Siyyid Mírzá 'Alí-Muhammad (میرزا علیمحمد in Persian) (October 20, 1819 - July 9, 1850), also known as the Báb ("باب" meaning "Gate" in Arabic;, was seen by Bábís (and is seen by modern Bahá'ís) to be an independent Manifestation of the Cause of God, or Prophet on par with Moses, Jesus, or Muhammad (though his claim was at first understood by some of the public at the time to be merely a reference to the Gate of the Hidden Imám of Muhammad, which he publicly disclaimed, later boldly proclaiming himself, in the presence of the Heir to the Throne of Persia and other notables, to be the Promised One or Qá'im to Shí'ih Muslims). The Báb founded the Bábí religion which would become, in the days of Bahá'u'lláh and afterwards, the Bahá'í Faith. His titles included the "Herald of the Faith", the Point of the Bayan, and others.
He was born in Shiraz, Persia.
He is supposed to have been educated as a Shiite of the Shayki branch.
On May 23, 1844, he proclaimed himself the Gate.
He died by firing squad in Tabriz, Persia (now Irán) and his shrine is on the side of Mt Carmel in Haifa, Israel on the ninth terrace of the Baha'i Gardens.
The Báb is also accepted by members of the much smaller group, the Orthodox Bahai Faith.
See also, Bahá'u'lláh, Bahá'í Faith, Bábí
Links
Bibliography
Persian Bayan, Kitáb-i-Asmá (The Book of Names), Dalá'il-i-Sab'ih (The Seven Proofs). Excerpts from these and others are printed in the only English language compilation of the Báb's writings, Selections from the Writings of the Báb
