the Bāb

the Bāb (born October 20, 1819, or October 9, 1820, Shīrāz, Iran—died July 9, 1850, Tabrīz) was a merchant’s son whose claim to be the Bāb (Gateway) to the hidden imām (the perfect embodiment of Islamic faith) gave rise to the Bābī religion and made him one of the three central figures of the Bahāʾī Faith. At an early age, ʿAlī Moḥammad became familiar with the Shaykhī school of the Shīʿite branch of Islam and...