This Holy Day commemorates the significant beginning of bahá’í history. In May 1844, in the city of Shiraz, Siyyid ‘Alí Muḥammad (the Báb) declared His mission to a young seeker, Mullá Ḥusayn, who became a devoted believer. This event inaugurated a rapid increase in the number of the followers of the Báb and the diffusion of the attractiveness of His teachings in all classes of society. The purpose of the short duration for which the Báb’s mission lasted was to act as a gate between past divine revelations and a new era of unity. The Báb saw as His purpose the awakening of the people to the coming of the Promised One of all ages, prophesied of in the scriptures and traditions of several world religions.
