Texts and scriptures
|From the Báb|
The Persian Bayán (Persian: بیان) is one of the principal scriptural writings of the Báb, the founder of Bábi religion, written in Persian. The Báb also wrote a shorter book in Arabic, the Arabic Bayán.
The Persian Bayán was written near the end of 1847 or the beginning of 1848, while the Báb was imprisoned in Maku. The book contains elements of Bábí law, discussion of religious concepts, and the glorification of He whom God shall make manifest. It was one of the Báb's first works in which he clearly states that he is the messianic figure of the Twelfth Imam and the Mahdi which the Shi'as were expecting. With the claim, he also claimed the abrogation of the Islamic dispensation, and uses the new Bábí law to abrogate Islamic law. The whole book also revolves around the praise of He whom God shall make manifest, promising the coming of a major prophet termed a Manifestation of God; this would be of major importance with Bahá'u'lláh's claim two decades later. Shoghi Effendi considered it a "eulogy of the Promised One", who had abrogated the laws of Islam, and prophesied about the coming of the Bahá'í Faith.
Unities and chapters
The book was intended to be composed of nineteen 'unities' each of nineteen chapters, consisting of a total of 361 sections, which had numerical significance, but this was left incomplete and stops in the ninth 'unity'. It was intended to be finished by "He whom God shall make manifest", a messianic figure in the Báb's writings. Bahá'ís consider Bahá'u'lláh's Kitáb-i-Íqán as its completion. Certain early researchers of the religion believed that the right of completing the Bayán was conferred to Subh-i Azal. However, more modern scholarship shows that that interpretation is flawed because Subh-i-Azal is only given the right to complete the Bayán with the permission of Him Whom God shall make manifest, and that Subh-i-Azal was instituted as a nominal head and asked to preserve the religion until Him whom God shall make manifest would arrive. The Báb eliminated any form of successorship or vicegerency from his religion and stated that no one's else writings would be authoritative after his death to the time of Him Whom God shall make Manifest. Some of the followers of Subh-i-Azal state that the Báb actually made Subh-i-Azal his vicegerent because the Báb in a tablet written to Azal stated that he should manifest the remaining paths of the Bayán if Him Whom God shall make Manifest is made manifest out of divine glory during Azal's days. The Azalis interpret this to mean the Báb gave Sub-i-Azal the right to complete the unfinished text of the Bayán. However, the Báb affirms to Subh-i-Azal himself that Him Whom God shall make Manifest may appear in Subh-i-Azal's own lifetime, and thus eliminates any viceregency for Subh-i-Azal. One of the texts that the Azalis use to state that Subh-i-Azal was appointed as a viceregent is the controversial book Nuqtutu'l-Kaq, but the book's statements are very contradictory and problematic. In one section of the book the author states that the Bayán may become abrogated within a few years of the Báb's death, and that Him Whom God shall make Manifest may appear during Azal's time, then later it states that the abrogation of the Bayán and the appearance of the Promised One could not occur before two thousand years. Even later the author makes the proposition that the Promised One is Subh-i-Azal himself, showing that the author truly did not believe that the appearance of the Promised One would have to take two thousand years. The proposition that the Him Whom God shall make Manifest would take two thousand years is absurd since the Báb discusses the advent of Him Whom God shall make Manifest during Subh-i-Azal's lifetime as a conditional point for Subh-i-Azal to take certain action. An alternative interpretation of the passage in question is that Subh-i-Azal is asked to instead to making public or distribute the eight copies of the Bayan to eight people mentioned in the passage.
- Smith, Peter (2000). "Bayán". A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 91. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
- Momen, Moojan (1987). "Preface: A Summary of the Persian Bayan". Selections from the Writings of E.G. Browne on the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions. Oxford: George Ronald. pp. 316–318. ISBN 978-0-85398-247-0.
- Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. p. 25. ISBN 0-87743-020-9.
- Browne, Edward (1892). "Catalogue and Description of 27 Babi Manuscripts". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland: 478–479.
- Nicolas, A.L.M (1905). Le Beyan Arabe. Paris: Ernest Leroux, Editeur.
- Browne, Edward (1891). A Traveller's Narrative. Cambridge University Press. p. 353.
- Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 403–404. ISBN 978-1-55458-035-4.
- Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. pp. 344–348. ISBN 978-1-55458-035-4.
- Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-521-86251-5.
- Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. p. 347. ISBN 978-1-55458-035-4.
- The Báb (1976). Selections from the Writings of the Báb. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 1-931847-30-4.
- Browne, Edward Granville (1987). "A Summary of the Persian Bayan". In Momen, Moojan. Selections from the Writings of E.G. Browne on the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-247-3.
- Saiedi, Nader (2008). Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb. Canada: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 978-1-55458-056-9.
- “A Summary of the Persian Bayan” translated by E.G. Browne from Persian to English language
- "A Summary of the Persian Bayan" in pdf format.