An annotated bibliography of  post-1260/1844 Shaykhī  anti-Bābī-Bahā'ī polemical writing

and associated Bābī-Bahā'ī  responses.

 

BEING COMPLETED AND CORRECTED,  2009-10

 Stephen Lambden UC-Merced

The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to register those post-1260/1844 published and unpublished Shaykhī literatures in Arabic and  Persian (and other languages) that are in varying degrees explicitly anti-Bābī or anti-Bābī-Bahā'ī. In attempting this I shall draw upon and attempt to extend aspects of the details set down in the first 2 pages of the excellent 5th chapter in Denis MacEoin's The Sources for Early Babi Doctrine and History  (pp. 123-7). This task must begin with the anti-Bābī polemical writings of Ḥajji Mullā Muhammad Karīm Khān-i Kirmānī (1225/1810-1288/1871), the so-called third Shaykh of the (Kirmānī) Shaykhīs. The exact number, nature and  publication history of his polemical, anti-Bābī-Bahā'ī writings remains to be fully spelled out. For Baha'is Kaim Khan, as an staunch enemy of the Bab and Babism, is regarded as one of the eschatological manifestations of the dajjal or (loosely) the antichrist.

        Karīm Khān Kirmānī   was the son of Ibrāhīm Khān Ẓahīr al-Dawla (d. 1240/1824-5), a cousin and son-in-law of Fatḥ `Ali Shāh (1771-1834), the second Qajar Shah who ruled from 1797 until 1834.  Kirmani's father was at one time the governor of Khurasan and later, for the last 21 years of his life, was governor of Kirmān and Baluchistan (Raḍawī, Tadhkirat al-awlīyā,  56 ref.  MacEoin, 1982). He apparently had forty wives and something like 20 sons and 21 daughters. The mother of Kirmani who gave birth to him on 18 Muḥarram 1225/ 23rd February 1810 was the daughter of Mīrzā Raḥīm the mustawfi  of Tiflis (ibid, 8+refs.).  

 

 Hajjī Mirza Muhammad Karim Khān Kirmānī

(1225-1288 /1810- 1871)

Add bio details.. + general. bib.

Kirmani died 22nd Sha`ban 1288/ 6th November 1871 (Corbin, EnIsIr. IV:236-242).

            As MacEoin notes in his The Sources for Early Babi Doctrine and History  (p. 123, where 4 of Kirmani's anti-Bābī works are referred to), the Bahā'ī  writer, Fāḍil-i Māzandarānī (d. 195X), reckoned that  Karīm Khān wrote twelve anti-Bābī [-Bahā'ī] polemical works though he does not enumerate them in his K. Zuhūr al-haqq  vol. 3 (see p. 400). MacEoin also points out that  Māzandarānī makes reference in this context to Karīm Khān-i Kirmānī 's (3 volume) Fiṭrat al-salīma  [sic.] though this is "incorrect" (ibid. fn.7) in that this work deals with the  Shī`ī [-Shaykhī] doctrines of   (1) the knowledge of God, (2) prophethood (nubuwwa) and  (3) the Imamate (imāma).  MacEoin also, usefully points out that in his 1269/1853 Risāla-yi  si faṣl  ("Treatise in 30 sections")  Karīm Khān Kirmanī himself has stated,

"I have written five or six books in refutation of him [the Bāb] and have sent them to different parts of Azerbayjan, `Iraq `Ajam, `Iraq `Arab, Ḥijāz, Khurāsān and India. I have also written letters to the `ulama and sent petitions to officials of the victorious government [of Iran]. At times in Yazd and Kerman, and once on a journey to Khurāsān, I have made clear their unbelief from pulpits with proofs and evidences (pp.34-5) ( trans. MacEoin, 1982:30; Sources, 122-3 fn.7). 

Exactly how many anti-Bābī-Bahā'ī works Kirmani wrote after 1269/1859, in the remaining twelve or so years of his life, is uncertain. Aside from Izhāq al-bāṭil  the following three works are definitely known:

 

[1]

    رساله ازهاق الباطل فى رد البابيه     

Risāla izhāq al-bāṭil fī radd al-bābiyya

 ("The Crushing of Falsehood in Refutation of Bābism")

    In the Fihrist of Kirmani this work is item no. 362. It is described as being in Arabic and consisting of 3,200 verses dating to 12th Rajab 1261 = 17th July 1845 (Fihrist, 378).  Just over a year from the Bāb's semi-secret, quasi-messianic declaration in 1260/1844, his formidable opponent Karīm Khān Kirmānī had penned at attack on his claim to waḥy  (divine revelation) as expressed in his Qayyūm al-asma'  and elsewhere. This is his 250 or more page  Risāla izhāq al-bāṭil fī radd al-bābiyya  ("The Crushing of Falsehood in Refutation of Bābism") which was completed on 12th Rajab 1261/17th July 1845. It appears that it was first published in the same year, 1261/ 1845 (? details lacking).

Outline of the contents of the  R. Izhāq al-bāṭil  fī radd al-bābiyya.

This work begins with a statement about the reason for the composition of the book.

Section one is in three parts:

(1)  that the Qur'ān is a veridical expression of the divine Word which cannot be intimated....

Editions of the ازهاق الباطل  R. Izhāq al-bāṭil  fī radd al-bābiyya.

 Among the editions of this very early and several times reprinted anti-Bāb [Babism] work are:

  • Izhāq al-bāṭil... Kirmān: Matba`at al-Sa`ada, 1351 Sh. / 1973.
  • Risāla Izhāq al-bāṭil...   Kirmān: Matba`at al-Sa`ada, 1392/1972. This printing is in a series, No.29, a white paperback. It has  pp. 5 (contents) + 277 (the book) +2 (printing errata).
  • An electronic version can be found at:

           

[2]

 رسالة تير شهاب

 Risālih-yi tīr-i shihāb dar... 

 ("The Treatise of the Piercing Meteor..."). 

    In the  Fihrist of Kirmānī this 1,300 verse Persian work is listed as No. 364.  A treatise written in refutation of the Bab/ Babism, it was completed on the 12th Rabi al-Awwal  1262 = 10th March 1846 (Fihrist, 379). 

....    1265/1849.

  • Risālih-yi tīr-i shihāb dar...    ("The Treatise of the Piercing Meteor...").  Kirmān, 1386/1966-7 where it is found within the Shaykhī produced compilation Majmu`a-i rasā'il-i fārsī  (Persian Compendia of Treatises) No.1 . pp. 162-242.
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(3)

 رسالة الشهاب الثاقب في رجم النواصب

Risala al-Shihāb al-thāqib fī rajm al-nawāṣib.

("The Treatise of the Brilliant Meteor for the Stoning of the Enemies")

According to the Fihrist  of Kirmani this 100 or so page Arabic work was written in ADD.

  • al-Shihāb al-thāqib fī rajm al-nawāṣib. Kirmān: Maṭba`at al-Sa`ada [n.d.] 1st printing. 97pp. + 2pp errata. The printed text itself  (p.97) gives the time of completion as the 21st Safar 1265 / 16th January 1849.
  • al-Shihāb al-thāqib fī  rajm al-nawāṣib. Kirmān, 1353 Sh./1974-75.

This risāla  has prolegomenon with 4 divisions and 5 further sections some of which has further subdivisions:

(A) Prolegomenon: in explanation of the reality of Islam, the question of faith and infidelity.

(1) The apostasy (lit. going out, khurūj) of Mirza `Ali Muhammad [the Bab].

(2) add REST

 

 An Epistle of the Bāb to Hajji Mirza Muhammad Kārim Khān Kirmānī  is cited and refuted at length in this work

See further: An Epistle of the Bāb to Hajji Mirza Muhammad Kārim Khān Kirmānī

 

 

(4)

رساله رد  باب 

Risālih radd-i Bāb

Risāla-yi radd-i Bāb-i murtāb ("A Treatise in refutation of the suspect Bāb")  

Fihrist, Kirmani, No. 368 p. 380.

1,000 Persian verses

رساله فى الردعلى الباب المرتاب

Risāla fi al-radd `ala al-bāb al-murtāb,

("A Treatise in refutation of the suspect Bāb")  

The Persian polemical treatise of Kirmani against the Bāb was written for Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh (r. 1846-1896). According to  the Fihrist  of  Kirmānī it   was written in 1284/1867 (check) though the text itself  gives the date of completion as the 19th Ramaḍān, 1283 / 25 January 1867.

  • Risāla-yi radd-i Bāb-i murtāb, ("A Treatise in refutation of the apostate Bāb") Kirmān, 1383/1963 .
  • (Arabic) Risāla fī al-radd `alā al-Bāb al-murtāb. Kirman, I383/I963.
  • Risāla dar radd-i Bāb-i murtāb. Kirmān: Chapkhānih Sa`ādah, Jumādī II 1384/  October 1964.  (Persian, 2nd ed.) 59pp.
  • Risāla dar radd-i Bāb-i murtāb [with Risāla-yi tanzīl]. 2nd. ed., Kirmān, 1385/  1964-5. 

Other works of  Karīm Khān Kirmanī  containing references to the Babi and / or  Baha'i religions.

 

The Risāla-yi sulṭāniyya  (Treatise for the Monarch) was written at the request of Nāṣir al-Dīn Shāh in 1274/1858. According to MacEoin the Kirman edition of  1382/1862-3  contains anti-Babi material on pp.94 and 283-4 (Sources, 123.fn.5).

The Risāla-yi sī faṣl  (Treatise in 30 sections) was written in 1269/1853.

and has been several times printed:

  •  Risālih-' sī faṣl dār javāb īrādāt  ba`aḍi  ... bar silsalih-'  jaliliyyih-' shaykhiyya.  Kirman: Matba`ah al-Sa`adat, Sha`ban 1368/ May 1970.  127pp. This work contains responses to many interesting questions including whether jihad  can be legitimately called for without the parousia of the eschatological Imam (Q.     ) and whether  the first two Shaykhs were the al-rukn al-rabi`  ("Fourth Support") (Q. 4, pp. 31-33)

 

The Bāb's  letters [Tablets] to Karīm Khān Kirmānī.

 

See Trans. Lambden :  An Epistle of the Bāb to Hajji Mirza Muhammad Kārim Khān Kirmānī

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Bahā'-Allāh and Karīm Khān Kirmanī.

ارشاد العوام

        [Kitāb-i ] Irshād al-`awāmm  ("Guidance for the Masses").

            This lengthy Persian work of Karīm Khān, though not explicitly an anti-Bābī text except for a few pages in its last volume, was strongly criticized by Bahā'-Allāh for its arrogant and misleading scholarship relating to the comprehension of the Mi`rāj ("Night Ascent") of Muhammad. Bahā'-Allāh expressed this opinion towards the end of his decade or more in Baghdad (Iraq) in his Persian Kitāb-i īqān  ("Book of Certitude") which dates to 1278/1862. 

"For instance, a certain man [= Karīm Khān Kirmanī], reputed for his learning and attainments, and accounting himself as one of the pre-eminent leaders of his people, hath in his book denounced and vilified all the exponents of true learning. This is made abundantly clear by his explicit statements as well as by his allusions throughout his book. As We had frequently heard about him, We purposed to read some of his works. Although We never felt disposed to peruse other peoples’ writings, yet as some had questioned Us concerning him, We felt it necessary to refer to his books, in order that We might answer Our questioners with knowledge and understanding. His works, in the Arabic tongue, were, however, not available, until one day a certain man informed Us that one of his compositions, entitled Irshadu’l-‘Avám [sic.],  could be found in this city [Baghdad]. From this title We perceived the odour of conceit and vainglory, inasmuch as he hath imagined himself a learned man and regarded the rest of the people ignorant. His worth was in fact made known by the very title he had chosen for his book. It became evident that its author was following the path of self and desire, and was lost in the wilderness of ignorance and folly. Methinks, he had forgotten the well-known tradition which sayeth: “Knowledge is all that is knowable; and might and power, all creation.” Notwithstanding, We sent for the book, and kept it with Us a few days. It was probably referred to twice. The second time, We accidentally came upon the story of the “Mi’ráj”  of Muhammad, of Whom was spoken: “But for Thee, I would not have created the spheres.” We noticed that he had enumerated some twenty or more sciences, the knowledge of which he considered to be essential for the comprehension of the mystery of the “Mi’ráj”. We gathered from his statements that unless a man be deeply versed in them all, he can never attain to a proper understanding of this transcendent and exalted theme. Among the specified sciences were the science of metaphysical abstractions, of alchemy, and natural magic. Such vain and discarded learnings, this man hath regarded as the pre-requisites of the understanding of the sacred and abiding mysteries of divine Knowledge." (KI: 203)

 

The  Irshād al-`awāmm  was written in 4 vols. between 6th Rajab 1263 / 20th July 1847 and 1st Rabi` II (al-Akhir) 1267/ 3rd February 1851. The following is a list of the various of the printed editions known to the present writer (cf. Kirmani, Fihrist,  No. 361 p. 376-8):

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 A digitized text of a mss. of the  Irshād al-`awāmm  can be found in  the UCLA Caro Minasian Collection Digitization Project, Mss. 142:  Irshād al-ʿavām [sic.] (398 images)

image of manuscript page

Click to Expand

لوح  قناء

            The Lawḥ-i qinā'  (Tablet of the Veil) of Bahā'-Allāh

This Arabic scriptural Tablet is printed in Majmu`ih-yi alwaḥ-i Bahā'-Allāh..

See for the text and translation by Lambden and Quinn on this Web site:

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Shayki anti-Babi-Baha'i polemic written by post Karim-Khan Kirmani Shaykhi leaders IV-VIII

IV

Āqā Ḥajjī Muhammad Khan Kirmani

(d. 1263-1324/1846-1906),

 

Anti-Bābī-Bahā'ī writing of the 4th Shaykhī leader Āqā Ḥajjī Muhammad Khan Kirmani (d. 1324/1906), the son of the third Shaykh  Karim Khān Kirmānī.

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 V

Āqā Ḥajjī Zayn al-`Ābidīn Khān Kirmānī

(d. 1360/1942)

        Anti-Bābī-Bahā'ī writing of the 5th Shaykhī leader Āqā Ḥajjī Zayn al-`Ābidīn Khān Kirmānī  (1276-1360/1859-1942).

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VI

 Āqā Ḥajjī `Abu'l-Qāsim b. Zayn al-`Ābidīn Khān,

(d.1389/1969)

  Anti-Bābī-Bahā'ī writing of the 6th Shaykhī leader Āqā Ḥajjī `Abu'l-Qāsim b. Zayn al-`Ābidīn Khān,  (1314-1389/1896-1969)

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        Select Bābī-Bahā'ī  responses to Shaykhism 

            ADD HERE