The Báb and brief explanation of the Covenant of God

Shrine of the Báb

As mentioned earlier, the Báb came to the world to prepare the people for the coming of Bahá’u’lláh. His mission is similar to that of Christ in that it was short and swift, 1844 to 1850. The Manifestations of God usually appear in a place where the degradation of a people is at its worse. In reviewing history briefly, we see Moses appearing amongst a people who were in slavery. Look at His Holiness Christ and the people He had to deal with. Muhammad appeared in Arabia where the conditions had degenerated to such an extent. But look after a number of years what the Teachings of Moses, Christ, and Muhammad has done. And the Bab and Bahá’u’lláh appeared in a place no different than that of Moses, Christ, and Muhammad. Iran which was a vast empire known as the “Persian Empire” was reduced to a small country. We can all witness the conditions today of what is transpiring.

Imagine the Báb coming to this people and bringing a beautiful message for this day. A message that will bring the whole world together as one. A message that One will come after Me [the Báb] and through His Teachings humanity will be able to build a world of justice, harmony, and peace. A beautiful message that will unite all of us through a Covenant.  A covenant is an agreement between two parties and each party has to fulfill his part of the contract. God has promised the world through a covenant that He will always send us Divine Guidance through a Manifestation of God who will appear amongst us from time to time.  That is God's expression of love for us.  He created us in His image.  However, God is Unknowable and we should not think of God as an image or some human being.  We cannot understand the nature of God.  There is a wonderful analogy taught to us by Baha'u'llah.  God is like the sun. As you know, if the sun comes down, we would all perish.  The Manifestations of God are like the stainless mirrors that reflect the light of God in all its glory and splendor.  They appear to us to give us God's Message for each day.  And through Them, we get closer to our creator.  Our duty in fulfilling this covenant is to investigate for ourselves who is the Manifestation of God for this day we are fortunate to live in. We are asked not to investigate reality through the eyes of others but through our own earnest search. This requires of us detachment from all human learning, a prayerful attitude, and seeking to find the Truth. Through my own personal journey, I have found Bahá’u’lláh to be the Manifestation of God for this Day. You will have to do your own search.

Let’s go back a bit. Sorry for the digression but felt it important to convey the above. Thousands of people accepted the Message of the Báb. Despite several house arrests and imprisonments in mountainous areas, the Báb's influence was tremendous just like all the other Manifestations of God. Yes, the Báb was also a Manifestation of God!

The government of Iran and the powerful clergy there arose against Him. You must note that the clergy occupied a powerful position and whatever they said goes. So, His followers were persecuted and put to death. The Báb only at the age of 30 was put to death at the orders of the government in a public square. The remains of His body were recovered, hidden, and taken from place to place through Bahá’u’lláh’s guidance, and finally to be buried in the Holy Land. The story of the Báb is very interesting and it is my hope for all of us to further study it.