BABISM, A term applied to the beliefs of a sect in Persia, founded by Alirza Ali Aluhammad ibn radhik, born about 1824. who assumed the name of Bab-ud-Din, i.e. 'gate of the faith.' (in returning from a pilgrimage to Alec ea, in 1843, the Bab appeared in his native city of Shiraz with a new commentary on the Koran, and soon became engaged in controversy with the regular priests, or m ullahs, who, exasperated by his free criticism of their conduct, obtained au order forbidding him to teach in public, and con fining him to his house. He taught privately, however, but increased his pretensions, until he declared he was the Nimtah, 'the point,'—an epithet of Mohammed as well. Ile thus claimed to be not merely the recipient of a new divine revelation, but the focus in which all preceding dispensations converged. He gained proselytes rapidly. Among these was a •oman,—a remark able circumstance in any country of the East,— known as Gurrad-ul-Ain (`consolation of the eyes'), because of her surpassing loveliness, which was enhanced by her intelligence and purity. The sect made rapid progress with their new religion, but they were not molested until the accession of Nasr-ed-Din in 1843. At this juncture the Babis, in fear of persecution by the new Shah, arose in rebellion and proclaimed the Bab as a universal sovereign, when a civil war ensued. Hussein, one of the disciples, made prisoner, after defeating several expeditions sent against him, and was put to death in 1849; and the next year Hal inrushi, another leader, was slain in battle. The Bab himself, who had taken no active part in the rebellion, was imprisoned and executed at Tabriz, in 1850, after a long in carceration; but his death did not discourage his followers. They recognized Mirza Yahya, a youth of noble descent, and son of the Governor of Tehe ran, as his successor, who established himself in Bagdad. An attempt, in 1852, of some zealous Bahis to assassinate the Shah, led to a terrible persecution, in which the beautiful 'consolation of the eyes' perished.
The Bald doctrines are essentially a system of pantheism. with additions from gnostic and other sources, and they may he regarded as a development of the mystic or Sufiistic movement against the orthodox Mohammedanism of the Sunnis, which has lasted with great persistence since the first introduction of Islam into Persia.
All individual existence is regarded as emanating from the Supreme Deity, by whom it will ulti mately he reabsorbed. Great importance is taehed to the number 7. as indicating the at tributes supposed to be displayed in the act of creation; and to the number I!). which mystically expresses the name of the Deity himself, and is, moreover, the sum of the prophets among whom the latest incarnation of the divine nature is conceived to he distributed in the present dis pensation, and of whom the Bab himself is the chief. The sacred college cannot become extinct until the final judgment, the death of any of its members being immediately followed by a re incarnation. .Nloses. Christ. and Mohammed are considered to be prophets, hut merely precursors of the Bab and inferior to him. The morals of the sect are good; polygamy and conenhinage are forbidden; the veiling of woman's face is omitted, and the equality of sex is so far recog nized that at least one of the nineteen prophets must always be a female. Among the Babis women have a position of honor. They join in social intercourse, and are freed from many of the degradations to which orthodox Mohamme danism subjects them, such as the extreme faeil ity of divorce on the part of the husband. Aseeti cism is discountenanced, mendicancy forbidden, and hospitality, charity. generous living, and abstinence from intoxicating liquors and drugs and tobacco, as well as prohibition of slave dealing, are taught and practiced. The Babis live in outward conformity to the religion of Alohammed. The faith of the Bab has found a few adherents in America. like other Oriental religions which have sent their apostles to this country.
Consult: Browne. 3 Traveler's Yon-afire 'Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Bab (Cambridge. 1892) ; Huart, La religion de Bab (Paris. 1889) ; and Andreas, Die Babis in Per slot (Leipzig, 1896).