mymasteryourkim

Greetings! I was wondering what the symbol of the Bab's revelation was... Baha'u'llah's was the maiden, Jesus had the dove, etc. I would love any guidance on this - THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!

Eric

Hello, there is something in The Dawn Breakers (page 254) which may be an answer to your question:

In one of His writings revealed in the year '60 A.H., the Báb declares the following: "The spirit of prayer which animates My soul is the direct consequence of a dream which I had in the year before the declaration of My Mission. In My vision I saw the head of the Imam Husayn, the Siyyidu'sh-Shuhada', which was hanging upon a tree. Drops of blood dripped profusely from His lacerated throat. With feelings of unsurpassed delight, I approached that tree and, stretching forth My hands, gathered a few drops of that sacred blood, and drank them devoutly. When I awoke, I felt that the Spirit of God had permeated and taken possession of My soul. My heart was thrilled with the joy of His Divine presence, and the mysteries of His Revelation were unfolded before My eyes in all their glory."

jupitermadcat

Whoa. Jesus= Dove The Bab= Severed head.

arthra

The martyrdom of the Imam Husayn is central to Shiah Islam.. Imam Husayn was the Grandson of Prophet Muhammad and we believe the rightful successor after the assassination of Imam Ali his father and Imam Hassan his brother.

Imam Husayn and his child along with members of his family were martyred at Karbila..

The blood of Imam Husayn would be considered sacred...and the dream-vision of the Bab was symbolically suggesting in my view that He was filled with the Spirit of God.."the Spirit of God had permeated and taken possession of My soul."

Imam Husain’s six-month-old son, Ali Asghar, was on the verge of death from dehydration. Husain brought him out of the tent to show his pitiful condition to the soldiers in Yazid’s army, pleading for at least enough water to save the infant’s life. The enemy denied his request. A heartless archer from the enemy army shot an arrow that struck the infant, killing him in his father’s own arms.

Soon, Imam Husain was left alone to face Yazid’s army, since all the able-bodied male members of his camp had died fighting one by one. He made a final plea to the army of Yazid, reminding them of his kinship with the Holy Prophet of Islam, the love and respect which the Holy Prophet had used to show him, and the numerous traditions in which the Holy Prophet had warned the Muslims not to disobey or injure him. He reminded them of his desire to uphold the truth and his status as one of the true protectors of the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet. He asked to be allowed to leave the Muslim kingdom, so that Yazid would not perceive him as a threat to his power. Finally, he clearly warned them that by shedding his blood, they would be subjected to the wrath of Allah (S.W.T.) and they would lose any hope of the intercession of Prophet Muhammad (S.A.A.W.). The commanders of the opposing army were unmoved, and reiterated their desire to kill Imam Husain unless he chose to submit to the authority of Yazid. Husain was left with no choice but to take a firm and final stand against falsehood, and to fight for the preservation of Islam. He fought bravely, and in the end he achieved martyrdom

The Martyrdom of Imam Hussain

Blood as a symbol is also found when Jesus asked His disciples:

Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

- Gospel of John 6:53

And consider the Passover:

‘Moreover, they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.

Exodus 12:6-8

Blood was also symbolically used of course when the blood of the Passover lamb was sprinkled on the altar of the Lord:

Second Chronicles 29:22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests took the blood and sprinkled it on the altar; next they slaughtered the rams and sprinkled their blood on the altar; then they slaughtered the lambs and sprinkled their blood on the altar.

Ezra 6:20 The priests and Levites had purified themselves and were all ceremonially clean. The Levites slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, for their brothers the priests and for themselves.

jupitermadcat

Point well taken.

cire perdue

I like your candid statements. Few of us are able to take this Revelation by our own simple reactions and understanding. There are things that take old hands by surprise at times. I am so thankful to have a heart connection to this Faith from which it comes I know not, but when something really is startling then I sit back and believe there will be understanding about this for me from somewhere at some point. It can take years, but I have no unanswered questions and the answers are more than satisfying.

This Forum is almost like instant knowledge. I only recently ran into (again, having read it and forgotten it) how the Bab learned of His Station and noted to several people that it was only in that one place that it is not in others. I think it's great that someone came up with the source that fast. I wasn't sure. I did not forget the information this time, but the source. IT is very exciting to find out so much now. There was so little information available 35 years ago. I was friends with one of the author's of the first Christian studies that are now done by numerous people, but to see him explain Biblical subjects was like seeing the Bible unsealed. Now even I can do a little of that. That friend said Abdul'baha said there would be people who could do it. We can, and it is exciting to have gone from literally none to much.

Athra that was a beautifully done and cogent post, thank you so much. That Martyrdom moves me.

jupitermadcat

Yes i really like this forum i'm learning alot thus far.