Hájí Mírzá Ḥasan-i-Adíbu'l-ʻUlamá ( ar, ; September 1848–2 September 1919), known as Mírzá Ḥasan or Adíb, was an eminent follower of
Baháʼu'lláh
Baháʼu'lláh (born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Persia, and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Bábí Faith. In 1863, in I ...
, the founder of the
Baháʼí Faith. He was appointed a
Hand of the Cause
Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of ...
and identified as one of the nineteen
Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh.
Background
Mírzá Hasan was born in Talaqán in September 1848. His father was an eminent
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic cleric and Mírzá Hasan went through the usual religious education in
Tihrán and
Mashhad
Mashhad ( fa, مشهد, Mašhad ), also spelled Mashad, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. It serves as the capital of R ...
. He became the Friday prayer leader at the
Daru'l-Funun, Iran's first technical college set up by the Shah, where he received his title of Adíbu'l-'Ulamá (littérateur of the
'Ulamá) In 1874 he was employed by the
Qajar princes, writing a large number of encyclopedic books on their behalf.
Conversion
Mírzá Hasan's acceptance of Baháʼu'lláh was the result of several Baháʼí friends, including
Nabíl-i-Akbar, who prompted him to investigate the teachings. Upon converting to the Baháʼí Faith, he was expelled from his work. In 1889, his conversion was made official and he soon became one of the four
Hands of the Cause appointed by Baháʼu'lláh.
Service and final years
After the passing of Baháʼu'lláh in 1892, Mírzá Hasan became instrumental in dealing with the activities of
Covenant-breakers in Iran. He later participated in the meetings that evolved into the Central Spiritual Assembly of Tihrán, which later became the
National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, of which he was the chairman.
In 1903, he travelled to
Isfahan
Isfahan ( fa, اصفهان, Esfahân ), from its Achaemenid empire, ancient designation ''Aspadana'' and, later, ''Spahan'' in Sassanian Empire, middle Persian, rendered in English as ''Ispahan'', is a major city in the Greater Isfahan Regio ...
, where he was briefly imprisoned. From there he also visited
Shiraz,
Bombay, and
ʻAkká, where
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian language, Persian: , 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later C ...
instructed him to travel with an American Baháʼí to India and Burma to help spread the Baháʼí Faith in those areas.
After returning to
Tehran, he died on 2 September 1919.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Adib
Hands of the Cause
Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh
Iranian Bahá'ís
Converts to the Bahá'í Faith from Shia Islam
19th-century Bahá'ís
20th-century Bahá'ís