Glimmerings

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      The names of the eighteen Letters of the Living (hurúf-i-hayy
      ) are listed below. Most of the Letters of Living were martyred. They are indicated by * in the list below. Of these, those who were martyred at the upheaval at Fort Shaykh Tabarsí [see DB 19-20 Part B] are indicated by *T in the list below. 
      1. Mullá Husayn-i-Bushrú’í
        (*T)
      2. Mullá ’Alíy-i-Bastámí
        (* in Constantinople)
      3. Muhammad Hasan
        (Mullá Husayn’s brother) (*T)
      4. Muhammad-Báqir
        (Mullá Husayn’s nephew) (*T)
      5. Mullá Jalíl-i-Urúmí
        (*T)
      6. Mírzá Muhammad-’Alíy-i-Qazvíní
        (Táhirih’s cousin & brother-in-law) (*T)
      7. Mírzá Hádí
        (brother of Mírzá Muhammad-’Alíy-i-Qazvíní)
      8. Mullá Hasan-i-Bajistání
      9. Mullá Ahmad-i-Ibdál-i-Marághi’í
        (*T)
      10. Mullá Mahmúd-i-Khu’í
        (*T)
      11. Siyyid Husayn-i-Yazdí
        (became an amanuensis of the Báb) (* in Tihrán)
      12. Mírzá Muhammad Rawdih-Khán-i-Yazdí
      13. Mullá Báqir-i-Tabrízí
        (the longest surviving Letter of the Living)
      14. Mullá Yúsif-i-Ardibílí
        (*T)
      15. Mullá Khudá-Bakhsh-i-Qúchání
      16. Sa’íd-i-Hindí
        (went to India, fate unknown)
      17. Táhirih
        (* in Tihrán)
      18. Quddús
        (*T)
      The eighteen Letters of the Living together with the Báb formed the first váhid
      61ACT2 (means unity or one) of the Bábí Dispensation. All except Táhirih met the Báb face to face. Most were young adults. In that fateful year of 1844, the Báb was twenty-five, Mullá Husayn was thirty-one, Táhirih was twenty-eight, and Quddús was twenty-two years old.

      And so quietly, extremely quietly, the revolution of the soul of humanity began. It was destined to change history forever.

      [For a summary of the background of each of the Letters of the Living and what happened to them, see Afnan et al, 2009, Bahá’í Encyclopedia Letters of the Living. Also see Saiedi – Who were the Letters of the Living?]

      * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

      51 Mullá Báqir-i-Tabrízí: Upon leaving Shíráz, he traveled to Karbalá where he assisted Táhirih’ and then traveled to Iran with her; he was present at the Conference of Badasht; he visited the Báb in Chihríq prison in Adhirbáyján and acted as intermediary for the Báb’s correspondence and other items that the Báb wished to be delivered to Bahá’u’lláh [Dawn-Breakers Chapter 23, p04] ; he became a follower of Bahá’u’lláh after visiting Him in Baghdad; traveled twice to Akká to see Bahá’u’lláh; and with Bahá’u’lláh’s permission spent his last days in Constantinople. He is believed to be the longest surviving firm Letter of the Living.

      52Sa’íd-i-Hindí: He went to India and there are records of him teaching certain individuals before contact with him was lost. We don’t know his fate.

      53Arabic, means unity. The word has an Abjad numerical value of 19 and therefore used to represent that number. The eighteen Letters of the Living plus the Báb form the first váhid of the Bábí Dispensation. This is based on the instructions of the Báb as described in the Dawn-Breakers, Chapter 6, p123. For more information on the Abjad system, see these sources: F. Lewis 1999 Overview of the Abjad Numerological System and Wikipedia Abjad Numerals.

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