Quddús

Quddús was the name given to Mullá Muhammad Alí-i-Bárfurúsh by the Báb meaning The Most Holy. He was the eighteenth and final Letter of the Living, and is often said to be the most important:

Regarding the station of Quddus, he should by no means be considered having had the station of a Prophet. His station was no doubt a very exalted one, and far above that of any of the Letters of the Living, including the first Letter, Mulla Husayn. Quddus reflected more than any of the disciples of the Bab the light of His teaching.

(11 November 1936, written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)

Muhammad Alí was born some time between years 1815–1822, the variance being due to different sources. The latter date is specified by Nabil in The Dawnbreakers. Amanat [1987] reasons that the most likely date is 1819–1820 as it is in line with other sources.

Muhammad Alí was born to a family of rice cultivators in the outskirts of Bárfurúsh. He spent part of his childhood as a house servant of the local Shaykhí leader Mullá Muhammad-Hamza Sharí'at-madár and was sent to a nearby town of Sárí for a madrassa education. Sometime in the mid-1830s he met Mullá Husayn-i-Bushru'i (the first Letter of the Living) and other future Bábís after he joined a small group of students in Mashhad.

When he was eighteen, Muhammad Alí left for Karbalá and spent four years as a student in the Siyyid Kázim Rashtí circle. He returned to Bárfurúsh circa-1843.

He was described as a charismatic mullá with "affability, combined with dignity and bearing" and he became a notable person within his home tome. Mírzá Músá Núrí, who met him in 1846 says: "whoever was intimiately associated with him was seized with an insatiable admiration for the charm of the youth".

He meet the Báb in Shíráz and travelled with him as his companion on pilgrimage to Mecca (1844–1845). During the imprisonment of the Báb he filled the role as the Qá'im. He attended the conference of Badasht initially opposing Táhirih's radicalism. He was subsequently placed under house arrest in Sárí before being released by the Bábís of fort Tabarsí. After the surrender he was put in the hands of Sa'ídu'l-'ulamá who superintended his torture and execution on 16 May 1849.

References

• Effendi, Shoghi (1932). Dawn Breakers – Nabil's Narrative. Baha'i Publishing Trust. ISBN 0900125225. available online here
• Smith, Peter (2000). A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith. Oneworld Publications, (Sales and Editorial), 185 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 7AR. ISBN 1185168–184–1.
• Amanat, Abbas (1989). Resurrection and Renewal. Cornell University Press, 124 Roberts Place, Ithica, New York 14850. ISBN 0–8014–2098–9.