Muhammad and the Bab connection

The topic seeks to explain what Baha’is believe concerning the connection between the Baha’i Faith and Islam. This connection is considered clear and direct; the standard theological issue raised by Muslims is that Muhammad has been viewed as the final Prophet sent by God to humanity. This difference has caused problems for Baha’is in countries like Iran, where they have been seen as a sect of Islam that is in grave error. In other places, Baha’is are careful when speaking with Muslims so as not to get into divisive, unproductive theological debates. The key principle is unity; this article is to explain the Baha’i position and reasons why we believe that the Bab is the successor to Prophet Muhammad. I will begin by giving a brief biography of the life of Muhammad for those who are not familiar with his life.

Muhammad was born in the year 570 CE in the city of Mecca, born to the Banu Hashim clan that later gave its name to the House of Imam Ali and his descendants. He was orphaned by the age of 6 and was raised by his grandfather and uncle. He grew up traveling around Arabia and trading various goods with his uncle; he would later become a successful merchant. During this period, he encountered a Christian monk named Bahira. The monk saw a cloud following the boy, and he had a vision that Muhammad would grow up to become a great Prophet, the successor to Jesus. This vision would not become reality until Muhammad communed with the angel Gabriel in the year 610 and began getting divine revelations. Muhammad married Khadija after serving as an agent for her during a trade and impressing her with his character and business aptitude; she was also 15 years older than him and had been widowed. Their marriage, while very unconventional for the patriarchal Arabic society, was very happy albeit only their daughter Fatima survived into adulthood. Muhammad also attained prominence and honor after putting the Black Stone back into the Kaaba during its renovation; he was the compromise choice of the warring clans that controlled Mecca at the time.

Muhammad was also deeply spiritual; he would spend a few weeks each year at the cave of Hira in prayer and meditation. One fine day, he was visited by the angel Gabriel and started receiving divine revelation; these verses would later be incorporated into the Quran. His following was small at first, consisting of his wife, Ali, adopted son Zaid and his friend Abu Bakr. He began preaching 3 years later and drew a substantial following, but he upset the leaders of the city who were stubborn polytheists. They resented his condemnation of idol worship and incessant warfare, and began to persecute him and his followers. In 622, Muhammad and his followers fled to Medina in the cover of night after Muhammad learned of an assassination attempt. They found tolerance there, and Muhammad managed to unite the fractious Jewish and Arab tribes there, becoming the leader of that city.

Muhammad then built a coalition of tribes against the Meccans, engaging in many battles and trade disputes with his enemies. Through his wisdom and perseverance, he was able to build a stronger army than the Meccans. In 630, his army occupied the city after a truce between his alliance and the Meccans was violated, and he took the city without much bloodshed. Most Meccans became Muslim and the idols around the Kaaba were destroyed, with Muhammad proclaiming it as the new holy site of pilgrimage for all of the Muslim world. He then consolidated the tribes of Arabia into a nascent Caliphate which would later conquer the Sassanids of Persia and most of the Byzantine Empire. He died in June of 632 and the Caliphate fell into the hands of Abu Bakr. The rest is history.

One thing Muslims assert about Muhamamd is that he is the seal of the prophets, the final prophet with the final message for all humanity. This is justified by the following verse: ““Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Apostle of Allah and the Last of the prophets; and Allah is cognizant of all things.”(Quran 33:40). The Arabic term is translated as Seal of the Prophets, the last one in the line of Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, among others. This doctrine has been misinterpreted; a counterexample would be to give a prophet who came after Muhammad, who guided a people to unity and spiritual excellence.

This example comes in the form of Deganawida, the prophet who united the Iroquois nations. When Deganawida appeared, the 5 tribes were constantly warring and practiced cannibalism and human sacrifice extensively. Deganawida went around and preached a message of peace, enlisting the help of Hiawatha to convince the tribal chiefs to come together. There was one holdout tribe; the Mohawks. In order to show his divine creds, he climbed a tree above a mighty waterfall and told the Mohawks to chop it down. He then disappeared into the swirling rapids, presumably to have died. The day after, he was found alive by a campfire, thus swaying the stubborn Mohawks into joining the Confederacy. His basic teaching, the Great Law of Peace, established a system of organization for the Confederacy. Men ruled as chiefs but only inherited these positions through the mother’s line, with women being able to serve as clan mothers and removing chiefs they felt were unfit. Decisions at the clan, village, and Confederacy level were made by consensus, giving the Iroquois an advantage over other tribes in the region. They remained united and powerful until the American Revolution and the Manifest Destiny tore them apart and forced them from their native lands. The example of Deganawida echoes that of Muhammad at a smaller scale, for he united warring, barbarous tribes under a banner of peace and unity. He claimed all spiritual and political authority due to the Great Spirit, the creator of the Universe and all life. This sounds quite similar to the life and station of Muhammad, who always deferred to Allah. Of course, Deganawida was not a full Manifestation of God and all we know about him is based on oral stories, with most scholars estimating that he lived in the 15th century and accomplished His mission in 1451. But it is clear there is a good amount of historicity, evidence that He existed and accomplished his goal.

Baha’is believe that the Bab, precursor of Baha’ull’ah, is the next Manifestation after Muhammad. The Bab is Arabic for the Gate, fitting His station as the precursor to Baha’ull’ah. The Bab was born Siyyid Alí Muhammad Shírází in 1819, and He adopted His title in 1844 after revealing His station to Mulla Husayn, His first disciple. The Bab would preach a revolutionary message, including the equality of men and women, the need to abolish positions of clergy, and abrogated sharia law with His own law in the form of the Bayan. His message angered many nobles and clergymen, who had him imprisoned in 1848. His followers were then attacked, and many brave Babis were martyred in a manner akin to the brave souls of Karbila.(I start to cry profusely) Two years later, He was martyred in Tabriz, but not before surviving a first volley from the firing squad and finishing His prophecy.(I start to cry even more) This fact is attested in Western sources and even in Persian sources biased against the Babis.

But how could the Bab succeed Muhammad if Muhammad was the Seal of the Prophets? Indeed, this was the core reason He was martyred and His movement came under intense persecution. Muhammad was indeed the Seal, but Quran 7:35 is curious: “Children of Adam! If there should come to you Messengers from among you, relating to you My signs, then whosoever is godfearing and makes amends — no fear shall be on them, neither shall they sorrow. And those that cry lies to Our signs, and wax proud against them — those shall be the inhabitants of the Fire, therein dwelling forever.” This may seem like a broad, conditional statement that addressed humanity in general. Yet the context suggests that this was part of Muhammad’s exhortations to His audience, which would mean He told them to be on the lookout for new Messengers. Furthermore, this verse from Baha’ull’ah says that Muhammad declared He was all the Prophets:

“Notwithstanding the obviousness of this theme, in the eyes of those that have quaffed the wine of 162 knowledge and certitude, yet how many are those who, through failure to understand its meaning, have allowed the term “Seal of the Prophets” to obscure their understanding, and deprive them of the grace of all His manifold bounties! Hath not Muḥammad, Himself, declared: “I am all the Prophets?” Hath He not said as We have already mentioned: “I am Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus?” Why should Muḥammad, that immortal Beauty, Who hath said: “I am the first Adam” be incapable of saying also: “I am the last Adam”? For even as He regarded Himself to be the “First of the Prophets” — that is Adam — in like manner, the “Seal of the Prophets” is also applicable unto that Divine Beauty. It is admittedly obvious that being the “First of the Prophets,” He likewise is their “Seal.””

This indicates the unity of the Manifestations and their equality to each other. Baha’ull’ah also states in His Sura of Patience:

“Recite then unto them that which the celestial Dove of the Spirit hath warbled in the holy Riḍván of the Beloved, that perchance they may examine that which hath been elucidated concerning “sealing” by the tongue of him he who is well-grounded in knowledge in the prayer of visitation for the name of God, ‘Alí [Imam ‘Alī]. He hath said — and his word is the truth! — :

“[He (Muḥammad) is] the seal of what came before Him and the harbinger of what will appear after Him.”

In such wise hath the meaning of “sealing” been mentioned by the tongue of inaccessible holiness. Thus hath God designated His Friend [Muhammad] to be a seal for the Prophets who preceded Him and a harbinger of the Messengers who will appear after Him.” Finally, Baha’is introduce the concept of the Age of Prophecy. We believe that Muhammad was the Last Manifestation of the Age of Prophecy, sealing up the line of prophecy that had begun with Adam. Ofc, the presence of native prophets like Deganawida indicates that other prophets came, but their missions and revelations were not as huge as that of the Manifestations; the indigenous Americans received a Manifestation many thousands of years ago but that person has become shrouded in history. Hence Muhammad was not the final prophet sent by God; in fact, God will keep sending new prophets to guide humanity. To claim that God could not send new messengers after Muhammad would be to limit Him and His power. Thus the Bab came after Muhammad, Baha’ull’ah came after the Bab, and in the year 2873 or later, there will come a new Prophet from God to replace the Baha’i Faith.