Mírzá Músá (Persian: میرزا موسى‎; d. 1887) was the only full brother of Baháʼu'lláh, meaning that they shared the same mother and father. He was later named by Shoghi Effendi as one of the nineteen Apostles of Baháʼu'lláh.

The life of Mírzá Músá was so bound up with that of Baháʼu'lláh himself, that his life and background mirror the life and travels of Baháʼu'lláh. He was an integral part of correspondence between Baháʼu'lláh and the Baháʼís. He experienced the same imprisonment, exile, assaults, and degrading circumstances that were given to the small band of family members associated with Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. Mírzá Músá remained a loyal and faithful follower until he died.

Baháʼu'lláh used Mírzá Músá as an example to show his respect for the law. When an official expressed hesitation to inflict punishment on one of the followers of Baháʼu'lláh who had committed a crime, he replied:

"Tell him, no one in this world can claim any relationship to Me except those who, in all their deeds and in their conduct, follow My example, in such wise that all the peoples of the earth would be powerless to prevent them from doing and saying that which is meet and seemly... This brother of Mine, this Mirza Musa, who is from the same mother and father as Myself, and who from his earliest childhood has kept Me company, should he perpetrate an act contrary to the interests of either the state or religion, and his guilt be established in your sight, I would be pleased and appreciate your action were you to bind his hands and cast him into the river to drown, and refuse to consider the intercession of any one on his behalf."[1]

He also went by the title of Kalím (Arabic: كليم), Áqáy-i-Kalím (Chief Kalím), or Jináb-i-Kalím (Excellent Kalím).

Family edit

Mírzá Músá's son, Mirza Majdi'd-Din for a time transcribed the Tablets of Baháʼu'lláh. He was the one who read the Kitáb-i-'Ahd in front of the family upon the passing of Baháʼu'lláh, but later became "the most redoubtable adversary of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá" by supporting Mírzá Muhammad ʻAlí.

Notes edit

  1. ^ Effendi 1944, p. 133.

References edit

  • ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (1971). "His Eminence Kalím (Mirzá Músá)". Memorials of the Faithful. Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. pp. 86–91.
  • Adamson, Hugh (2007). "Mírzá Músá". Historical Dictionary of the Baha'i Faith. Historical Dictionaries of Religions, Philosophies, and Movements, No. 71 (Second ed.). Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-8108-5096-5.
  • Adamson, Hugh C. (2009). "Mírzá Músá". The A to Z of the Baháʼí Faith. The A to Z Guide Series, No. 70. Plymouth, UK: Scarecrow Press. pp. 325–6. ISBN 978-0-8108-6853-3.
  • Afnán, Habíbu’lláh (2007). "Memories of My Life Translation of Mírzá Habíbu'lláh Afnán's Khátirát-i-Hayát" (PDF). Online Journal of Baha'i Studies. 1. Translated by Rabbani, Ahang. Houston, TX. ISSN 1177-8547.
  • Balyuzi, Hasan (2000). Baháʼu'lláh: King of Glory. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-328-3.
  • Barnes, Kiser (November 2003). Stories of Baháʼu'lláh and Some Notable Believers. New Delhi, India: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 81-7896-021-4.
  • Cole, Juan (15 December 1988) [updated 23 August 2011]. "Baha'-allah". Encyclopædia Iranica. 4. Vol. III. pp. 422–29.
  • Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By (1st ed.). Wilmette, IL: Baháʼí Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-020-9.
  • Momen, Moojan (1981). The Babi and Baha'i Religions 1844-1944: Some Contemporary Western Accounts. Oxford: George Ronald. p. 227. ISBN 0-85398-102-7.
  • Smith, Peter (2000). "Músá, Mírzá". A Concise Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith. Oxford, UK: Oneworld Publications. p. 255. ISBN 1-85168-184-1.
  • Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-86251-6.
  • Taherzadeh, Adib (1976). The Revelation of Baháʼu'lláh, Volume 1: Baghdad 1853–63. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-270-8.
  • Zarandí, Nabíl (1953). The Dawn-Breakers: Nabíl's Narrative. Translated by Shoghi Effendi (Hardcover ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Baháʼí Publishing Trust (published 1932). ISBN 0-900125-22-5.
  • Ramsey Zeine (2006). Iraj Ayman (ed.). "The Bahá'í Faith in the Arabic Speaking Middle East; Part 1 (1753-1863)". Lights of 'Irfán; Haj Mehdi Armand Colloquium. 7. Wilmette, IL: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States: 267–8.

External links edit