Some aspects of Isrā'īliyyāt and the emergence of the Bābī-Bahā

Abstract

'Some Aspects of Isra'Iliyyat and the Emergence of the Babi-Baha'T Interpretation of the Bible' Stephen N. Lambden This thesis deals with Islamic Isralliyyat ("Israelitica") literary traditions, the Bible and the relationship to them of two closely related post-Islamic movements, the Babr and Bahal religions. It concerns the Islamic assimilation and treatment of pre-Idamic, biblical and related materials and their level of post-Islamic Babi-Bahal assimilation and exposition. More specifically, this thesis focuses upon select aspects of the biblical and Islamo-biblical ("Islamified", "Islamicate") traditions reflected within the Arabic and Persian writings of two Iranian born 19th century messianic claimants Sayyid 'All Muhammad Shirazi, the Bab (1819- 1859) and Mirza Husayn 'All NOrT (1817-1892), entitled Bah'-Allah, the founders of the BabT and Baha'T religions respectively. The presence of Islamo-biblical citations and the absence of canonical biblical citations within the writings of the Bab will be argued as will the emergence of the Baha'T interpretation of the canonical Bible though its founder figure Bah'-Allah who first cited an Arabic Christian Bible version whilst resident in Ottoman Iraq (Baghdad) towards the end of what has been called the middle-BabT period (1861-2 CE). This laid the foundations for the Bahl interpretation of the Bible which was greatly enriched and extended by oriental Bahl apologists , Bah'- Allah's eldest son 'Abd al-Baha' Abbas (d. 1921) and his great-grandson Shoghi Effendi (d. 1957) who shaped the modern global Baha'T phenomenon. Over a century or so the neo-Shn millennialist faction that was Babism (the religion of the Bab) evolved into the global Baha'T religion of the Book Throughout this thesis aspects of Isralliyyat will be analysed historically and the Islamic, especially Shi sT-ShaykhT background to and the BabT-Baha'T messianic renewal of the Isra'Tliyyat rooted tradition of the ism Allah al-a'gam (Mightiest Name of God) will be noted and commented upon.