About Glimmerings
A Bold Dawn
In 1844, a young man in ShĂráz named the Báb declared Himself a new Messenger of God. His mission was to announce the dawn of the Promised Day for all religions, and prepare the way for the coming of Bahá’u’lláh, whom He hailed as surpassing His own greatness. The call of the Báb came to a place and at a time of deep spiritual blindness and fierce resistance. Yet a few courageous souls responded, despite the hatred and persecution they faced. They broke free from religious and social constraints, transforming themselves in the process. These heroes came to be known as the Dawn-Breakers.
A Bold Dawn
NabĂl’s Telling of a Sacred History
NabĂl’s Telling of a Sacred History
NabĂl-i-ZarandĂ, one of these Dawn-Breakers, undertook the monumental task of chronicling these historic events. His original historical account was edited and translated into English by ShoghĂ EffendĂ, the Guardian of the Bahá’à Faith, and published in 1932 under the title of “The Dawn-Breakers: NabĂl’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’à Revelation”. Set against a historical, cultural and religious backdrop (1800s, ĂŤrán-Iráq, ShĂ’a Islam) unfamiliar to many who are not from that region, NabĂl’s account brims with complex names, places and interwoven narratives. To help in the reading and understanding of these, we have created this companion set of notes, we call Glimmerings.
A Call to Rise
Our aim with Glimmerings is to make accessible to every reader the story of these Dawn-Breakers, whose indomitable spirit and selfless sacrifices resonate through the ages. Our hope is that, inspired by their unwavering resolve, each one of us will arise to walk in their footsteps and champion unity and justice for our ailing world today.
A Call to Rise
NOTE
- For an overview of the story of NabĂl, the writing of his Chronicle and its importance, see Resources: NabĂl-i-ZarandĂ and the Dawn-Breakers Chronicle.
- For an explanation of Fársà names construction, transliteration, quotes and sources used in Glimmerings, see Resources: Names, Transliteration, Sources.
- For brief additional background and stories on select characters from the Dawn-Breakers, see Resources: Portraits.
- For a brief background on ShĂ’a Islam, see Resources: Brief background on ShĂ’a Islam.
- For an outline of the Qájár Dynasty and dates of Key BábĂ/Bahá’à Events during it, see Resources: Qájár Dynasty and Key BábĂ/Bahá’à Events.
- For a summary listing of the content of each Glimmerings chapter and their main sources, see Resources: Glimmerings Chapter Summaries & Sources.
Glimmerings is designed to be a companion to the study of The Dawn-Breakers. How to use Glimmerings is up to the reader. Some may read it alongside reading the original, some may read it as a prelude to reading the original, while others may use it only when they read a particular section in the original that they find difficult to understand.Â
Regardless of how it is used, it should be emphasized that Glimmerings does not in any way substitute for the original narrative, nor should it be used as such. Our hope is that these notes will help in some measure your reading and understanding of that transformative historical narrative we know as The Dawn-Breakers.
The Glimmerings team