Ḥájí Mírzá Muḥammad-Taqí (died 1917), known as Ibn-i-Abhar (), was an eminent follower of

Baháʼu'lláh Baháʼu'lláh (, born Ḥusayn-ʻAlí; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892) was an Iranian religious leader who founded the Baháʼí Faith. He was born to an aristocratic family in Iran and was exiled due to his adherence to the messianic Báb ...

, the founder of the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

. 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 The Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh were nineteen prominent 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, and the ...

Background

Ibn-i-Abhar was born in the village of

Abhar Abhar () is a city in the Central District of Abhar County, Zanjan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. Abhar has historically served as a place of importance due to lying right between the cities of Qazvin ...

. His father came from a family of the leading

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic clergy of the village, and became a Bábí after reading some of the writings of the

Báb The Báb (born ʻAlí-Muḥammad; ; ; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850) was an Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbai ...

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

Qazvin Qazvin (; ; ) is a city in the Central District (Qazvin County), Central District of Qazvin County, Qazvin province, Qazvin province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the largest city in the provi ...

, 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 (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

, 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 o ...

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

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

, and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. 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 term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

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