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TheLetters of the Living (Arabic:حروف الحي) was a title provided by theBáb to the first eighteen disciples of theBábí Religion.[1] In some understandings the Báb places himself at the head of this list (as the first letter). In this article, the former notation will be used except when specifically said otherwise.
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The Báb named the first eighteen believers in his mission as theLetters of the Living (Ḥurúfu'l-ḥayy inArabic). One of the Báb's titles was the "Primal Point" (nuqti-yi-úlá). As Baháʼí scholar Moojan Momen explains:
The Eighteen 'Letters of the Living' manifested themselves in the last, i.e. the Muhammadan Manifestation in the persons of theFourteen Holy Souls (i.e. theProphet himself, his daughterFatima, and theTwelve Imams of whom the first,'Ali, was her husband, and the remainder of her descendants) and theFour Gates (or Bábs) who successively acted as channels of communication between theTwelfth Imam, or Imam Mahdi, and the faithful, during the period of his 'Lesser Occultation' .... The terms 'Point' and 'Letter; were originally suggested by the formula Bi'smi'llahi'r-Rahmani'r-Rahim (In the Name of the Merciful, Compassionate God), which contains 19 letters, the first (B) distinguished by a point or dot beneath it; and by 'Ali's allegedsaying, 'All that is in the Qurʼan is ... in the Bi'smi'llah ... and I am the Point beneath the B.'[2]
The 19 letters of theBasmala are (note Arabic is "read" right to left): ب س م ا ل ل ه ا ل ر ح م ن ا ل ر ح ي م. ((in English) m y h r l a n m h r l a h l l a m s b.)
Additionally, the Báb says:
...the Five Letters of Hell-Fire when separated become 19, as God says: 'Over it (Hell) are Nineteen';[Quran 74:30] and so also the Letters in the Five Letters of Affirmation are nineteen.
[- And Momen comments:] "i.e. Muhammad, 'Ali, Fatima, Hasan, Husayn, which together contain 19 letters in Arabic."[2]
The title "Point" may also refer to the divine and worldly aspects of the Manifestation of God, similar to the geometric point, which is without specific dimension and connects the physical with the nonphysical world.[1]
The term "Hayy" meansThe Living and is used as one of thenames of God in Islamic and Bábí scriptures.[1]
In addition to the 19 letters themselves, in theAbjad numerals system the letters of the Arabic alphabet are assigned numerical values. The Arabic letters h ح and y ي, which compose the Arabic singular adjective meaning "living" in the phrase Letters of the Living, add up to 18, and therefore the phraseLetters of the Living refers to the number 18. There is a similar symbolism about the numerical value of the corresponding Hebrew word inJudaism.
The Báb referred to the 18 Letters of the Living, along with himself, as the firstVáḥid of the Bayán Dispensation. In the Abjad numerical value of the word Wáḥid (واحد) is 19. The word Wáḥid means "One". The Báb used this term as a reference to God and his Manifestations.[3]
The Letters are listed here in the order given byNabíl inThe Dawn-Breakers,[4] and supported byQatíl al-Karbalá'í except where indicated:
First Letter of the Living, present at the night of the Declaration of the Báb celebrated as a holy day by Baháʼís, and who died atBattle of Fort Tabarsi.
Muḥammad-Ḥasan Bus͟hrú'í was the second Letter of the Living, and the brother ofMullá Husayn. He, his sons, Muḥammad-Báqir Bus͟hrú'í, and Mullá Ḥusayn travelled to Shiraz in search of the Qá'im; where the Báb revealed his message.
He was killed during theBattle of Fort Tabarsi. Bábís consider him a martyr.
Muḥammad-Báqir Bus͟hrú'í was the third Letter of the Living, and the nephew ofMullá Husayn. He and Muḥammad-Ḥasan Bus͟hrú'í (his father) travelled with his uncle Mullá Ḥusayn to Shiraz in search of the Qá'im where the Báb revealed his message.
He was killed in the fighting at theBattle of Fort Tabarsi. Bábís consider him a martyr.
This first Bábí martyr.
Later named Mullá ʻAlí(*) "He died a natural death, but his son Mashiyyatu'llah later met with martyrdom in his youth." (H.M. Balyuzi, The Bab - The Herald of the Day of Days, p. 27)
Mullá Ḥasan Bajistání was the sixth Letter of the Living.
Siyyid Ḥusayn Yazdí was the seventh Letter of the Living. He is known as the Báb's amanuensis who shared his imprisonment inMaku and thenChihriq. In the story of the Báb's execution, he is the secretary that the Báb spoke to before being taken away to be shot.
Siyyid Ḥusayn Yazdí was executed inTehran in 1852 in the aftermath on the attempt on the Shah's life.
He remained apart from other Bábís and was generally known as a Shaykhi. But he never renounced his faith and taught it whenever he could. (H.M. Balyuzi, The Bab - The Herald of the Day of Days, p. 27)
According to the official website of the Baháʼís of Pakistan, Saʻíd Hindí was a native ofMultan, in present-dayPakistan. He was one of the students ofSiyyid Kazim Rashti in Iraq. Saʻíd Hindí met the Báb after He declared His mission in 1844. The Báb sent him to India to announce the news of His advent. Saʻíd Hindí reached Multan in that very year to share the Báb's message with his fellow countrymen.[5] Sayyid Basir Hindí, one of Saʻíd Hindí's contacts and a blind man ofSufi background from the Multan area, embraced theBábí Faith and set out on pilgrimage toShiraz in Iran to meet the Báb.[6]
He was killed atBattle of Fort Tabarsi.
He was killed atBattle of Fort Tabarsi.
He was killed atBattle of Fort Tabarsi.
Mullá Báqir Tabrízí was the Thirteenth Letter of the Living. He survived all of the other Letters of the Living. He was the only Letter to embrace the Cause of Baháʼu'lláh, and remain devoted and loyal to Him.
He received a letter from the Báb saying he would attain "Him whom God shall make manifest" in the year 'eight' (1268 AH). Soon after Baháʼu'lláh's release from theSiyáh-Chál of Tehran, Mullah Baqir obtained His presence and quickly became a believer and teacher of the Cause. Most of his teaching with was based inAdhirbayjan.
He died inIstanbul in around 1881.
Mullá Yúsuf Ardibílí was the fourteenth Letter of the Living.
He was killed in the fighting at theBattle of Fort Tabarsi. Bábís consider him a martyr.
Ṭáhirih's brother-in-law. Killed atBattle of Fort Tabarsi.
He was the eighteenth and last Letter of the Living. He was chosen by the Báb to accompany Him to pilgrimage in Mecca and Medina. And was the cousin to the first letter of the living, Mullá Husayn.
(*) - Not included in the list provided by Qatíl which was created far earlier. He does not however provide alternatives and leaves the count at fourteen.
Although the Báb seems to have written a tablet to each of the letters, the names are not on any of them so the identities cannot be confirmed.
Of these the most distinguished are Mullá Ḥusayn, Ṭáhirih and Quddús. Ṭáhirih is singled out because she is the only woman and recognised the Báb without even meeting him. She sent a letter of belief through her brother-in-law and was sure he would find the Báb.
In the introduction toA Traveller's Narrative (page xvi),Edward Granville Browne wrote thatMírzá Yaḥyá was the fourth of the Letters of the Living, and also mentionedBaháʼu'lláh as included in the group. However, this assertion was not claimed by anyBaháʼí or academic sources, and Browne does not include any other details. The commonly accepted view is that Mulla Ḥusayn's brother and nephew recognised theBáb shortly after him (making them the third and fourth Letters).[1] It is notable that Mírzá Yaḥyá would have been 12, or perhaps 13 at the declaration of the Báb.
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