The proclamation of Baba, the day when Bab — the prophet-predecessor of the Bahai faith — proclaimed His Mission in 1844 in the city of Shiraz ( Persia ). This is the birthday of the Bahai faith. The exact date is known when this happened — 2 hours 11 minutes after the end of May 22, 1844. On this day, the young Persian merchant Siyid Ali Muhammad, who later adopted the name « Bab » ( translated from Arabic « Gates » ), proclaimed, that He is called to proclaim to the world the imminent coming of the Promised of all religions and prepare people for His coming.
The main theme of His Scriptures was the imminent coming of « That whom God will reveal » — the Messenger promised in all the Holy Books of the past. It was with the coming of this Messenger that Bab spoke, and the long-awaited kingdom of God on earth will come. Bahai honor Baba on an equal basis with all other great Messengers of God in the history of mankind — Abraham, Moses, Zoroastr, Krishna, Buddha, Christ, Muhammad and others.
Bab first announced His Mission to a young theologian scientist, whose name was Mullah Hussein Bushrui. Mullah Hussein, filled with the expectation of an early fulfillment of the prophecy of the arrival of Kaim ( Whipped in Islam ), went with several of his friends to search for Him. With no idea where this Man might appear, Mullah Hussein relied entirely on Divine Fiction.
Providence brought him to Shiraz. At the gates of this city, Mullah Hussein met a young man who struck him by turning to him as if they had known each other for a long time, and then invited Mullah Hussein to his home. After asking Mullah Hussein about the purpose of his journey, the young man asked him by what signs he was going to look for the Promised. When Mullah Hussein listed these signs, gleaned by him from the prophecies of his spiritual teachers, the young man suddenly exclaimed: « Look! All these signs are revealed in me! ». Mullah Hussein was shocked by such words, and, of course, doubts immediately shod him.
During His conversation with Mullah Hussein, Bab provided convincing evidence. He fulfilled two prerequisites in proving His innocence. The first condition was that He should be able to explain the difficult points in the teachings of Sheikh Ahmad and Siyid Kazim, who were the spiritual teachers of Mullah Hussein. After that, according to Mullah Hussein, Bab « ... proceeded to present some truths that could not be found either in the sayings of the Imams, or in the works of Sheikh Ahmad or Siyid Kazim. These were truths that I had not heard at all before this time, and it seemed that they had some kind of reviving power and a revitalizing influence of ».
The second condition was to ask Him without the slightest hesitation or preliminary reflection to write a comment on the sura ( the head of the Koran ) « Joseph » in a style that surpasses everything written before that time. Immediately after his words, Bab took the pen and with incredible speed opened the surah of the Lord, that is, the first part of His commentary on the sura « Joseph ». Here's what Mullah Hussein himself talks about that night: « The stunning effect of His manner of writing was further strengthened by the gentle intonations of His voice, with which He accompanied the writing process. He did not interrupt for a moment the stream of verses rushing from under His pen. He never stopped until he completed all the sura ... ».
Bab himself spoke about this time with these words: « This night, this very hour, in the coming days will be celebrated as one of the greatest and significant holidays ».