Holy Day

Birth of the Bab

Source: Some Answered Questions

The “two …Festivals” are the anniversaries of the births of Baha’u’llah and the Bab. In the Muslim lunar calendar these fall on consecutive days, the birth of Baha’u’llah on the second day of the month of Muḥarram 1233 A.H. (12 November 1817), and the birth of the Bab on the first day of the same month 1235 A.H. (20 October 1819), respectively. They are thus referred to as the “Twin Birthdays.” (The Kitab-i-Aqdas)

The birth of Siyyid `Ali-Muhammad (The Bab), happened before dawn, in Shíraz. His mother was Fatimih-Bagum and His father was Mírza Muhammad Rida.

“…it is said: “And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered”, meaning that this religion will suffer great difficulties and endure great toil and trouble until a perfect offspring is produced therefrom—that is, until the subsequent and promised Manifestation, Who is a perfect offspring, is reared in the bosom of this religion, which is even as its mother. By this offspring is meant the Bab, the Primal Point, Who was in truth born from the religion of Muḥammad. In other words, that sacred Reality which was the child and the result of the religion of God—its mother—and which was its Promised One, came into being in the heavenly kingdom of that religion, but was caught up unto God to elude the ascendancy of the dragon. After 1,260 days the dragon was destroyed and the offspring of the religion of God, the Promised One, was made manifest.”

“And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” This woman is the religion of God, as was before explained. The dragon’s standing near her signifies that it was keeping watch to devour her child as soon as it had been delivered. This child was the promised Manifestation, Who is the offspring of the religion of Muḥammad…”

“…The Book of Revelation fixes the advent of the Promised One after forty-two months. The Prophet Daniel specifies three times and a half, which is also forty-two months or 1,260 days. Another passage of the Revelation of John directly states 1,260 days, and it is explicitly indicated in the Bible that each day signifies one year. Nothing could be clearer than this agreement of the prophecies with each other. The Bab appeared in the year A.H. 1260 according to the calendar followed by all Muslims. There are no clearer prophecies than this in the Bible for any Manifestation.