By: Mahdi Honarjou
آنچه در ادامه می خوانید
Abstract
With the emergence of Baha’ism and the proselytizing done by the disciples of Bahaullah, the followers of other religions tended towards this creed. Among people who changed their religion into Baha’ism were the Zoroastrians who abandoned their religion in 18 century A.D. and became Baha’is regarding the accordance of the Zoroastrian teachings by their beliefs. They became Baha’is because Bahaullah had been introduced as the savior the Zoroastrians and the one whose descendants went back to Zoroaster and Anoushirvan Sasanian. However, the investigation of the conditions and characteristics of the Savior in the Zoroastrian religion indicate that Bahaullah can’t be the promised one of the Zoroastrians. Also, there aren’t any distinct time and place for Zoroaster among the historians and the case of kingdom of Anoushirvan Sasanian is not in the manner that attributing such person to the king causes honor and proud. The aim of this research is the investigation of the truth of the reasons that caused such people to turn to the Baha’ism cult.
Introduction
The thought of saving and believing in the promised one is one of the most extensive and distinct thoughts and theories of human being. This thought can be found everywhere from ancient religion and cultures to newly-emerged religious movements. Maybe, after thinking of God and due to being closed to believing in resurrection, no thought among human generation be expanded to such an extent. Less religion, nation and people can be found to be in lack of hope with being saved and waiting for the promised savior in its thoughts. By investigating religions, the promised ones can be divided into several groups concerning the existence of the lack of existence in the present time. (Mowahedian Attar and others, 1393 S.H., 47). Regarding this division, the promised one in the Zoroastrian creed is of the ones who hasn’t been born yet in the Zoroastrian creed, there isn’t just one promised one, but the thought of tendency towards millennium thought is existent with the special birth and presence of three saviors with the interval of one thousand years.
In Baha’ism, the issue of savior and the promised one isn’t a belief. However, exact planning by Bahaullah’s disciples and writing genealogy and introducing him as the promised one in various religions caused for the discussion of Bahaullah as the promised one to be created. In this genealogy, the words Zoroaster and king Bahram and Saoshyant were attributed to Bahaullah by the Baha’is. Following it, Bahaullah has claimed himself for being attributed to Zoroaster and Sasanian kings including Anoushirvan. During the periods of time, when the Zoroastrians were under sever pressures and hardship; according to their teachings, the emergence of a savior would and hardship existent in the teachings of this religion. (Boyce, 1386, 348).
The background of this issue hasn’t been stated in any source; although the book “the Zoroastrians, their beliefs and religious customs” written by Marry Boyce, the book “the Zoroastrian sage” written by Shahmardan and the article Maneckji Limji Hataria in Iran by Marry Boyce, the article Maneckji Limji and the Iranian Zoroastrian community in Qajar dynasty written by Jalil Naebiyan and Jawad Ali Pour are of the sources and documents which have presented this material briefly.
Bahaullah’s birth and life
The Baha’is fame has been originated from Mirza Hussein Ali Nouri entitled Bahaullah and they have considered him as the prophet of their creed. He was born on the lunar month of Moharram, 2, 1233 A.H. /1817 A.D. in Mirza Abbas Nouri’s house, one of the secretaries of Qajar dynasty in Tehran city (Rouzbahani, 1388, 109). His father was Mirza Abbas Nouri, known as Mirza Bozorg Nouri living in Takar village, Nour Mazandaran. (Hajj Qoli and others, 1397, 182). He passed his rudimentary trainings in Arabic and Persian under the supervision of his father and teachers; although he is claiming for being illiterate (Rouzbahani, 1388, 109).
After claiming for being the gate by Ali Muhammad Shirazi, he has been considered as the first ones who turned to Bab by Mullah Hussein Boshrouyee and Mirza Muhammad Moa’llem Nouri and became one of the most active Babis (ibid, 110). Mirza Hussein Ali Baha resided in Najibiyeh garden known as Redhvan on April 1863 A.D. in the last days of his presence in Baqdad city for 12 days in Najibieh garden. So, he announced himself as the promised one of the book Bayan in the presence of his special disciples. (ibid, 115).
Bahaullah’s genealogy
When Bahaullah was asked in the book the Persian disciples about his name, race and pure descendants, he answered back that Abul Fadhl Golpaygani has written in this regard that what informs and increases insight… (the Persian disciples, 1988, 11). The first text written specially about Bahaullah’s genealogy is the family tree gathered by Abul Fadhl Golpaygani based on Bahaullah’s speech. It is said about how the genealogy is written that one day in 1902 A.D., one of the Persians of Iran called Khosrow Beman Narsi Abadi asked for Bahaullah’s family tree and he answered and asked Abul Fadhl Golpaygani to take over this responsibility. For this reason, he created Bahaullah’s genealogy searching and investigating (Golpaygani, 1903, 2). In this family tree written in 1321, the place and of birth of Bahaullah have been written which have been related to what is promised in Zoroastrian religion. The issue of the promised one has been referred to the book Dasatir and Persian books in which the promised one will be emerged after passing nearly 1200 years after the emergence of the religion of Islam (ibid, 6). In this writing, Bahaullah has been attributed to Sasanian and the king Anoushirvan (ibid, 8). According to Baha’ism books, Hussein Ali Nouri is being attributed to Yazdgerd III, the last king of Sasanian. (Hajj Qoli and others, 1397, 182).
Attributing Bahaullah to Zoroaster and considering the savior in Zoroastrian creed and Bahaullah’s birth as the same are of the mental emanations of a person called Mirza Abul Fadhl. (ibid, 15). He has attributed the Zoroaster to Bahaullah merely to gain a position among the followers of the Zoroaster.
When Bahaullah claimed for being the savior of the Zoroastrians or Saoshyant and caused some Zoroastrians to turn to Baha’ism, the Zoroastrian teachers were of the first ones who opposed (Soleimani, 1966, 395, 396).
Conclusion
The Baha’ism texts, speech and Bahaullah’s letter writings and his genealogy including his attribution to Zoroaster and Anoushirvan Sasani and Soashyant in Zoroaster religion caused a number of the followers of Zoroaster religion to turn to Baha’ism cult. Investigating the Baha’is claiming for attributing Bahaullah to Zoroaster and Soachyant revealed that this attribution is false because there isn’t any distinct place and time for Zoroaster among the researchers and historians. Also, the emergence of Soashyant in Zoroaster religion has characteristics and conditions which aren’t in congruence with Bahaullah. Bahaullah has introduced himself as the savior of the Zoroastrians in 18the century. It was a conspiracy for Zoroastrians to join the Baha’i cult opposed by the Zoroastrian teachers.
