeed to prove myself well matured (pukhte) by travel and the society of persons of experience.

"How ever did you know that?" enquired the Sheykh amidst the laughter and applause of the others.

"Because I am a Firangi must I needs be an ass?" I demanded with a show of indignation.

Sheykh Ibrahim was delighted, and proceeded to unfold to me many mysteries connected with the use of narcotics in Persia. He told me of an oil called Rawghan-i-Hashish ("Oil of Indian Hemp'), prepared from a plant named Tature (? Datura), of which half a nokhud would render a man insensible for twenty- four or thirty-six hours. This, he said, was often employed by Persian adventurers in Turkey and Arabia (especially at Mosul and Mecca) to stupefy persons whom they wished to rob. Mixed with the food intended for the victim's consumption its flavour is imperceptible, and the protracted insensibility to which it gives rise allows the thief ample time to decamp. These revelations were, however, interrupted by the arrival of a murshid, or spiritual director, of the Shah-Ni'matu'llah order of dervishes, who asked me point-blank what my religion was, and was much annoyed when I answered him with the well-known tradition, "Ustur dhahabaka, wa dhahabaka, wa madhhabak" ("Conceal thy gold, thy destination, and thy creed").

(A Year Amongst the Persians by E. G. Browne - 1893/1927)

https://bahai-library.com/books/ayatp/ayatp.17.html

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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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A brief history of Tahirih and how the Babi faith emerged from the Shaykhi movement.

Adapted from addresses given in London by Jinab-i-Avarih, whose great history of the Baha'i Cause is now being published in Persian in Cairo, Egypt

WHEN Qurratu'l-'Ayn was a child there was in Persia a very celebrated mulla, Shaykh Ahmad Ahsai. So great a scholar was he that throughout all the Muhammadan world he had no peer. Shaykh Ahmad Ahsai was the first divine to attack certain established beliefs prevalent among the Muslims, one of which was that Muhammad in his living, physical body departed from this earth and ascended into heaven, a belief similar to that held by many Christians with regard to the Christ. There were other Muhammadans who in their hearts disbelieved this teaching, but Shaykh Ahmad was the first who had the courage to publicly declare against it.

Another Muhammadan doctrine was that of the resurrection of the body. Shaykh Ahmad taught his students that the physical body cannot go to heaven, that it will not rise but will disintegrate; while the spirit will be taken up and will dwell in the presence of God. He explained that it was the spirit of Muhammad, not his body, which ascended.

Again, the Shaykh taught that God always sends teachers to His people, to lead them to His Kingdom, and that this divine bounty had not ceased.

The Muhammadans believed that there was one—who had been hidden for a thousand years—who would appear suddenly, a great teacher. Shaykh Ahmad said that the Promised One would not come that way; he would be manifest shortly but would be born in the natural way. This teaching of the Shaykh was of utmost importance to the Muslims, because for a thousand years they had been looking for this person who they believed had been in hiding for that period. And now the Shaykh said he would be born, and would appear very shortly.

Although strictly forbidden by the mullás, these teachings found many adherents, until thousands of people became followers of Shaykh Ahmad. They were popularly known as "Shaykhi," and by many of the mullas were called atheists.

At last the teachings of Shaykh Ahmad were carried to Qazvin, the home of Qurratu'l-'Ayn and her relatives. Her father and her eldest uncle, both of whom were mullás, opposed the Shaykh. But her two younger uncles believed him and secretly became his followers. Qurratu'l-'Ayn's father and uncle had many discussions about the Shaykh, calling him, in private, "Kafir", which means, "Turned away from God and not of the Muhammadan religion." Qurratu'l-'Ayn. then between thirteen and fourteen years of age, listened to these conversations. and said, "The Shaykh is right and my father and uncle are wrong." She secured the books and writings of the Shaykh and read them constantly. Whereupon her father and uncle said to her, "Read our books. Read our writings. We know better than he."

Shaykh Ahmad Ahsai went from Karbala to Khorassan and thence to Tihran where he met Shah Fathe Ali who so honored him that he offered to share with him his throne. But the Shaykh refused, and left for Karbala, on his journey passing through Qazvin.

After the death of Shaykh Ahmad Ahsai, his disciple Siyyid Kazim, carried forward his teachings, constantly telling his disciples and students that soon, within a few years, the Promised One would appear. Through the assistance of her younger uncle, who believed in Shaykh Ahmad and Siyyid Kazim, Qurratu'l-'Ayn and able to correspond with Siyyid Kazim and secure his writings. She watched eagerly for the Promised One, and often told her younger uncle that unless the new order appeared and the Muhammadan religion was changed the condition of women in the East would become much worse. She would say, "Will a day come when new laws and revelations will be revealed, and shall I be one of the first to follow those teachings and give my life for my sisters?"

Her longing for the coming of the great Teacher and the new era became so strong that at last she besought her uncle, her father and her husband for permission to make a pilgrimage to Karbala. She knew that there she would be able to meet Siyyid Kazim. Through the efforts of her younger uncle this permission was at last granted and she set out upon her wonderful journey, accompanied by this uncle. What were her sorrow and disappointment to hear, three days before her arrival in Karbala, the news of the death of Siyyid Kazim! However, she soon remembered that the Siyyid had left glad tidings of the One to come, and who would come quickly, and her heart was again filled with happiness. She journeyed on to Karbala and there visited the family of the Siyyid, who gave her access to many of the Siyyid's unpublished writings, some of which were not even finished. As she read she exclaimed, "Behold, how much the Shaykh and the Siyyid have left us. They have left us a sea of writings."

There was no one to take the place of Siyyid Kazim and teach his students. So Qurratu'l-'Ayn came forward and announced that she would take this place, would teach his followers just what the Siyyid had taught and impart to them his knowledge.

This caused much discussion among the Siyyid's followers. Then thirty-two of the students said, "We will go and hear her once or twice. If we are satisfied we will advise the others to come, and she will teach them."

It was extremely dangerous and difficult for Qurratu'l-'Ayn to teach men and for them to come to hear her for in those days—and even at the present time in many places—women were kept veiled and in utmost seclusion. But Qurratu'l-'Ayn overcame all difficulties, had a curtain arranged in the room, and behind this sat and taught those thirty-two students who came to hear her. They soon recognized her as the one who could best teach them and saw that she was greater than all the divines in Karbala. For more than a year she taught these students, and all the time she wept and prayed that when the Promised One came she might recognize him. And she urged the people to watch for him and obey Him who was shortly to come into the world.

When Mullá Husayn-i-Bushrú'i visited the Báb and became convinced that he was the Promised One, he told the news to Mullá 'Ali Bastami, who likewise became a follower of the Báb, the second disciple. Mullá 'Ali Bastami then went to Karbala, and there announced the great tidings that the New Light had arisen. When Qurratu'l-'Ayn heard this news she summoned him to her presence and asked, "What proofs have you, and where is he?" Mullá 'Ali gave her some of the writings and prayers of the Báb. She took them, and straightway became a believer. The following day when her pupils came for their lesson she announced the glad tidings that the long-expected time was at hand, saying, "All the promises given by the Shaykh and the Siyyid have come to pass. The Promised One is on earth today!"

(Star of the West/Volume 14, Page 269)

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"Fatimih will appear unveiled as the sign of his return"

One of the major Shi'ite beliefs concerning Fátimih is that with the reappearance of the Twelfth or Hidden Imám, the Imám Mihdí, Fátimih will appear unveiled as the sign of his return and the day of resurrection. Her unveiling will be as the removing of the seal, identified with Muhammad as the seal of the prophets. With this unveiling, Fátimih will become as the bride at the marriage feast, described by Bahá’u’lláh in one of his Tablets as the unsealing of the wine of reunion.

-Marion Woodman, Published in the Journal of Bahá’í Studies Vol. 2, number 1 (1989) © Association for Bahá’í Studies 1989

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/w/woodman_role_feminine_era.pdf

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...these two cities (Jabulqa and Jabulsa) never existed, they could only be the superstitions of diseased brains.

“She (A Babi woman who was no less great and heroic than Táhirih herself) remained in Ṭihrán a long time receiving numerous visitors both men and women. She aroused the women by showing them the abject role which Islám assigned to them and she won them over to the new religion by showing them the freedom and respect which it would bestow upon them. Many domestic disputes followed, not always to the advantage and credit of the husband. These discussions might have continued at length, if Mírzá Áqá Khán-i-Núrí had not been appointed Sadr-i-‘Aẓam. The premier ordered Ḥájí Mullá Muḥammad Andirmání and Ḥájí Mullá ‘Alí Kiní to call on her in order to examine into her belief. They held seven conferences with her in which she argued with much feeling and affirmed that the Báb was the promised and expected Imám. Her adversaries called her attention to the fact that, in accordance with the prophecies, the promised Imám was to come from Jábulqá and Jábulsá. She retorted feelingly that those prophecies were false and forged by false traditionalists and, as these two cities never existed, they could only be the superstitions of diseased brains. She expounded the new doctrine, bringing out its truth, but always encountered the same argument of Jábulqá. Exasperated, she finally told them: ‘Your reasoning is that of an ignorant and stupid child; how long will you cling to these follies and lies? When will you lift your eyes towards the Sun of Truth?’ Shocked by such blasphemy, Ḥájí Mullá ‘Alí rose up and led his friend away saying, ‘Why prolong our discussion with an infidel?’ They returned home and wrote out the sentence which established her apostasy and her refusal to retract, and condemned her to death in the name of the Qur’án!” (A. L. M. Nicolas’ “Siyyid ‘Alí-Muḥammad dit le Báb,” pp. 446–447.)

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/nz/DB/db-45.html

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The conference of Badasht and the "self-defense" of the Babis

The original aim of the meeting was to arrange a great pilgrimage to Maku, where the Bab was then staying, probably with the intention of liberating him by force. The meeting soon, however, arrived at a discussion of the new doctrine. Tahirih made the suggestion to the other leaders that the time had come to tell all the Babis that the time of a new divine manifestation transcending Islam had come and that it was not just a question of recognising the Bab as Mahdi. The other leaders, however, argued against such an open break with Islam....

There must have been a tremendous turmoil on the meeting place after this event. It is not hard to imagine the emotions of these men, as they heard this open rejection of Islam and saw the curtain fall before the proclaimer of the new manifestation appearing in the figure of this beautiful, passionate woman. The men ran about, shouting, many of them hiding their faces so as not to see Tahirih. Distressed by the confusion, Tahirih stepped down and walked among the men, trying to convince them, until Baha'u'llah threw his coat over her and led her away to one of the tents. The mob broke into two factions, one seeking out Quddus and telling him of the event, the other following Tahirih. Quddus would not openly accept or reject Tahirih's announcement, appeared pensive, said that she had put herself outside the pale of Islam by her statement concerning the Koran, but that perhaps there was some hidden meaning to her actions. Tahirih meanwhile instructed those who had followed her in the new faith, then sent two men, who had expressed readiness to die, to invite Quddus to a "discussion" at the point of a sword. Quddus accepted the invitation, was "convinced" by her argumentation and openly submitted to her. The meeting then ended with several days of festivities. Apparently no more thought was given to the original purpose of the meeting, the pilgrimage to Maku. After the festivities, Mulla Husain left for the interior of Khorasan, Quddus left for Mazindaran, accompanied for a while by Tahirih, who then returned to Kazvin.

The Council of Bedesht was followed by the bloodiest episode in early Babi history, the Mazindaran insurrection. As we have seen, the Babi leaders separated after the Council of Bedesht, with Quddus and his group going on into Mazindaran, his native province. After travelling through the province and encountering much opposition from the Muslims, Quddus issued a call to Mulla Husain to join him with his men in Mazindaran. It is difficult to establish the exact meaning of this call. Babi historians have claimed that the Babis took up arms in self-defense and knew that they were going to their martyrdom. Muslim historians, on the other hand, assert that the Mazindaran insurrection was the first step in what was to be the establishment by the sword of a Babi theocracy in all Persia, with the overthrow of both Shi'ite Islam and the Kajar dynasty. The Muslim interpretation appears more adequate to the facts as we know them, especially since the earliest Babi history, that of Mirza Jani of Kashan, tends to agree with the Muslim interpretation that the Mazindaran events constituted an open insurrection planned and led by Quddus. It is interesting to note that the Mazindaran episode happened in the period immediately following the death of Muhammad Shah and before the accession of the new Shah, in that period of interregnum during which successful rebellions have often broken out in oriental countries. Also, this was the period during which Quddus wrote verses, thereby laying claim to immediate revelation from God and, possibly, a station in the new divine manifestation even superior to that of the Bab. The coming together of the several Babi groups, the establishment of a powerful fortress and the fanaticism with which the Muslims were attacked hardly seem explainable in terms of self-defense.

https://bahai-library.com/berger_sect_church_bahai

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The episode of Badasht in the words of Abdul Baha

When at dawn Ḥájí Mullá Taqí (Shi'ih cleric and father-in-law of Tahirih) came to the mosque, that individual (a Shaykhi from Shiraz) stabbed him in the back and in the mouth with a spear-tipped cane. Ḥájí Mullá Taqí fell to the ground and his assailant fled. When the people arrived, they saw the cleric lying dead….

… As a result, Ṭáhirih (also a Shaykhi, whose hate for Ḥájí Mullá Taqí was well known) met with the greatest hardship. No one would associate with her, and all her relatives—even her husband and two sons—showed the greatest enmity and would oppress and revile her. Bahá’u’lláh dispatched Áqá Hádíy-i-Qazvíní from Ṭihrán and, by an elaborate stratagem, arranged for Ṭáhirih to be rescued from Qazvín and brought directly to the private quarters of His house.

Later Bahá’u’lláh sent her with a number of believers towards Badasht. Their first stop was a beautiful and verdant garden. Ṭáhirih and the friends arrived there and were later joined by Bahá’u’lláh, Who rested the night there. In the morning He sent Ṭáhirih and the friends with ample provisions to Badasht. After a few days, Bahá’u’lláh Himself went there. When He reached Badasht, Quddús had returned from Khurásán and he, too, came to Badasht, but he remained concealed.

In Badasht there was a field with a stream running through it and gardens to either side. Quddús remained concealed in one of the gardens, and Ṭáhirih resided in the other. A tent had been pitched for Bahá’u’lláh on that field, and the other believers were also housed in tents erected on the same field. In the evenings Bahá’u’lláh, Quddús, and Ṭáhirih would meet. Bahá’u’lláh made a solemn agreement with them that the truth of the Cause would be proclaimed at Badasht, but no specific day was designated.

Then, by chance, Bahá’u’lláh fell ill. As soon as he was informed, Quddús emerged from his concealment and entered Bahá’u’lláh’s tent. Ṭáhirih sent a message saying: “Either bring Bahá’u’lláh to the garden where I reside or I will come myself.” Quddús said: “Bahá’u’lláh is unwell and cannot come”, which was a signal. Ṭáhirih, seizing upon the opportunity, arose and, unveiled, came forth from the garden. She proceeded towards the tent of Bahá’u’lláh crying out and proclaiming: “I am the Trumpet-blast; I am the Bugle-call!”—which are two of the signs of the Day of Resurrection mentioned in the Qur’án. Calling out in this fashion, she entered the tent of Bahá’u’lláh. No sooner had she entered than Bahá’u’lláh instructed the believers to recite the Súrih of the Event from the Qur’án, a Súrih that describes the upheaval of the Day of Resurrection.

www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/abdul-baha/twelve-table-talks-abdul-baha/twelve-table-talks-abdul-baha.xhtml

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Establishment of a Babi state and twenty-four claimants to supreme authority

The system propounded by the Bāb depended for its implementation on the establishment of a Babi state, which was now only a very remote possibility. There was, moreover, a lack of certainty over the question of leadership. Although the consensus seemed to favor the acceptance of Subh-i Azal as head of the faith, he appears to have lacked the qualities of a good leader and to have adopted a retiring mode of life. The concept of theophanies, already apparent in the roles ascribed to Bāb al-Bāb, Quddūs, and Qurrat-al-ʿAyn, led to a succession of at least twenty-four claimants to supreme authority in the movement, few of whom obtained a substantial following.

http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/babism-index

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Qurrat ul Ayn's fame as a poetess is great... I only succeeded in obtaining three of the poems attributed to her

Kurratu'l-'Ayn's fame as a poetess is great, but during my sojourn in Persia I only succeeded in obtaining three of the poems attributed to her, viz. two short but very beautiful ghazals and a long masnaví. Of one of these ghazals I published the Persian text with a translation into English verse in my second paper on the Bábís in the J. R. A. S. for 1889 (pp. 936-937 and 991). I now give the second, which, though its authorship is more disputed, certainly savours strongly of Bábí doctrines and modes of expression.

-E.G. Browne

http://bahai-library.com/books/tn/tn.q.html

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Tahiri's "unveiling herself" caused some Babis to recant their new faith or slit their throats!!!

The unveiling caused shock and consternation amongst the men present. Prior to this, many had regarded Táhirih as the epitome of purity... Many screamed in horror at the sight, and one man was so horrified that he cut his own throat and, with blood pouring from his neck, fled the scene. Táhirih then arose and began a speech on the break from Islam.

-Wikipedia

Here is what one ex-Baha'i claimed regarding this incident.

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According to Abdul Baha, Tahirih recognized the Bab through a dream

“One night when it was getting along toward dawn she laid her head on her pillow, lost all awareness of this earthly life, and dreamed a dream; in her vision a youth, a Siyyid, wearing a black cloak and a green turban, appeared to her in the heavens; he was standing in the air, reciting verses and praying with his hands upraised. At once, she memorized one of these verses, and wrote it down in her notebook when she awoke. After the Bab had declared his mission, and His first book, 'The Best of Stories,' was circulated, Tahirih was reading a section of the text one day, and she came upon that same verse, which she had noted down from the dream. Instantly offering thanks, she fell upon her knees and bowed her forehead to the ground, convinced that the Bab’s message was truth.”

‘Abdu’l-Baha, Memorials of the Faithful (Wilmette, Ill: Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1971) p. 193.

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How Tahirih was convinced that the Bab’s message was truth?

One night when it was getting along toward dawn she laid her head on her pillow, lost all awareness of this earthly life, and dreamed a dream; in her vision a youth, a Siyyid, wearing a black cloak and a green turban, appeared to her in the heavens; he was standing in the air, reciting verses and praying with his hands upraised. At once, she memorized one of those verses, and wrote it down in her notebook when she awoke. After the Bab had declared His mission, and His first book, “The Best of Stories,”6 was circulated, Tahirih was reading a section of the text one day, and she came upon that same verse, which she had noted down from the dream. Instantly offering thanks, she fell to her knees and bowed her forehead to the ground, convinced that the Bab’s message was truth.

- Táhirih in History: Perspectives on Qurratu'l-'Ayn from East and West, By Jan T. Jasion

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It is not true that Qurrat al-‘Ayn laid aside the veil!

For if we look at other accounts of Qurrat al-‘Ayn, there is reason to believe that matters are not as straightforward as they seem. The British Orientalist Edward Browne’s collections of various historical materials suggest that in one of his conversation with a well-known Babi it was remarked that Qurrat al-‘Ayn never intentionally took off the veil.33 Browne comments that if he can remember the conversation correctly, this Babi responded to the question of Qurrat al-‘Ayn’s discarding of the veil in the following words:

It is not true that she laid aside the veil. Sometimes when carried away by her eloquence, she allowed it to slip down off her face, but she would always replace it after a few moments.34

- Táhirih in History: Perspectives on Qurratu'l-'Ayn from East and West, By Jan T. Jasion

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