The First Epistle Revealed by the Báb to Mírzá Áqásí

Abstract: This study presents a provisional English translation of the first of four Epistles revealed by the Báb to Ḥájí Mírzá Áqásí, the Prime Minister of Muḥammad Shāh Qājār. Revealed in Shíráz, most likely in 1844 C.E., prior to the Báb’s pilgrimage to Mecca, this Epistle—composed in Arabic and comprising four pages—was entrusted to Mullá Ḥusayn for delivery to Áqásí. In it, the Báb solemnly admonishes Áqásí to renounce worldly ambition and uphold justice. Of the four Epistles addressed to Áqásí, this is the earliest and most temperate in tone; the subsequent ones—revealed in Siyyáh-Dihán and Chihriq—range from exhortative to increasingly severe, culminating in the celebrated Epistle of Qahriyah, a pronounced expression of divine retribution. Two manuscript versions of the first Epistle are extant; the present translation is based on the undated version preserved in INBA 4011C (Tehran), pp. 332–336.