Mirza Abu'l-Fadl

Mirza Abu'l-Fadl-i-Gulpaygani

Mirza Muhammad ( Persian ميرزا ​​أبوالفضل) Or Mirza Abu'l-Fadl-i-Gulpaygani (* June or July 1844 at Gulpaygan , Iran ; † 21st January 1914 in Cairo , Egypt ) was a leading Iranian Bahai - theologian and helped the Baha'i faith in Egypt, Turkmenistan and spread to the United States . Abdul-Baha awarded him the honorary title Abu'l-Fada'il ("Father of all righteousness "). Shoghi Effendi called him an apostle of Baha'u'llah .

Life

Abu'l-Fadl was born in June or July in a village near Gulpaygan in Iran to a family of well-known clergymen. Accordingly, he also received extensive training, which included rational and Gnostic philosophy , as well as classical Islamic theology . His intellectual interests also included many other areas, especially the sciences in Europe and Buddhism .

From October 1873 he taught "Kalam", speculative Islamic theology at the "Madrasih Hakim Hashim", a religious academy, in Tehran , Iran. In addition to teaching, Abu'l-Fadl dealt more intensively with philosophy, "Irfan", Islamic mysticism , Buddhism and the natural sciences . In 1876 he came into contact with several Baha'i. On September 20, 1876, he converted to the Baha'i religion when the prophecies about Abdülaziz , the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and his vizier Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha from Baha'u'llah's Lawh-i-Ra'is (“Tablet to the ruler ”) And Lawh-i-Fu'ad (“ Tablet of Fu'ad ”) came true. When he then openly advocated his new faith, he lost his job and was detained several times, totaling four of the next ten years in detention.

He began to undertake several mission trips in Iran and was able to win many new believers. In 1889 he moved to Ashgabat in the Russian Empire (today Turkmenistan), where he became the focus of the newly developing Baha'i communities there. He made trips to Samarkand and Bukhara in the Russian Empire (today Uzbekistan ). In 1894 he left Ashgabat and traveled to Acre in the Ottoman Empire (now Israel ), where he spent ten months with Abdul-Baha. Then he traveled on to Cairo, Ottoman Empire (however under British occupation since 1882) where he was able to take up a position at al-Azhar University as an Islamic scholar . Some of his students and other Egyptians adopted the Baha'i faith through him.

In 1901 Abu'l-Fadl left Cairo on the instructions of Abdul-Baha and traveled to the United States to bring the Baha'i there closer to the beliefs of the young religion in more detail, also to refute the heretical teachings of Ibrahim George Khayru'llah . On his way to the United States, he visited the Baha'i community in Paris , France . In Washington in 1903 he was portrayed by Alice Pike Barney . In 1904 he left the United States and settled again in Cairo, where he died on January 21, 1914.

Honors

Abdul-Baha gave him the honorary title Abu'l-Fada'il ("Father of All Righteousness") and named one of the gates of the Bab's shrine after him. Shoghi Effendi counts him among the apostles of Baha'u'llah.

Fonts

Abu'l-Fadl wrote some important works of early Baha'i theology in Arabic and Persian . These include the works of historical accounts of the Babi and Baha'i religion, the doctrine of the faith, evidence for the claims of Baha'u'llah, introductions to the Baha'i religion for Jews , Christians and Zoroastrians and defenses against apologies against the Baha'i religion. Some of the works have been translated into English , the influence of his work being far greater than the number of works translated suggests.

• The Brilliant Proof . Kalimát-Press, Los Angeles, USA 1998, ISBN 1-890688-00-2 ( online ).
• Letters and Essays, 1886-1913 . Kalimát-Press, Los Angeles, USA 1985, ISBN 0-933770-36-7 .
• The Bahá'í Proofs and A short Sketch of the History and Lives of the Leaders of this Religion . Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, USA 1983, ISBN 0-87743-191-4 .
• Miracles and Metaphors . Kalimát-Press, Los Angeles, USA 1981, ISBN 0-933770-22-7 .

literature

• Peter Smith: Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl Gulpáygání, Mírzá Muḥammad . In: A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith . Oneworld Publications, Oxford, UK 2000, ISBN 1-85168-184-1 .
• Adib Taherzadeh: The Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, Volume 3: `Akka, The Early Years 1868-77 . Ed .: George Ronald. Oxford, UK 1984, ISBN 0-85398-144-2 ( online ).
• Abdu'l Baha: The Promulgation of Universal Peace . Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, USA 1982, ISBN 0-87743-172-8 ( online ).

Web links

Commons : Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Moojan Momen: Gulpáygání, Mirza Abu'l-Fadl. Retrieved September 24, 2009 . 
• International Bahá'í Library: Collections. Mírzá Abu'l-Fa .l. Retrieved September 24, 2009 . 
• H-Bahai: Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani. Collected Works in Arabic and Persian. Retrieved September 24, 2009 .