Táhirih

Persian religious reformer and poet

• Born: 1814-1820
• Birthplace: Qazvin, Persia (now in Iran)
• Died: 1852
• Place of death: Tehran, Persia (now in Iran)

Táhirih cast off the conventions of her day to help spread the ideas of Sayyid ՙAlī Muḥammad Shīrāzī, the founder of Bābīism. Renowned as both a poet and a revolutionary, she has inspired feminist activists and dissidents since her execution.

Early Life

Táhirih (TAH-heh-reh) was born Fāṭima Baraghani, the oldest daughter of a famous Muslim jurist, Hajji Mullā Muḥammad Salih Baraghani. She was educated in a standard Islamic curriculum.

As a young woman, Táhirih was married to Mullā Muḥammad, the son of her uncle, and together they had three sons and one daughter. While staying with her uncle in the holy city of Karbala in Iraq, she, her sister, and her brother-in-law joined the Shaykhī sect, which was then under the guidance of Sayyid Kazim Rashti. Her decision provoked fierce hostility from her husband and would eventually lead to her divorce from him. In the meantime, while staying in Karbala, she received instruction from Sayyid Rashti, who was so impressed by a treatise that she wrote on Shaykhī doctrine that he gave her the nickname Qurrat al-ՙAyn (solace of the eyes).

Life’s Work

On May 22, 1844, Sayyid ՙAlī Muḥammad announced that he was the successor to Sayyid Rashti and declared himself the Bāb (gate, or intermediary) between the Hidden Imam and the populace. Sometime after this, Táhirih and a group of Shaykhī disciples arrived in Shīrāz from Karbala. Thirteen of them met the Bāb and converted to his teachings. At the time, Táhirih herself had already won a reputation in Karbala as an outstanding but radical cleric. While still in Qazvin, she sent a letter to the Bāb, and on its basis alone, he made her the leader in his group of premier disciples known as the Letters of the Living. According to Bābī doctrine, this select group and its founder constituted the first “Unity” of a series of believers. The Bāb came to regard the Letters of the Living as incarnations of Shīՙism’s most holy figures, and they were sent out to disseminate the claims of the Bāb to Shaykhī communities in the areas they visited.

In 1845, the Persian government placed the Bāb under house arrest in Shīrāz and heavily restricted his activities. Responsibility for proselytizing then fell upon the Bāb’s small core of believers, and the exposition of Bābī doctrine was increasingly performed by the Letters of the Living and select religious scholars in the provinces. While other disciples led insurrections in Māzandarān, Neyrīz, and Zanjān, the task fell to Táhirih in Karbala and Baghdad.

The Letters of the Living were regarded as messianic figures by followers of the Bābī faith. In keeping with the quasi-divine status accorded to them, Táhirih claimed to be an incarnation of the Prophet Muḥammad’s daughter Fāṭima, the most important female figure in Islam, and a focus of Shīՙi veneration. Even among the Letters of the Living, Táhirih’s status was unique. Some followers called her the “point of divine knowledge,” after their former leader Sayyid Kazim Rashti. While residing in Rashti’s home in Karbala, Táhirih assumed supreme control of the Shaykhī-Bābī community in the region.

Táhirih’s claim to be an incarnation of Fāṭima led to the first crisis of authority in the Bābī movement. A local religious leader, Mullā Aḥmad Khurāsānī, and his followers opposed her unprecedented status and challenged the role of the Letters of the Living in the Bābī community of Iraq. Táhirih’s unconventional behavior and radical pronouncements led to increasing conflicts in the area.

Although the Bāb promoted adherence to Islamic piety in his early writings, Táhirih seized upon his more zealous ideals, stressing his overriding authority and the advent of a new age. Her behavior and speech extolled the importance of inner realities at the expense of conformity to proscribed external practices. In the classes she taught to Bābī men, she flouted Islamic convention by appearing without a veil. In addition, she challenged the sacristy of the Muslim ritual calendar by celebrating the birth of the Bāb during the early days of month of Muḥarram. Her letters suggest that her abrogation of Islam was incited by the receipt of a letter from the Bāb calling on her to “enter the gate of innovation.” This notion is corroborated by a contemporary account stating that with the Bāb’s explicit permission, Táhirih proclaimed existing Islamic laws and observances null and void.

Táhirih’s radical actions naturally provoked controversy within the Bābī community. Although some followers of the Bāb wrote to ask him to stop her, it appears that he supported her unconditionally. In the meantime, other followers began to follow Táhirih’s example, fueling further conflict that eventually spread beyond the Bābī community. Sometime in 1846 or 1847, Táhirih was arrested in Karbala and forced to leave the city for Baghdad. After being held under house arrest in the home of Sheikh Maḥmūd al-Ālūsī, she was expelled from Iraq on orders sent from Ottoman headquarters in Constantinople. She returned to Qazvin later in the same year, but not before stopping in the Iranian cities of Hamadan and Kirmanshah to proselytize.

Controversies surrounding Táhirih’s behavior and the growing power of Bābī missionaries in Iran led to serious resistance against the sect there. Soon after Táhirih’s return to Qazvin, three Bābīs attacked her uncle, Hajji Mullā Muḥammad Taqi Baraghani, the leading cleric of the town. Three days after his death, large numbers of Bābīs were arrested and several were sentenced to death in retaliation for the cleric’s murder. Matters escalated in early 1848, when the Bāb proclaimed himself the Hidden Imam and called for the abolition of Shari՚a, the Islamic law.

Because Táhirih was widely suspected of complicity in her uncle’s death, it was no longer possible for her to remain in Qazvin, so she left for Tehran. She then traveled to Māzandarān to attend a major gathering of Bābī leaders at Badasht. There, she figured prominently in the conference’s key events. According to contemporary accounts, she preached constantly, often without wearing a veil. In 1850, she was arrested and brought to Tehran, where she was detained as a prisoner. After an attempt on the life of the Persian ruler, Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh, in 1852 by three Bābīs, Táhirih and at least twenty-seven other Bābīs were put to death in Tehran.

Significance

Táhirih was famous both inside and outside the Bābī movement for her beauty, eloquence, and dedication to her cause. She is also remembered for a series of mystical poems that she composed to articulate her devotion. Perhaps more significantly, accounts of her fortitude in the face of a cruel and painful execution contributed to her reputation as a courageous revolutionary.

Among the Letters of the Living, Táhirih played a particularly significant role in defining and disseminating Bābī doctrine in Shīՙism’s most holy city of Karbala. She assumed supreme control of the Shaykhī-Bābī community there, and it appears that she was responsible for introducing ideas from Shaykhīՙism into Bābīsm. In particular, she stressed the importance of inner realities at the expense of outward practice—a view that was made literal in her choice to appear unveiled. Táhirih’s unprecedented role in both religious and public life established a potent model for feminist action and political dissent. Her life continues to provide inspiration for feminist groups in Iran and elsewhere into the twenty-first century.

Bibliography

Afaqi, Sabir and Jan Teofil Jasion. Táhirih in History: Perspectives on Qurratu՚l-ՙAyn from East and West. Vol. 16 in Studies in the Babi and Baha՚i Religions. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 2004. A compilation of historical work written on Táhirih since the nineteenth century, including Baha՚i sources by ՙAbdu՚l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi; essays by scholars in India and Pakistan; and scholarship by Western writers, such as E. G. Browne, A. L. M. Nicolas, Abbas Amanat, and Farzaneh Milani.

Banani, Amin, ed. Táhirih: A Portrait in Poetry: Selected Poems of Qurratu՚l-ՙAyn. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 2004. A collection of Táhirih’s poems, published in the original Persian with English translations by Jascha Kessler and Anthony A. Lee. Its introduction discusses Táhirih in the context of the literary history of Persia.

Root, Martha L. Táhirih the Pure. Rev. ed. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 2000. A brief recounting of Táhirih’s life and martyrdom, with a selection of her poems.

Stumpel, Isabel. “Tahira Qurrat al-ՙAin.” In Iran im 19 Jahrhundert und die Entstehung der Baha՚i-Religion, edited by Johann Christoph Burgel and Isabel Schayani. Hildesheim, Germany: Olms, 1998. German-language study of the history and personality of Táhirih, focusing on her role in the formation of the Bābī community.