Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-Taqí (died 1917), known as Ibn-i-Abhar ( ar, ), 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 The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the ...

. 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 o ...

and identified as one of the nineteen

Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh The Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh were nineteen prominent early followers of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. The apostles were designated as such by Shoghi Effendi, head of the religion in the earlier half of the 20th century, an ...

Background

Ibn-i-Abhar was born in the village of

Abhar Abhar ( fa, ابهر) is a city in the Zanjan Province of Iran. It has historically served as a place of importance due to lying right between the cities of Qazvin and Zanjan. Name "Abhar" is a combination of the words ''āb'' (water) and ''h ...

. His father came from a family of the leading Islamic clergy of the village, and became a Bábí after reading some of the writings of the

Báb The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claim ...

. Due to the persecution which followed, the family moved to

Qazvin Qazvin (; fa, قزوین, , also Romanized as ''Qazvīn'', ''Qazwin'', ''Kazvin'', ''Kasvin'', ''Caspin'', ''Casbin'', ''Casbeen'', or ''Ghazvin'') is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. Qazvin was a capital of the ...

, and in 1868 became followers of Baháʼu'lláh, who claimed to be the messianic figure of which the Báb had foretold.

Travels

In 1874, his father was poisoned. He began travelling to different parts of

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

, where he taught many in the Bábí community who accepted Baháʼu'lláh. His teaching, however, led to a fourteen-month imprisonment. After his release, he continued travelling throughout Iran, and in 1886 made a trip to ʻAkká. That same year he became one of the four

Hands 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 ...

appointed by Baháʼu'lláh, and began travel-teaching outside of Iran, to Caucasia,

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan ( or ; tk, Türkmenistan / Түркменистан, ) is a country located in Central Asia, bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the s ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. From 1890 to 1894, he was imprisoned in a dungeon in Tihrán, wearing the same chains that once were used on Baháʼu'lláh while a prisoner there. After his release in 1894, he again travelled to ʻAkká, and then to ʻIshqábád. In 1897 he participated in the gathering which led to the formation of the Central Spiritual Assembly of Tihrán, which later became the

National Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...

of Iran. In 1907, he travelled across India with Mírzá Mahmúd-i-Zarqání and two American Baháʼís, Harlan Ober and Hooper Harris. Throughout his life he was able to visit the

Holy Land The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Ho ...

eleven times. He also travelled extensively inside

. He died in 1917.

References

* * * {{Baháʼí Hands of the Cause Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh Iranian Bahá'ís 1917 deaths 19th-century Bahá'ís 20th-century Bahá'ís Year of birth unknown Converts to the Bahá'í Faith from Shia Islam