'Báb'
means 'Gate’! The
Báb was the Gate to a new Kingdom -- the Kingdom of God on earth.
The Báb
was very young when He told people about the Message which God had given Him.
He was only twenty-five years old. A beautiful city in the south of Iran,
called Shiraz, was the birthplace of the Báb. The people of Iran were Muhammadans,
so He was given a name that was much used in that country. He was called Ali
Muhammad, and was a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad Himself. The Báb's
father died soon after His birth, so He was placed under the care of His
maternal uncle. As a child He was sent to a teacher who taught the Qur'an and
elementary subjects. But from His early childhood, the Báb was different from
other children. He was always asking difficult questions and then giving the
answers Himself in a way that astonished His elders. Often when other children
were busy at play, He would be found wrapped in prayer under the shade of a
tree or in some other quiet spot.
Later,
when the Báb revealed His reality as a Manifestation of God, both His uncle and
His teacher believed in Him because they had known Him since His childhood, and seen the difference between Him
and other children. His uncle even died as a martyr for the Cause of God
revealed through his Nephew, the Báb.
Before
the Báb declared His Mission as a Messenger of God, there were two famous
teachers who said that according to the Qur'an and the holy traditions, the
Promised One of Islam would soon appear. These two teachers were Sheikh Ahmad and
his chief disciple Siyyid Kazim. Because they were holy men and very learned,
many people believed what they said and prepared themselves to receive the
Promised One.
